Breathe and Stay

(Yet another blog about spin class and life.)

Coaching is coaching. Business coaches are modeled on sports coaches and there is a reason for that. I get much of my inspiration from sports coaches because their goal is the same as my goal. A good coach in either field will:

1. Listen for what you want. (“I want to get in shape.” “I want to be a good football player.” “I want to grow my business.”) And,

2. Take a stand for you. Be your champion. Push you farther than you think you can go.

What is valuable about coaches in both business and sports is that a truly great coach will not worry a lot if you like them. A truly great coach (and as I write this I realize that parents are coaches too) will take a stand for YOU to be who you said you wanted to be – the best version of yourself. By nature, we cannot see ourselves. That’s why we have mirrors. By nature, we cannot literally stand outside ourselves and push ourselves. So those of us who want to go farther than we’ve gone before know that we need other people outside of us, to both be our mirror and to push us, to believe in us more than we believe in ourselves. Because when you are going for it, reaching for that next level, you are going to get tired. You are going to doubt yourself. You are going to want to quit. But your coach will look over at your sweaty tired self and she will see your potential and out of love she will say, “Keep going.” And you will keep going. And you will get there. Because of who you are.

Whether you hire a professional coach or not, find someone to take that stand for you. Someone who will not get sucked in and let you off the hook, someone who sees you for who you are. (“Your playing small does not serve the world….We are all meant to shine, as children do.” –Marianne Williamson)

Yesterday in spin here is what I heard:

“We are going to push you to the edge.”The edge

“And what do you do when you get to the edge?”

“You breathe and stay.”

This is such a brilliant metaphor for life change. Change does not occur inside the comfort zone. Everything you want is outside your comfort zone. How do I know? Because you don’t have it. If it was comfortable, you’d have it by now. Allow your coach to push you to the edge. It is the edge of your comfort zone. comfort zone newsletterYou won’t fall off and you won’t die. You will grow and you will move toward what you really want. And when you reach your edge, my friends, Breathe.

And stay.

You will be amazed.

(Thank you, Chelsea and the amazing, fantastic, beautiful, ass-kickers at Team Ride in Sacramento!  https://team-ride.com)

come to the edge 3

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

About the Author

Picture of Cami McLaren

Cami McLaren

is the owner of McLaren Coaching. She has been coaching professionals and leaders since early 2008. She runs Transformative Coaching Essentials, a coach training program that produces first rate Professional Coaches and "Coach-Style Leaders." She coaches individually and works with organizations to improve communication, time management, productivity and ultimately bring greater results.

Get Our Newsletter
Recent Posts
Weekend 1 at Transformative Coaching Essentials

Weekend 1 of Transformative Coaching Essentials

Weekend One of our coach training program is always such a celebration. My favorite part is meeting all the people. We work with a diverse group of humans who want to learn about themselves and make the world a better place: People who are bringing...

Read More

Unconscious Limits: How Rules Shape Our Reality

“Rules and regulations do not make a person correct, they only make them consistent.” –Calvin Coolidge ——- In coaching and change, one of the predominant questions is, “How much possibility can you see?” One of the things I consistently do is work on finding all...

Read More
Coach Highlight: Stephanie Alston

Coach Highlight – Stephanie Alston

CM: When did you complete the Transformative Coaching Essentials program and what are some of the most valuable things you got out of it? SA: I graduated with the class of 2023. Aside from being certified to coach professionally and now having an additional income...

Read More

How Many Kinds of Coaches are There?

While coaches may specialize in working with different demographics, there are two kinds of “coaches” – trained and untrained. Coaching is not regulated, which is why there is a category of people who name themselves “coach” without having any kind of training. It is important...

Read More

Share this Post

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email