The answer is in your past: dig deeper


Does it sound easy? Coaching often starts with the idea that you already have what you need. You just need to bring it to the surface. We give this names like 'strengths-based coaching' and 'positive psychology' and it can sound both impossible and impossibly easy.

It's easy like coal mining is easy.  I'm writing this from the Maritimes, just across the Strait from Cape Breton Island.  Maybe you've heard this anthem for coal miners, Working Man, by Rita McNeill. It's a great song anywhere but it means a little more out here.
© Can Stock Photo / tomas1111
It's true that committing to your goals means committing to finding the strengths and resources that will allow you to achieve them. Digging for resources gets great results: but it's not always easy. Sometimes it is back-breaking, frightening, risky work. The best resources are often attached to your darkest experiences (the ones you overcame so that you can set goals today).

If you expect that looking for your strengths will feel good, you will find the obvious strengths, the easy strengths, the strengths that haven't cost you much to develop. If you need deeper resilience and more powerful commitment, you might need to dig deep. It might be messy and it will take both expertise and determination. Think of a good coach as an experienced miner who will walk with you into the deeps and keep you safe while you are there.

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