How Health Coaches Help You Reinvent Yourself

How does Harry Potter go from the boy who lived under the stairs to the powerful wizard who defeats the evil Voldemort? He simply changed his story. He ultimately triumphs against all odds and naysayers. He discovered his strengths and values and how to wield them. Harry surrounded himself with a supportive community, accepted guidance, and found his motivation to believe he could win. He reinvented himself and became the person who accomplishes the unimaginable.

What’s your story? How does it shape your perception of what you are capable of achieving? How does it hold you back? What if you had the freedom to reinvent yourself and be the person you’ve always wanted to be? Guess what, you do! Health coaches help their clients highlight their strengths, deepen awareness of their values, reframe their beliefs, and tap into their own innate ability to thrive.

Do you feel like it’s time for a change? A health coach can help you tap into your innate power of reinvention. Check out this article from health coach MaryAnn Jones to learn more about how. #healthylifestyle #changeagent #wellness

Creating a New Story with a Wellness Vision

When I first start working with a health coaching client, I offer them the opportunity to create a wellness vision. As a coach, I ask open-ended questions and offer intuitive reflections to help my client become more self-aware of their strengths, their values, and their ability to imagine a future filled with possibilities. They discover how to move past roadblocks and foster new perspectives. It helps them tap into their intrinsic motivation to put forth the effort and find the consistency necessary to reimagine their future selves.

Health coaches: The ADAPT Health Coach Training Program can help you learn the skills and competencies needed to help your clients reinvent themselves. Our yearlong, virtual course covers everything you need to know to become an effective, successful, fulfilled health coach. Click here to find out more about our program.

The ADAPT Health Coach Training Program is an Approved Health and Wellness Coach Training & Education Program by the National Board for Health and Wellness Coaching (NBHWC).

The Wellness Vision in Action

Building Awareness

Health coaches help shine a spotlight on your resources versus your deficits.

Coach: What are your strengths and values?
Client: I consider myself to be a very honest person and love to learn new things. I value my health and being a positive role model for my daughters.
Coach: It sounds like your family and well-being are important to you. How have you used your strengths as a parent?

Finding the Focus

What do you want to change and, more importantly, why is it critical in uncovering your motivation to persevere?

Coach: What is your driving force for change?
Client: At first, I thought it was to be healthier, but I am beginning to realize that I want to enhance my wellness so my daughters will not struggle the way I have.
Coach: I can hear how much you love your family. How does it feel to realize your past struggles can fuel your ability to create a new future?

Visualizing

Your imagination is a powerful tool to help you dream up a reinvented self. 

Coach: Let’s imagine that you have achieved your ideal level of wellness. What does it look and feel like?
Client: I have always admired my college roommate. She lights up a room with her energy and brings out the best in everyone. She is authentic and intelligent without a shred of arrogance.
Coach: You have actually pointed out qualities in your friend that you yourself possess. How can your strengths of honesty and love of learning move you closer to your future best self?

Co-Creating a Plan

A dream is just a wish without a plan. A health coach can help you create a path that feels SMART—specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound. 

Coach: What do you see as the first step toward reaching your vision?
Client: I am so busy with work, the girls’ activities, and household responsibilities, I really don’t know where to start.
Coach: You have a lot of people who rely on your care, hard work, and time. What support could you call on to carve out the time it takes to move forward?

Shifting the Perspective

“Brain wave tests prove that when we use positive words, our ‘feel good’ hormones flow. Positive self-talk releases endorphins and serotonin in our brain, which then flow throughout our body, making us feel good. These neurotransmitters stop flowing when we use negative words.” — Ruth Fishel

We are naturally inclined toward negativity—it has more weight and influence over us. Positive conversations are more likely to inspire motivation and forward progress. A health coach can help you face your negative thoughts, which may spark you to reframe your thinking and look at things in alternative ways.

Reframing in action:

Client: I have always been a picky eater.
Coach: It sounds like you have an awareness about what you feed yourself.
Client: My friends would like me to join a 5K, but I am not a runner.
Coach: I hear some enthusiasm in your voice about taking on a new challenge. What would it feel like to join your friends?

Naming, Taming, and Reframing in action:

Client: I want to stop snacking on chips, but I just don’t have the willpower.
Coach: Willpower is holding you back from making a change. (Naming) I invite you to take a moment and become more aware of what “not having willpower” feels like for you.
Client: It deflates and constrains me. I feel some tension in my shoulders and am finding it difficult to keep my train of thought.
Coach: You are being very brave. You are identifying the feelings that hold you back. Let’s breathe through it together. (Taming)
Client: Wow, I didn’t realize how I was feeling when I gave in to my cravings.
Coach: How can this awareness ignite a different response that would feel empowering? (Reframing)

Self-Talk: You Are Always Listening

A health coach actively listens for your self-talk—the way you talk to yourself, the way you talk about yourself, and the way you judge your behavior.

How does negative self-talk hold you back?

• It limits your possibilities to your story.
• It keeps you stuck in the past.
• It fosters judgment of yourself and others.

How does positive self-talk move you forward?

• It promotes curiosity versus judgment.
• It invites you and the world to see you differently.
• It literally rewires the brain.

Client: I have never been disciplined. I start off strong and then fail to follow through.
Coach: I understand that this was the case for you in the past, but I am curious, what is different now?
Client: … Everything, actually. I am older, I live in a new city, and I have changed careers.
Coach: So, within your present circumstances, how might you begin to describe your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors?

You Can Reinvent Yourself, and a Health Coach Can Help

Do you believe in your own magic? No need for wands or spells. Working with a health coach can help you tap into your miraculous ability by nurturing your confidence, opening up possibilities, and creating clarity as you begin to rewrite your story. We are our own best source for reinvention. 

To find a health coach who’s ready to help you reinvent yourself, visit our directory.