10 Things to Keep in Mind When You Start Working with a Higher Self Coach
The path towards realizing our full potential and connecting with our Higher Selves is a long, winding road. Like any difficult journey, it always helps to have a guide who can give you directions, offer advice, and keep you on track. When it comes to personal, professional, and spiritual development, working with a coach is one of the best decisions you can make.
With the launch of our very own coaching program, we thought it would be helpful and grounding for our new students to put together a list of things to do (and not to do) when you first start working with a Higher Self coach.
1. Schedule regular sessions.
If you were hiring a personal trainer to help you get in shape, would you only meet with them for one-off sessions once every few months? The same principle applies to coaching: we progress the fastest when we meet with our coaches on a regular schedule. The ideal frequency to meet with your coach will vary from person to person, but keeping a regular schedule (whether it’s once a week or once a month) will help you get the best results.
2. Don’t Expect a coach to give you the answers to all of your problems.
Coaches are trained to help you realize your full potential, but they don’t do it by giving you boiler-plate answers and advice. All of our paths are different, and the secrets to our own personal success are not one-size-fits-all. In fact, many of the answers to your questions are already hidden deep within you. The goal of a Higher Self Coach is not to read from a script of answers, but to help you unlock these answers by asking you questions and giving you tools for self-reflection and self-realization.
3. Remember that the process is a marathon, not a sprint.
Don’t expect immediate, life-changing results after the first session. As your relationship with your coach deepens and they begin to understand your nature, your goals, your strengths, and the areas where you can improve, they will be able to give you more customized tools and techniques that will keep you moving along your path.
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4. Don’t try to solve all of your problems at once.
Self-improvement is best accomplished one area at a time. It’s very common for a student to come into coaching hoping to become a wiser, kinder person, improve their personal relationships, and discover what they truly want to do with their lives. A coach can help with all of those things, but you’re likely to see greater progress if you address your most foundational issues first.
5. Make Sure You Choose the Right Coach
We all know that some people are visual learners, while others learn best by listening (and plenty more who prefer to learn by doing!) By the same token, we can get the most out of our coaching sessions if our coach’s style of teaching matches our preferred style of learning. Be sure to keep your coach’s specialties and background in mind when you choose them, and if after a few sessions you feel like your coach isn’t the right fit, don’t be afraid to switch!
6. Don’t hold back on information that could improve your life.
Our coaches need a full picture of who you are in order to put you on your true path. Say you had a childhood dream of growing up to be an actor, and it’s something you still think about today and regret not pursuing. You might not tell people this because you think it will sound silly. Maybe it makes you feel like you failed, or that you’ve already missed your window of opportunity, but this is exactly the kind of thing you should tell your coach. It’s never too late to pursue your own happiness, and being honest with a coach (and yourself!) about what makes you happy is a great first step.
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7. Don’t feel personally attacked or take feedback as criticism.
Whenever we try to improve at something, there will likely be moments where we receive challenging feedback or insights on negative behavioral patterns. Hearing areas for improvement is never easy, even if we’re open to constructive criticism. The best teachers don’t just shower you with endless praise - they support and encourage, but they’re also realistic about where you stand. Don’t take your coach’s feedback to mean that you aren’t inherently a good person; it simply means you're a good person who is making progress. Remember, your coach is always rooting for you!
8. Don’t expect a coach to help you with serious mental issues.
Coaching is similar to therapy in many ways, and many of our Higher Self Yoga coaches are licensed therapists! However, if you have been diagnosed with a serious mental health issue, such as schizophrenia or borderline personality disorder, a therapist is a better first step. Once you have a therapist who can help you with your condition, adding a coach who can help you work with broader life goals can be an excellent combination!
9. Put in the work on your own time and reflect on your sessions.
Our coaches will often give you techniques for self-improvement for you to practice in between sessions. It is essential for your progress that you practice these methods diligently in between sessions. Even if there’s no specific technique they told you to practice, think back to the conversation you had, reflect on what they said, and ask yourself how you can improve on the areas you discussed.
10. Be honest with your coach about your progress.
If the methods and techniques your coach gave you haven’t been working, it doesn’t mean something is wrong with you, it just means you need to try a different approach! Take meditation as an example… some people meditate best with their eyes closed, while others prefer to keep their eyes open. Some people like to count their breaths, and others like to practice visualizations. The point is there’s no one correct way to improve ourselves, and the only way to discover what techniques work the best is to continue trying new ones until we find one that works.
