There are a variety of skills that coaches can use to help you identify and reduce stress in both your professional and personal circumstances. A coach can help you Identify the root cause of your stress, and figure out if it’s related to work, relationships, other areas of your life or if it is coming from beliefs that you adopted in childhood or young adult years. When we dig deeper, we sometimes find that stress is caused by something different than what a client initially thought. Only after we have identified the true underlying causes can we begin to look at the thoughts, feelings and behaviors associated with the stress. We can then identify strategies to deal with the stress and the client will then be able to choose which options might be most impactful for them. Other ways a coach can help reduce stress are: 1) helping you to see things from a different perspective, especially if you are dealing with stressful situations or important decisions 2) setting realistic and achievable goals, thereby reducing the pressure you may feel to perform or achieve beyond your capabilities 3) emphasizing the importance of self-care activities, such as exercise, proper nutrition, adequate sleep, and other activities that you enjoy and which can help reduce stress levels 4) building resilience to stress by developing your ability to bounce back from setbacks and challenges and 5) providing a supportive and non-judgmental environment where you can discuss your stressors and concerns or have your coach act as a sounding board for you. This will help reduce isolation and overwhelm and help to provide clarity and direction. A coach can be a trusted partner as you work through some of your stressful situations, leading to a more balanced and satisfying lifestyle.
There are also assessments and frameworks that a coach can use to help you achieve your goals with less stress. An Energy Leadership Index assessment allows a coach and client to see how energy is used on a daily basis under normal circumstances and also under stress. The awareness gained then empowers a client to be able to choose how to proceed using different levels of energy. The goal is to be able to shift the draining levels of energy and spend more time in the uplifting and energizing levels; with the goal of greater performance and flow states and resulting reduction in stress. Positive Intelligence is a mental fitness platform that helps you achieve sustained change by completing daily exercises, causing neural pathways to be laid, and new habits to be formed. This is a coach led program and can be effective with both individuals and groups. A saboteur assessment and lessons are completed and a range of strategies can be learned to reduce stress. This reduction of stress and inner sense of calm can be applied to all areas of life and particularly to relationships, wellbeing and performance. What is stress costing you? What else could be possible if you had less stress in your life?