Coaching with NLP For Dummies®

Keeping Values Alive Every Day

An exercise in revealing values isn't a one-off activity. To feel happy means remaining alert to all the factors that are important to you and noticing what's changing.

When something just doesn't feel right, go back to your list of core values and check whether something's slipped out of alignment or if a hidden value is coming to the fore.

Assessing whether you're walking the talk

Most coaching programmes with a client include work on values at the intake phase (refer to Chapter 4). As a coach, you're in a position to uphold a client's values, just as you uphold a client's overall goals and agenda.

When a client is struggling with a problem, simply ask, ‘What would happen if you brought more X to the situation?’ The X could be any value that the client has expressed, from joy to simplicity to energy. Another question to explore is: ‘How does what you're saying here fit with your values?’

As an exercise in self-awareness, create structures to remind your clients to pay attention to their values from day to day and week to week. An example may be to get them to review how they lived their values during the day each evening, and decide what they'd like to have happen tomorrow. By developing these reflective habits, your clients take new understandings ...