Experience itself is not enough to encourage lifelong learning and personal development, true learning can only happen when we create the time to reflect on our experiences…

This is why you need a coach.

Most of our experiences provide us with the opportunity for personal development, but in order to take advantage of these experiences, we need to think about how they can help us learn. When we undergo an experience, this does not always lead to new insights and learning. For example, if the experience only serves to confirm some already held beliefs it will be interpreted as supporting the existing cognitive status quo, and little attention will be paid to it. If we do not pay attention to it the opportunity for new learning will not happen.

In the context of coaching, reflective inquiry refers to the method that enables the coachee to think about their experiences in a more profound way, see things in a new light and possibly develop new perspectives.

We all use a mirror every day. We use it because a mirror has the quality to reflect exactly what is put in front of it. Without a mirror, we cannot see ourselves. In the context of coaching, a coach can sometimes see what the client is not able to see about themselves (or at least cannot recognize that easily).

By asking my clients the right questions in a coaching partnership, I help my clients see what they cannot see themselves and expand their awareness beyond their current awareness. It helps my clients see and explore their thoughts, thinking patterns, feelings, beliefs, assumptions, and perceptions in a completely new light.

Put simply, a coach will help you stoke your learning and success. How much is that worth to you?