Fill in the blank …
I know I should _____ .
I know what I should be doing BUT …
For example, I know I should stop eating 1200 calories per day.
I know I should get to the gym in the morning instead of waiting until evening when I’m more likely to skip it.
I know I should plan my meals better.
I know I should stop sabotaging my progress every weekend.
I know I should call my Mom more frequently.
This is what we call awareness of an intention gap.
Meaning, you’re aware of your intentions around something that is important to you … but you’re not doing it.
Are you aware of what you should be doing?
Intention: To get off the diet hamster wheel.
Action: Continuing to eat 1200 calories.
Intention: To live a healthier lifestyle.
Action: Skipping the gym and eating poorly.
Intention: To be more present with your family.
Action: Checking your phone at the dinner table and always being distracted.
Awareness is a beautiful thing but it’s not enough.
Simply knowing the gap exists is a great start but you have to actively close the gap through action.
And every single time you say, “I should be doing …”
You’re acutely aware of a gap that exists between your espoused values and the values that you actually demonstrate through your actions.
I value my body and want to support it with proper nutrition and movement so I can be more active with my kids and live longer for the people I love.
That may be an espoused value.
Now … are you living that value?
Or is it simply something you say you want and value but your actions tell a different story?
We help clients close the gap between intentions and actions.
At the core of coaching, we help our clients close that gap.
More often than not, they communicate with us that they don’t understand why their actions don’t align with their values.
They’re frustrated with themselves because they know what they “should” be doing …
But they’re simply not doing it.
Here’s where it gets tricky.
Your likely solution is … I just need to do what needs to be done.
I already KNOW what to do so I don’t need a coach.
I simply need to do it.
Ok, fair enough.
And why hasn’t that worked in the past however many years?
Maybe because … you’re human.
And KNOWING what to do is the easy part.
You shouldn’t be investing in a coach so you can know more.
You should be investing in a coach so you can live in alignment with what you say you value.
So you can close the gap between intention and action.
The ability to modify and inform behavior is at the heart of quality coaching.
Now, I said “should” above which is a conditional statement.
The condition is …
You must truly want what you say you want.
If you need convincing that your goals and values are important … then coaching isn’t for you.
You must truly want to modify your behavior.
If what you’re doing is serving you well … please keep doing it.
You must be willing to do things differently than you’ve always done them.
This one is tough because we’re so conditioned to fall into destructive patterns, simply because they’re familiar.
Real change requires discomfort.
If you check those boxes, then you’ll understand the true value of coaching.
Our clients that understand this and then work with us to apply it, are quick to comment that it was the best decision in their entire lives.
Because the ability to close the gap between what you say you value and actually getting what you value is massively important.
But again, you have to inherently believe that.
No one should be convincing you of that.
Coaching isn’t about tactics.
There are millions of tactics and they all have application depending on the context.
Coaching is about helping you understand yourself better so you can play your game and modify your behavior to align with what you value.
Notice how that sentence alone offers a heavy dose of individuality.
That’s what coaching is all about.
You can’t find that in a 1200 calorie meal plan, cookie cutter program, or quick fix solution.
But you already know that.
So every time you think to yourself … I “should” invest in real coaching with a proven track record that will deliver everything I want …
You’re aware of the solution that exists to your problems.
You’re simply choosing not to solve them.
Which means you hold the key to unlock the body and the life that you desire.
You gonna use it?
Or keep it in your pocket even longer?
I can’t wait to find out.
