Coaching with NLP For Dummies®

Recognising Your Life Purpose

As a coach, you owe it to your clients to invite them to ask the big questions of life, including ‘Why am I here?’, ‘What's my life about?’ and ‘What's my legacy?’ as well as the more immediate and practical ones such as ‘What shall I work on today?’ and ‘Is this exhibition worth attending?’

Larger self questions like ‘What are you?’ or ‘Who are you becoming?’ take your clients into the realm of questioning their identities and exploring how identity in turn relates to life purpose. You're asking clients to figure out how identity relates to the larger systems and communities in which they live. You're inviting clients to grow stronger and more powerful – just as an oak tree that extends deeper roots while reaching for the sky. These questions stretch your clients to the highest level of psychologist Abraham Maslow's famous hierarchy of human needs – the level of self-actualisation, where you realise your true potential in life.

Noticing what energises you when the going gets tough

Life events have an uncanny way of making you re-evaluate your direction and connecting you with a stronger sense of purpose. Having a strong sense of purpose can support you through the toughest times in life, enabling you to shift beyond the anxiety or discomfort of your current situation and take a longer term view.

Madeline, a doctor whose husband died unexpectedly of ...