A Coaching Model Created by Rachna Mimani
(Transformation Coach, INDIA)
Introduction:
Transformation does not start with someone else changing you; transformation is an inner self reworking of what you are now to what you will be. – Byron Pulsifer
The transformation journey starts when you aspire to do the work that is truly meaningful to you. Meaningful work is inner-driven because it is the outward expression of your inner self. You are transforming yourself from the inside out. The process continues with one discovering the vision and mission of their life for the meaningful work they do. The Cambridge dictionary describes the word transformation as “ a complete change in the appearance or character of something or someone, especially so that thing or person is improved”.
Many people want to improve or change their life in terms of why what and how of life. However, they are also unable to create a lasting impact of the same in there day to day life. The journey for one’s transformations happens, when people find themselves to be able to create lasting changes that are evolved version of self and also these changes are irreversible. They go through a process of metamorphosis. The process involves changing the way one thinks, respond and feels about things in life. As one makes progress and efforts towards changing his/ her inner world the change in the surrounding starts to happen. The new way life starts to unfold with every change and shift in the perspective is achieved by the individual. The individuals facing major challenge or several challenges evolve with the challenge, the burning desire to look for solution and the determination to move ahead not only helps to look for solution based upon their own capabilities but also they create shifts in the way they visualize, address and reframe the perspective, in the process, they achieve breakthrough in life.
Why Metamorphosis?
Metamorphosis – meaning undergoing a process of total change. The word metamorphosis could be broken down into two parts as META – meaning giving reference to self and Morphosis is a Greek word meaning the mode of development of the form.
The historical evolution of human beings shows that the brain has gone through a lot of structural changes and along with that the capacity of the human brain has also led to the evolution of the way humans think and feel their surroundings. The evidence could be seen from the various revolution the world has seen leading to the increased capacity of humans psychologically. The evolution of the human brain has happened in many folds, the stimuli generating form the genetic,socio-cultural and economic environment and the corresponding responses have undergone a change. This change in response has also changed the way mankind thinks, behave and acts.
For Instance, The entire process and way of taking the picture have gone a change. Today while we click our photo we get to see it immediately, how the picture has come? We can take 50 clicks in one minute. Unlike, earlier where the camera had a limited capacity of 36 photos on film role. Each picture was taken with great patience and the best attempt was made to click the best picture. The film role was used wisely and we had to wait first for the role to finish and then three days for it to develop and be our hands to experience. This entire experience of taking a photo has undergone a metamorphosis and the film roles have become obsolete now and the camera is now digitized and more colorful now. Can we today think to go back to that long process of clicking pictures? Obviously “No.” Here is one thing also to mark the process from the traditional means was not at one go it happened over a period of time. The camera went into the change from the shape, size color to creating a whole new experience for people.
Transformational coaching is one such process in which where we transform like a metamorphosis. Once a person goes through the process will be unable to go back to its initial lifestyle and ways of being. We as humans change all the time but transform maybe once or twice in our lifetime. The journey of transformation is more towards working on oneself- its attaining “self-actualization”. The encounter here is with the self and the engineering is done inside out leading to the change perspective, action and feeling. The transformational coaching dives deep into the psyche of the human mind.
Transformational coaching is about letting a person become “the being” he/ she desires to be. The premise of this coaching rests on one question “Who do you choose to be?”The people who come into the process bring along with them their own aspirations, dreams, and goals which form the part of their life and will have a larger part of emotions. The coach here steps in to help them dig deep into themselves and work with the client to let them discover the beliefs, images, perceptions, and map of their phenomenological world. The coach also examines the thought process and like a pillar lays the foundation of the newly discovered “way of being”, which leads the paradigm shift in the Peron leading to the embodiment of the higher realized self or in other words I would say ARISE to Metamorphosis.
Coaching Model: Arise to Metamorphosis
The role of the coach in the process of transformational coaching is to cultivate awareness by stepping into the vulnerable reality of the client. The work of the coach is to carefully weave the network of life, emotion, and spiritual aspect into empowered individuals with an expanded view of one’s reality. The path so laid creates a paradigm shift leading to the achievement of the desired outcome by individuals. The steps below describe the process from which the client enters into the journey of transformation:
Phase 1: Aware and Create Actions
- Step 1: Disconnect: First step where the person stops to identify with the current role with which for years one has been associated with and find the current role jarring. The person here feels scattered in all respect and the parts of life moving in different directions. There is a sense of pull from each sphere of life and there is little justice that one is able to do it to those aspects .the thought here which often come to one’s mind are as following:
There is the sheer sense of discomfort of the self in the environment and finds self-identify being lost and life running in an autopilot mode. The person here is working but not to its full capacity or to the optimum level. Whether one likes it or not the way one is living a life that is completely disengaged and we are open to being vulnerable to emotions around us.
- Step 2: Re-identify: the second phase where the person starts to look for new roles to which one can create a new identity. The individual here revaluates and re-assesses themself. After having to realize they want to grow out of the shell, the person now tries to look for pathways and brainstorm on the ideas of self-exploration. The definition of “self” here changes and there is a shift in the perspective on how we want to define “self-concept”. The clarity is sought on what would I like to be and be identified?
Phase 2: Realise self-worth
- Step 3: Ambiguity: state of confusion and feeling of being lost. This phase is where a person is vulnerable to the emotions and is still seeking its new self to be in place. The clarity on what the new self-concept is cleared however the process to be identified into the new self-concept is complete. We are in a place where we have detached ourselves from the former structure but are still waiting to take the leap. The questions that usually encompass self are:
“To be or not to be” in the state of the person’s thought process.
- Step 4: Liberation: learning the art of letting go and losing the hold on past behaviors, thoughts, and actions. Ready to leave old structures behind. The person here comes face to face with his limiting beliefs and chooses to let go of them to move to newly decided self-concept. In this stage, the person realizes that he needs to let go of the past in order to move towards something more satisfying and enriching. The person is ready to let go of pattern and behaviors which are not serving now. The stage is set for the first flight to take place. The feelings of liberation sets in as a choice and the flight is just about to happen.
Phase 3: Incubation
- Steps 5 Re-Connect: Once the feeling of liberation sets in the person is now ready to engage and connect with new roles that one wants to identify. The real work of inner engineering now starts. We are now ready, indeed capable of creating a more fulfilling, joyful and successful future. It’s the period when the newfound self needs to re-engage with the self-concept and co-creates a space that is adaptable and is in sync with what the person desired to become. The key to reconnection is to accept the situation, time and self with no presumption and preconditions. It’s the acceptance of the state in “AS is Form”. The person here also becomes aware of his actions and reactions. The shift has been created and paradigm has expanded. The individual is ready to do the real change work from inside out.
- Step 6 Eureka: We set out on a journey to explore and discover ourselves again and find what was lost, healing what was hurt and wish to honor, support and strengthen in ourselves going forward. This phase is all about looking inside and questioning self about what matters the most. The journey here is about who we are in our core being. It’s the discovery of true self and the core you. There is no more presumption about the self-concept or self-image that one wants. The discovery of the true purpose of life emerges. There is nothing beautiful than discovering ourselves. A piece of heart has moved and a shift is created, the deeper levels of coming up with a new self. The discovery of the “why?” of me is made.
Phase 4: Self-Realisation
- Step 7 Decipher: Finally a sense of clarity prevails and has cleared all smoked screens. A new picture emerges about what we want to be, and feel more drawn to and feel livelier than before. We allow ourselves to connect with our purpose and mission of life. The new self has emerged feeling more energized, ready to take action. The thoughts have clarity and the emotions operate at the level where the person finds himself in a state where one is taking actions in an emotional awareness state. Having discovered the “why of me?” the person moves ahead in the journey by looking at what needs to happen for him in the current scenario for one to be part of the ecosystem that surrounds the individual.
Phase 5: Embrace to Empowerment
- Step 8 Amalgamation: the last stage is all about integrating the inner with the outer world and looking at a new career, life goals and knowledge in a new light and bringing our thoughts into reality. This stage is all about taking actions and see things happen in reality. No change work is successful without the same coming into practice in real life and a person adjusting with its environment. The integration process has its own bumps and jumps but the emerged self is stronger and ready to face the obstacles and all the blocks that come in the way. The vision and mission both have broadened and the approach is towards life is mindful and the importance of present prevails.
The time period on each stage is dependent on the individuals and how ready they are to move to the next one. For some people, the process could be a quick one whereas for some it might take upon years to happen. The process of transformation requires a lot of strength, courage, and commitment. It also requires a large amount of mental strength where one can surrender to the change process.
The role of the transformation coach here is to co-create space for the client to be able to accept and create actions for oneself. The client is also able to realize his/her own self-worth and is ready to go into incubation to bring about the change inside out. The incubation of self in the process of metamorphosis will lead to space where the person is seeking to find answers to the questions and the coach supports the individual with powerful questions which leads them to achieve a breakthrough. The coach along with the client helps to get clarity and structure in them. The newfound self is free from limiting beliefs. The coach at the final stage supports the individual to embrace and amalgamate the change in self. The negative beliefs are substituted with positive self-belief, new-found confident self and have positive affirmations to look forward to embracing to empower.