By Tony Deblauwe
Following up on Jenny’s recent guest post about wellness, I interviewed Jenny
to get some of her thoughts regarding wellness and personal coaching. Interview
below:
1. In your experience, what is the #1
issue people need coaching help with?
I work mostly
with successful professionals that are looking for life balance
(improving wellness, relationships, reconnecting with their passion,
etc). However lately some of my clients are focusing on career
development and interviewing preparation.
2. You talk about how to get unstuck –
what does that really mean?
Being stuck is a
feeling of frustration that arises when you are not able to achieve a
particular outcome and you are not sure why. It may be you always
want to lose weight, or find the perfect partner, friend or career and you
wonder why it seems so hard to accomplish. One way to get unstuck is
to meet with a life coach that can observe your actions (through the
information you provide in your coaching sessions). Your coach can
challenge you to think about things differently and with that new actions will
follow. Old habits can prevent good results and so can subconscious conditioning.
Coaches help you to see new possibilities and most of my clients say it's
a lot of fun.
3. You are a strong proponent of
wellness and energy. What are the top 3 things people can do to boost their
mental health?
1) Have positive thoughts, or in other
words think about what you can do; not what you cannot do. In my book Four Steps to a Better Life the acroymn
is I-C-A-N. If your sentences start with "I can't because..."
try shifting your thought process to "I can...".
2) Don't be afraid to try new
things. Learn and plan first so you don't set yourself up
for failure but have fun with the adventure of trying new things.
3) Keep your body healthy. This
does not mean you need to overdo it in the gym, start jogging or go on a
diet. I have some easy ways to get people feeling better and that is
wellness. When you feel well your energy lifts. You will be more
productive and happy.
4. How do you coach people in
discovering where their primary personal roadblocks lie?
The roadblocks
are why people usually decide it is time to
try coaching. It is through self-discovery that my clients
uncover new alternatives. I love when a client has an 'a-ha'
moment. That's when real change occurs.
5. What is the most inspirational
success story you’ve heard from a client?
I think they are all
inspirational because it takes courage to want to be a better person and I
am honored to have worked with each client and yoga student of mine.
However without being too specific someone that has experienced significant
physical pain from a life long condition and she still continues to work on her
personal and professional improvements. She works full time, is
continuing her education and her primary desire is to make the world a better
place.
6. When do you know a client has made a
major breakthrough?
One way is when there is a
pause in conversation. At the very least they are considering a thought
that is brand new. These new thoughts lead to breakthroughs.
However the real test is when there is a continued behavior change, which
is a new healthy habit.
7. What’s the best way for people to get
more information about you?
I have two websites which
are www.gallaghersolutions.com for coaching and
www.jennygallagher.com for wellness and yoga. Or
you can email me at solutions@jennygallagher.com.
-Thanks Jenny, and as her
wellness article pointed out, people can be comforted that some good coaching
can go a long way to improving productivity and personal bests.
