Christian coaching is a calling, but having a calling does not guarantee it is going to be easy. When we face trials and obstacles, we will fare better if we remember to persevere.
I cannot remember how many times I have wondered if I should be spending so much time, effort and money on building a coaching practice that is not yet generating the number of coaching clients I would like to have. When I turn to look back, however, I can see God’s hands laying down the stepping stones for my journey. Here I would like to share a few habits that have empowered me to persevere and keep moving forward from one stepping stone to the next.
1. Remember that Rome was not built in one day. I recite this as my mantra everyday to encourage me to keep going.
2. Celebrate successes each week, no matter how small. Did your client have an insight? Did you have an opportunity to talk to someone about the benefits of coaching? Did someone get help from an article you wrote?
3. Guard your heart from envy and jealousy. It is too tempting to look at coaches who have been in the profession for more years and envy them. Even to them, Rome was not built in one day.
4. Come boldly to the throne of God and present requests for your coaching. If God has called you, he will be the one to bring the people. Don’t be shy! Just ask.
5. Take note of how God is transforming you personally in the meantime. Ultimately, God is the Divine Coach who wants to do a work of transformation in us. I am beginning to see myself as an entrepreneur after almost two years of kicking and screaming. I have finally completed the manuscript for a book for one of the market niches I feel passionate about – after having pushed writing to the very bottom of my priority list for many years – and did this project in just a few short months. These were the successes I have been able to see as I followed his leading to step onto those stepping stones to persevere on my journey.
Ultimately, we have to stand on God’s call, walk by faith, and ask the Holy Spirit to give us eyes to see those small steps. Yesterday, I heard a Christian woman who has been speaking all over the country for about ten years. Her first audience was a small group of three church women. She began as a very nervous speaker and continued to be until about two years ago. Today, she speaks to hundreds in the audience and has a track record of about a hundred speaking engagements. She has travelled so far in the ten years because she stood on her sense of call, saw the first stepping stone God placed in front of her, and persevered.
What obstacles do you face as you move forward with your coaching? What habits or actions have you found to be helpful to overcome these obstacles? What do you do to preserve your sense of call and to persevere?
Theresa Froehlich
Soar by Design Coaching
Theresa is a Christian Coaches Network member.
