Small steps to success : Case study Summaries

1 : How Pauline developed her own business

2 : How Nigel discovered his ideal career path

3 : How John made positive steps to eliminate the negativity in his life

4 : How Margaret learnt to enjoy retirement

3. How John made positive steps to eliminate negativity in his life.

Pauline  .As is often the case, John came to me via personal recommendation. During his introductory session he spoke about feeling angry & negative and said that he felt he had lost what he was & didn’t like what he had become. In spite of being in a long- term relationship he felt alone and wanted some support. He also had issues with self-esteem & self-confidence and felt he could no longer make decisions & found it hard to mix with other people.

Initially it seemed as if John had a lot of issues to consider within our sessions but by undertaking an exercise on ‘what makes you happy’, which aims to identify the key element of making one happy, we were able to find a starting point as John identified that he wanted to find inner happiness first, together with finding a sense of belonging and contentment.

John had been working long hours as a chef in a restaurant where he didn’t feel he could channel his artistic temperament  & he was not getting any time to himself, so we looked at how to redress the balance between work and home life, using various coaching techniques.

As is often the case, one topic discussed within a coaching session can actually be a mask for a more deep-rooted issue & as John came to trust me within our professional relationship, he admitted he had recently suffered from depression but had decided to take himself off his medication. After setting a goal to visit his doctor, John resumed his course of tablets & we used our sessions to discuss how to cope with the effects of the depression and how to pave the way for a brighter the future.

As the dissatisfaction with work was a key issue, we focused on all aspects of his career and with support & guidance, utilising various career packages, John was able to successfully apply for a number of jobs. He decided to opt for a managerial position but after a few weeks, he realised the pull of being creative in the kitchen was greater and he accepted another job in a well-known local restaurant.

In the past John had drifted from job to job and his relationship was suffering. He has now been in the same job for over 18 months where he is busy but is also able to pursue his interests of football & socialising with his girlfriend & friends.

He is marrying his girlfriend next year.

When I first met Margaret, she was struggling with how to plan for her impending early retirement.

Margaret had become weary of the demands of her role as deputy headmistress at a primary school and felt ready to take early retirement but as her career had become all consuming, she was concerned about how to make the life-style transition and find activities to keep her busy as well as how to cope with the loss of her full-time salary.

By examining Margaret’s self-limiting beliefs, thoughts and habits in our coaching sessions, we were able to focus on the positive aspects of her new life-style.

Margaret often had to stay behind at weekends, marking & preparing lessons, while her husband went away in their caravan. She admitted that she would like to see her retirement as a means of spending more time with her husband as well as gardening, socialising and exercising; all things that she admitted she had not allowed herself to do for a long time.

We worked on focusing on Margaret’s needs and desires rather than putting others first, (via some self-esteem building exercises), as well as considering her own abilities and capabilities.

Margaret retired last summer & has since had several short weekend breaks away with her husband. She has also built up a strong network of friends through joining the gym, participating in a book club and going for long walks as well as being a lady who lunches!

She was also approached to do some private tuition work which brings in a private income.

The last time I spoke to Margaret she said she did not know how she ever found time to work full-time and is now thoroughly enjoying her retirement.

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