As a coach I have sometimes found it frustrating when people have agreed to have six coaching sessions and at the beginning of session four still haven't done anything they had verbally agreed they wanted to do. Recently I had to challenge a client with this and remind her that we only had two more sessions left to achieve  her goal. This led to a really honest discussion and the real crux of the matter finally came to light. The powerful question I asked was: What are you getting out of not doing anything? The honest, reflective answer was"Safety." So I asked "So what are you not getting by not doing anything?" and she went away and thought about this. The next session she had done everything planned and things had changed She said she didn't want to come to the end of her life and look back and think- "I could have done ...If only I had....

By the end of the coaching relationship the client said she had made a big shift in her thinking and was looking forward to several quite challenging changes in her life. Now it was me that felt a little unsure and reluctant to let go! I felt she needed more support to make these changes. However, looking back I felt relieved and optimistic. The client had taken longer than usual to "get" coaching and had finally understood what she needed to do to improve her life. Take a few "safe" risks to start with, then go on from there. Looking at what she had already managed to achieve in such a very short time, I really thought she could get to the place she really wanted to be. I just hope she lets me know how it turns out....