Reflect on what worked, what didn't and what you are going to do differently

It's likely that you're unaware how important psychology and human behaviour is to fitness coaching, and, as we discussed with biomechanics, you will find yourself repeating your advice week after week in the hope that the penny will drop for your clients. How many more results do you think you'd have with your clients if they were able to stick to their plans? Do you often feel you're banging your head against a brick wall, trying to understand why your clients do some of the things that they do? It's important to understand that your clients will often say one thing and do another; They have patterns of behaviour and emotions (feelings that influence their behaviour) that have been developed over many years. In order for them to make any level of progress with you, any faulty patterns and behaviours have to be addressed and replaced with new ones that are conducive to the results that they want to achieve. It's vital to understand that your clients are unaware that their daily actions and emotions are often unaligned with what is required for them to make a change. Every client that you coach is different; A skilled coach will be able to analyse their clients from the consultation process through to the initial coaching stages. They will be able to create a road map which will be appropriate for where their client is at that moment. I actually want you to spend only 10 minutes doing a thought record. Does that sound easier? ELSIE: I'm not sure. PAULINE: Maybe it's not worth it to you to find the time. Do you think in the long run it will improve your life, help you get a better life? ELSIE: (Sighs. You can then do straightforward problem solving to find possible time slots. Alternatively, you might propose an analogy about prioritization and/or stress that the inconvenience of doing Action Plans is temporary: PAULINE: It certainly is true; I wonder--this is an extreme example, I know--but what would you do if you had to take time every day to do something that would save your life [or your loved one's life]?

That's when everything I'd ever learned was brought together and when I knew there are two principal gifts inside us: our heart and our mind, and how, with this understanding, we could communicate with the forces outside of us by using these vessels in the right way. I found that it wasn't our thoughts and actions that attracted things to happen, it was our feelings. Thoughts and actions cause emotions, which are the catalysts for manifestation and attraction. It is emotions that push out your thoughts into the aether, and it is the emotion that the aether resonates with. Once I knew this, I did such a good job of resonating with the universe and sending out the right signals, that my whole life fell apart. I was so good at putting a clear vibration into the universe that at the age of 40, I was homeless, and had just one bag to my name. What on Earth had I discovered? I've come across the esoteric, omniscient and omnipresent field out there, a quantum network with mirror-like fibres, that can sense what we are transmitting into it neurologically and electromagnetically. This mystical zone reacts to this communication of ours by spinning in all directions, searching for the closest particles that will bring us the results it thinks we are seeking. Once it has gathered the matching frequencies, it reflects them back to us in the form of lining up the things, people, situations, circumstances, and events that will lead us to our goal. Just like other insurance, you pay a monthly premium and if you become ill or injured and can't work for several months, the insurance pays you a portion--usually 50-70%--of your income. If you are the sole breadwinner in your family or if you're self employed, disability insurance should be a priority. And no, workman's compensation and social security isn't enough. Most long-term disabilities are due to illness and are not work-related. And while it's true that Social Security provides disability benefits, it's not easy to qualify. Plus the money you receive is minimal--the average monthly benefit in the beginning of 2014 was just over $1,100. Before you purchase a disability policy through a private insurer, check your employee benefits. Some companies offer employer sponsored insurance, which is less expensive to buy. Write a Will A will is a legal document that outlines your wishes and instructions for the distribution of your personal belongings after you die.

Are your daily actions always in line with your goals? I ask the Pit Stop question above because to be able to help your clients with their behaviour and emotions, you need to be in control of your own. I come across so many coaches who struggle with their own diets, lack the ability to stick to their training, and struggle to understand which direction their own lives are going in. Look at the discipline that you put into your education and development, or the detail that you put into each of your clients' case studies - do you lack consistency from time to time? Behaviour is behaviour, consistency is consistency, and therefore you and your clients will often be struggling with similar things. Understanding this completely changed how I approached coaching my clients, and it changed the level of results that I achieved. Taking control and understanding my clients started with me. This is why I shared so much information about myself in the Personal sections. Training is no different; So many coaches study psychology and behaviour and have no appreciation of what change really feels like. What would happen, for example, if you needed a blood transfusion every day? ELSIE: Well, of course I'd find the time. PAULINE: Now, it's obviously not life threatening if you don't do Thought Records, but the principle is the same. In a minute, we can talk specifically about how you could cut back in another area, but first it's important to remember that this is not for the rest of your life. We just need you to rearrange some things for a little while until you're feeling better. The client who overestimates the energy an Action Plan requires benefits from similar questions. In the next example, ELSIE has a dysfunctional (and distorted) image of fulfilling an Action Plan. PAULINE: What got in the way of your going to the mall this week? ELSIE: (Sighs. PAULINE: What did you imagine would happen if you had gone?

And, most of all, it does so without bias, regardless of whether what we put out is true or false, sometimes even stripping us of things we're not quite ready to let go of in order to find us the fastest way of bringing us this new frequency! But it didn't matter. I knew this thing, this responsive body, was out there. I knew that I could find a better life. It was a breakthrough, an epiphany; I'd figured out the secret to everything! I moved into my mum's house, telling her it would take me a month to sort my life out now that I'd discovered the Resonation Realm. As soon as I gave it a name and tested it a little more, attracting the flat of my dreams, the job I was after, and unique furniture that I was told was no longer being made, I decided to try and manifest my soulmate. It took me two days! I then knew I had to show others how to manifest their desires too. Wills are especially important for parents because they allow you to have a say in who cares for your children in the event you and your spouse pass away together. What happens if you don't have a will? The courts will make decisions for you based on a set formula and it may not always be what you would have wanted to happen. For example, don't assume your spouse will automatically inherit everything. It's possible your assets will be divided equally between your spouse and your children. How would that be bad? Splitting your assets could cause financial and emotional difficulties for your spouse. Assets like your house may have to sold so that your spouse can pay your children their share of your estate. Because laws vary from state to state, it's always best to seek advice from a lawyer, especially for families with significant assets. If lawyers and legal fees will prevent you from writing a will, though, consider writing it yourself with the help of sites like RocketLawyer.

The more you use yourself as a canvas to learn on, the better your relationships will be with your clients. As you read through this section, please take time to reflect on yourself and your day-to-day actions. After all, one of the most powerful ways to get your clients to stick to their plan is by leading by example. I remember back in 2005, I stood next to my client on the treadmill as she warmed up (yes, I've done it, too). She was telling me how she hadn't managed to stick to the diet that I had written out for her (yet again), and I remember being frustrated. Every week we seemed to have the same conversation and we weren't getting anywhere. Instead of waiting another week to hear the same, I decided to do some more research. I came across the work of a nutritionist named Jonny Bowden, and he had a DVD programme (I'm showing my age here) called `The Truth About Weight Loss! Armed with this information, I went back to my client and asked her if she thought that her diet was hard to follow, to which she said `yes'. I then asked her what she thought she could stick to. ELSIE: Well, I would have had to drag myself into one store after another. PAULINE: You know, we talked about your going for just 15 minutes. How many stores would you actually get to in 15 minutes? I wonder if you were imagining that it would be more difficult than we had planned? In a different situation, ELSIE has correctly recalled the Action Plan but again she has overestimated the energy it would require. I first help specify the problem by doing a modified, short version of covert rehearsal, and I ask her a question to link the Action Plan to one of her important values. ELSIE: I wasn't sure I'd have the energy to take Caleb to the park. PAULINE: Was the problem mostly getting out of the house, going to the park, or what you'd have to do at the park? ELSIE: Getting out of the house. I have to get so much stuff together--his diaper bag, the stroller, a snack, his coat and boots .