Guys, I think I’ve found my people. I’m so geeking out over here! For years I’ve read self-help books and scribbled answers to their introspective exercises in journals I keep tucked away in drawers. It’s always been a solo affair. But now? Now I have a whole group of people to work through this process with me!
This summer I started Martha Beck Life Coach Training. It’s challenging — you have to jump in with an open heart. It’s fun — it’s all the same stuff I read and watch in my free time anyway. And the big one — the one I wasn’t sure would be true and am so relieved that it is — it’s me! I mean, I’m learning. Some days it feels like I have no idea what I’m doing. But when I’m in the midst of a coaching session, it just feels right.
Here’s how the program plays out. Every week, you study the material: written articles, audio recordings, videos. Occasionally class is a lecture or Q&A with the full 120+ person group. More often, you jump on a call with a smaller group of about 12 students. One student practices coaching another student, who brings a real life issue to the conversation. No role-playing! (It’s kind of a rule: always be transparent + authentic + open.) The rest of the class (observers) might chime in with their ideas. Then you do more practice with your peers outside of class — trading off the roles of coach and client and observer.
So, I get to share those scribbled introspective thoughts with a group. I get to open my heart to people I barely know, and they listen with compassion and energy. They do their best to maneuver these newfound coaching tools to help me find the lies I’m telling myself. And then I get to use my overflowing curiosity as I stumble through the same process to help them.
In the Fall, there’s an optional Meet and Greet in California. Of course I’m going.