by Anthony Eldridge-Rogers in

In the hustle and bustle of modern life, it’s easy to get caught up in a whirlwind of responsibilities, distractions, and external expectations. Amidst this chaos, one of the most vital aspects of human existence can often be overlooked: understanding what truly matters to us and living in alignment with these values. Recognising our personal meaning and purpose is not merely an abstract or philosophical endeavour; it is a fundamental component of leading a fulfilled and satisfying life. Renowned thinkers like Viktor Frankl, along with modern scholars such as Martin

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by Anthony Eldridge-Rogers in

Self esteem has always eventually become a consciously talked about topic with all my clients. I cannot recall a time when the idea of how a person values themselves and their abilities has not come up. It is a tricky issue though. Self esteem runs intertwined with how we think not just about ourselves but about our relationships, our society and the meaning of our lives. It can often be oversimplified. Self esteem seen as the must have centre from which a good life will flow. Or good feelings will

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by Anthony Eldridge-Rogers in

This was a question from a reader and we thought it worth making the main theme for this month. It is the million dollar (or pound) question! At some point, all professionals find that they are looking for more clients. Not only do you need to be the trained professional that you are, but on top of it all you also need to be skilled at developing, running and marketing your own business. There is no easy way of going about this, but there are a few points to consider

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by Anthony Eldridge-Rogers in

All professional coaches want to have a successful and prosperous practice. Don’t they? Some of us have this and some of us don’t…yet.  The challenges we face here is are old and longstanding ones. Here are the three that I hear most about (and which incidentally I have been through myself ) Being good at Marketing and Sales. Marketing and sales knowledge, skills and application are not necessarily the strong point of coaches. Independent coaches in private practice need to get competent  in these areas if they are to prosper.

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by Anthony Eldridge-Rogers in

1. The coach tells them what to do because the coach knows what they should do Classic mistake of new coaches, getting caught up in the client's problem, listening only enough to see what the problem is and then coming up with your ‘solution’ and then telling them what they should do. Might be ok for a misguided best friend to do but not for a professional coach 2. The coach makes them sit in the client chair It’s not about the coach. If a coach has a client chair

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by Anthony Eldridge-Rogers in

I like this song lyric and it is a question that often comes up in our coaching classes. Do we have to love our clients? This is of course a deeply philosophical question. But the question is usually because coaches don’t always feel that the people we coach are people they are naturally drawn to or like. Professionalism says that we need to be able to manage and overcome any feelings about our clients that might get in the way of connecting with them. I would go further and make

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by Anthony Eldridge-Rogers in

When it comes to our attitudes and approaches to human well-being we could be accused of being very inconsistent. It is easy for us to become overwhelmed by the endless stream of information that comes to us from the medical, health and well-being constituencies out there. Every day we read about new research, new data, new approaches to the way that we eat, work and generally live our lives. What has been lost in the deluge of information are the basic issues that are uncontroversial, have been known for a

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by Anthony Eldridge-Rogers in

We hear a lot about the use of "tough love". I am not a fan of tough love. I have seen it used most by people looking for an excuse. Unwilling and unable to face up to their own complex feelings about their relationship with someone who has been struggling with behaviour problems, addiction, or inappropriate social behaviour, they resort to the use of tough love. In addiction treatment circles, tough love is associated with intervention. Now this idea of intervention is often well-meaning and well intended but badly thought

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by Anthony Eldridge-Rogers in

As a skills based professional job, coaching at all levels is best developed through practice. Working with people is not something that can be developed as a thinking process based on knowledge only. Knowing theories and being able to compare different approaches in your mind can inform understanding of clients’ situations, but it can never take the place of the vital skills that are needed. Coaching skills are developed out of practice, so it follows that practice is a must for any coach. But it’s all about how you practice

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by Anthony Eldridge-Rogers in

What I love about coaching, loved it from the first moment the penny dropped, was the turned on its head approach to working with people. I had spent almost 25 years working with people with acute difficulties like addiction, suicidal depression and all kinds of mental health challenges. And I, like many many other people had been skewed to thinking almost exclusively about the problem. All the time. The approach was based of course on what we call the medical model. Get the data, diagnose the likely problem and offer

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