☆ From Impulse to Opportunity: Navigating Life Changes ☆

An increasing number of people are turning to personal life coaches for assistance and guidance in their quest for self-fulfillment.

Through coaching we learn to ask ourselves simple yet powerful questions that provoke introspective thought, promote self-discovery and empower us with the motivation to create positive change in our lives. So what inspires people to seek the guidance of a Personal Life Coach?

Well, from time to time we get impulses for change. It may be that we get inspired or we’re being challenged in some way. Maybe we get a flash of insight or a brilliant idea that needs direction and refinement. Perhaps we are overwhelmed by the expectations of our busy everyday lives, or we’ve simply had enough of repeating self-defeating patterns that hold us back from living up to our truest potential and being sustainably happy.

Whatever it is that inspires or ignites the urge for change in us, this urge signals that a door of opportunity has opened. You may choose to ignore it, let the passion to do things differently fizzle into complacency once again. Or you can choose to take action and make these desired changes a reality.

Often we get excited about our new-found path but aren’t quite sure how to take the first step. Or perhaps the first few steps come easily, yet over time the excitement loses its luster. Hence, old patterns return and we are quick to settle back into our routine. Before we know it we’re right back where we started.

For some people this may be accompanied by the negative inner dialogue of failure and self doubt. This creates a vicious cycle that almost certainly keeps us stuck, feeling unsatisfied and unfulfilled personally and with the world around us. An underlining unhappiness inevitably lurks within when we are not living up to our truest selves.

Impulse for change is our intuition telling us that we want more from our lives. However, impulses are fleeting by nature and thus do not last. Without seizing the opportunity when it arises, our natural tendency is to let these impulses fade and keep our old patterns alive despite our desire for change.

If we choose to ignore our impulses, we begin to feel restless on a profound level. We know that there’s something just not quite right, but we can’t seem to put a finger on it. Not understanding this restlessness, we begin to seek ways to silence it. Some people use TV, movies, alcohol, smoking, drugs, over eating, and unhealthy relationships, just to name a few of the ways we try to calm this restlessness. We become quite creative in our ways to distract ourselves from … well … ourselves.

Imagine what would happen if we harnessed that “creative” energy positively and constructively to create a world that makes us genuinely happy. Coaching is about keeping the momentum of change going to ensure that our impulses, passions and dreams become reality.

It is an amazing opportunity for growth and transformation. It encourages and empowers us to take action when the impulse for change arises, and facilitates the creation of new habits over time that eventually help us become healthier in mind, in body and in spirit. In light of this, our apathy and complacency toward our unfulfilled lives and the world around us begins to wane as we consciously shift into a more positive and pro-active state.

Unfortunately, too many people wait until crisis occurs before consciously making the effort to change unhealthy habits and behaviours. Ask yourself, are you truly happy with the manner in which you live your life? Or are you simply not unhappy enough to do anything about it?

Do you get in the way of your own happiness? If so, it may be of value to ask yourself what may be the motivating force behind your unwillingness to step out of your way. What will you do next time you have an impulse for change? Will you get excited briefly, yet still choose to remain inactive and let it fade away into the abyss of unfulfilled dreams? Or will you step up, take action and make your dreams a reality?

What will it take for you to want to move forward and create the life you truly want? Positive change can happen — it’s never too late — because happiness is but a matter of choice. That choice is ultimately yours and only yours to make. So what will you choose?

Happy soul searching!


(article written by Kylen O. Lefave ~ originally posted on the site http://lifeasahuman.com/ on March 3, 2010)