What is Positive Psychology Coaching?
Early in my college career, when I was studying Health Science, Health Coaching was beginning to gain momentum as a profession. I remember wondering what that could entail. Don’t most people understand what is healthy for them vs. what isn’t? How could a coach help someone with that? After doing some research on the topic, I found that it was described as having a partner in the behavior change process. Someone to help you take action on your health and fitness goals. Although that sounded interesting, I decided to go down a different path.
Fast forward to 2020, I realized the stress from the pandemic was taking a toll on my health and I needed help making some positive changes. Mainly, I found it was harder to find joy in each day. This led me to work with a coach to identify what things were really important to me, get clear on what I wanted, and make steps to achieve those goals. I can say that this experience of working with a coach for the first time, was one of the most transformational things I’d ever done.
I believed so strongly in the power of coaching that I became certified in positive psychology health and wellness coaching. The premise being that if you want to attain your goals, you need to have a strong foundation of wellness, including having a healthy body, mind, and spirit.
If you think about famous athletes, how many of them have a coach? I can’t think of any high performing athlete that doesn’t work with a coach on a regular basis. A professional athlete’s job is their sport so they need someone to help them maintain peak performance in their job. Most of us aren’t professional athletes but we are professionals. Why, then, would we think that we don’t need coaching on a regular basis to help us maintain a high level of performance in work and life?
What is Positive Psychology Coaching? It falls in the realm of personal development and well-being as a transformative approach to fostering happiness, resilience, and fulfillment in life. It focuses less on the problem and more on the solution by building on an individual’s strengths, values, sense of meaning and purpose. The emphasis is on cultivating a positive mindset which includes optimism, gratitude, and self-compassion using evidence-based interventions like cognitive reframing, gratitude journaling, and mindfulness practices. The core of positive psychology is tapping into our ability to flourish in life by achieving our full potential and experiencing deep fulfillment. Engagement in flow, creating strong relationships, finding purpose, and meaning, and also experiencing accomplishment are all factors to flourishing in life and work.
Life is so hectic and leaves little time to ourselves. When do you get time to focus on yourself and reflect on the things that matter to you? When do you get to spend time talking about yourself and all of your strengths with someone completely unbiased and who is there just to listen? This is the beauty of positive psychology coaching. As your coach, I help you get clear on what you want and help you take steps to achieve your goals while keeping you motivated and inspired along the way.
