by Kim Childs, CPPC Athletic coaching may be as old as the Olympics, but life and career coaching is barely 30 years old as a profession. It began in the late 80s with American financial planner Thomas Leonard, who realized that many of his clients wanted and needed more than investment tips to meet their life goals. The techniques Leonard developed to help his clients complemented, but differed from, those practiced by therapists, mentors and consultants. Leonard went on to…
By Kim Childs When clients come in for career coaching, I tell them that there’s no predictable time frame for finding and landing a wonderful job. Much depends on their own clarity, actions, resources, and resourcefulness, in addition to external factors that are beyond our control. We then get to work assessing, exploring, and identifying, while I hold them accountable to the actions they plan, celebrate their breakthroughs, and help them stay optimistic and supported during doubtful times. But there’s…
by Kim Childs, CPPC Last fall, I was awakened one night by the insistent paw of my cat Sweet Pea, who was eager to head out on her nocturnal adventures. I followed her to the door, where she hesitated, as she sometimes did when the cold air hit her nose. [caption id="attachment_1817" align="alignright" width="300"] My Sweet Pea[/caption] “You want to go out? Go!” I said, impatiently nudging her so I could close the door and go back to bed. I…
by Kim Childs, CPPC In my courses based on The Artist's Way, there's an exercise that asks us to track our spending for one week. It's designed to help us see where our money's going and whether those expenditures reflect our true values. A similar exercise asks us to track how we're spending our time for one week, hour by hour. The results can be sobering for those of us who say we "can't afford" and "don't have time for"…
by Kim Childs, CPPC A few days ago I woke up on a cloudy morning with worries on my mind. Some journaling helped me to see that there was sadness beneath the anxiety. As I finished writing, the sun poked through and I decided to go for a walk in my favorite park. There were just a few of us out there, which inspired me to greet every person I passed. My mood improved a bit with each friendly exchange…
by Kim Childs, CPPC As 2015 came to a close, I felt ready for a long winter's nap in the wake of some family losses and hardship. "I want to take January off!" I told close friends, while going ahead with business as usual. Well, 2016 was barely a week old when an upper respiratory infection forced me to spend a lot of time "off," reading all those books I'd wanted to read and starting the contemplative practices I was…
by Kim Childs, CPPC In my Positive Psychology training, I learned about the Japanese word kaizen, which means continuous improvement and represents how Japan rebounded from the devastation of the Second World War. I believe in the power of small and sustainable changes toward any new goal we have. It keeps the brain from signaling "Danger, danger!" and triggering sabotage as we try to stretch beyond our comfort zone, no matter how positive the new direction. That’s the thing about…
by Kim Childs, CPPC This month, I'm personally processing another loss as I witness the suffering of so many around the world. I'm learning more about the demands and stages of grief, the words and gestures that are most helpful to those who are grieving, and ways to cultivate gratitude and other positive emotions when times are hard. I plan to share lessons from this particularly challenging loss later on. Meanwhile, I'm offering resources that have helped me in the…
by Kim Childs, CPPC About 20 years ago, I was washing dinner dishes and listening to a lecture by a spiritual teacher when he said something that made me pause. Talking about how we humans often perpetuate our own suffering, he startled me with the words “Your mind is not always your friend.” “What?!” I exclaimed, as a former straight-A student who valued her intelligence and sharp mind. But what this teacher actually meant is tidily summed up in one…
by Kim Childs, CPPC Recently, I returned early from a weekend trip to Cape Cod because my traveling companion had a Sunday appointment. While I typically stay on the Cape as long as possible and come home to jump right into the work week, this time I had a whole afternoon and evening to use as I pleased. I took a long, therapeutic bath while listening to Brazilian jazz. I finished a book I’d been reading. Later, I made myself…