Coaching others on a regular basis is both challenging and rewarding. It can also be frustrating. The former should always outweigh the latter, otherwise you aren’t going to enjoy the process. You do have to understand that when you decide to become a coach, it will entail all three. 

I’m a dog trainer, coach and business owner. Yet that is really simplifying who I am. I am also high energy, active, fidgety, minimalistic, plant based, compassionate, quick to jump in, hard to read, easy to forgive, feisty, wine lover, travel enthusiast, photo obsessed, perfectionist, people pleaser, workaholic, stubborn, animal advocate, enjoyer of a good time and believer experiences are what make life worth living. Alrighty…now lets go back to that 1 part about being a coach.

Why did you decide to become a coach? Are you passionate about something so much you want to train others on how to be the best version they can be within that field (this is my reasoning)? Are you a coach because you feel like you can motivate and work with others in a field better than being a key player yourself within that field? Is it something else entirely? Whatever your reason is, if you have decided to take this venture on, I for one commend you for it.

Coaching others is (almost) a guaranteed way to have that human feeling that your time spent on Earth was not only impactful on yourself and family members, but also to others. No one wants to live a life unfulfilled, so coaching others provides a sense of purpose beyond yourself. 

I’ll tell you what, it is a beautiful thing to witness and be a part of the process of others growth. That’s the beauty of coaching. You get to touch lives, you get to make a difference. You get to do things for people who will never pay you back and they say you never have had a perfect day until you’ve done something for someone who will never pay you back.

Saying that, some days are hard. I mean HARD. They make you question why you took on this outrageous goal of changing others lives for the better. 

When you feel like a broken record. When you feel like you poured all your heart, soul and time into someone who in turn doesn’t appreciate it. When you feel like you failed someone. When you grow personally and/or professionally and then second guess things you’ve taught others. When someone you have coached tries their hardest and still doesn’t reach their goals. When you are tired. When you want to just throw in the towel… These are only a few of the highlight reels of self doubt when coaching others.

I’ve been there. To all the above. Multiple times. Yet at the end of the day if you are passionate about what you do and know that you are always giving your all and pouring your heart into it, then I urge you to stay the course and keep coaching. And don’t be afraid to mess up or second guess yourself. Growing is a part of the process. If you don’t grow yourself, you aren’t going to help challenge the people you are coaching.

You changing things up to the people (or in my case people and dogs) is a good thing. Yet, we and others can easily view it as not a good thing. I’ve made that “mistake”. But growing and believing in what you are currently offering others and not what has always been is a good thing. That is what is essential to your continued progression and the progression of others. 

Growing and evolving is a good thing. No growth is no good. Seriously, I urge you to always keep growing. Complacency kills. We all do it, we are human. Life is good, you hit a stride and you keep at it. But you should break away from that. As soon as you think you are the best, find someone better or with a different skill and connect with that person. Ask another coach for some help. You as a coach, deserve one too. It will make you better. I promise you that.

Don’t let your ego stop you from being better and in turn, doing better.

This can be crippling to yourself and to the people you are coaching. Imagine if we used the same technology and knowledge from 20 years ago. Why would we? That is just crazy. Yet within industries we tend to stick to what has worked, instead of asking how to make it better. Be open minded. If you question something and balk against it without doing all your research (not just what you read online but actually trying something out) then you shouldn’t be coaching others. Coaching others is about looking at every aspect to an equation. Not just one side.

Lastly, stop being so darn hard on yourself.

Sometimes no matter how much time and energy you put into someone or something, they just aren’t going to reciprocate it. Or both parties try their absolute hardest and the end result (or I always like to view it as ongoing) isn’t what exactly you both had in mind. And you may beat yourself up over these failures, but let that go fast. Beating yourself up for a rare unsuccessful attempt won’t do you any good. Learn from it and then use your energy to further help out others. If you know you did your best, you should never get too hard on yourself.

In the end have patience, constantly educate yourself and give back. Don’t keep it in. Coach others to bring the best out of them. Through the gnarly downs I promise you there will be so many more wins. Coaching isn’t for everyone, but when you witness the progression of someone’s skills from your doing…it is irreplaceable. I promise you that.