A Coaching Model Created by Bruno Lucas
(Life Coach, URUGUAY)
The importance of action
It´s very important to analyze, discuss, design, get inspiration, visualize, decide, ask and answer, to achieve better clarity of vision, but all these things have no real impact if they are not accompanied by the right action. In the end of the day, it is action what brings new vision, new tools and what helps us really move forward. Action is what brings results.
What is this model for?
Perfect action is a model designed to help the client clarify direction and determine and take the best action possible here and now. It is especially useful for people that have to deal with too many elements at the same time, hence prone to hesitate between many possible options, feel overwhelmed and become paralyzed.
Defining “to many elements”
Some people are fortunate enough to have a clear and simple vision of what are the elements that make their life in practical terms, and managing or combining them to define the next action is not something that represents a major challenge. To illustrate this idea, we can think of, for example, a person whose daily activities are working, going to the gym, watching tv and spending time with his loved ones, or a university student with a very clear vision of her vocation, a part time job, and a lot of free time that she mainly spends studying and going out.
On the other hand, other people could have more elements in their lives, and that could bring a bigger challenge when having to determine the next action. For example, we could imagine a person that works, studies, has three hobbies, loves traveling, wants to spend quality time with his loved ones and on top of everything is considering a career change.
Of course, these examples don´t aim for making a value judgement on people´s decisions about priorities or time management, but rather for showing examples of different degrees of complexity. In situations like this, the challenge when deciding the next action could come from the existence of too many “drivers”. However, that challenge could also be a great opportunity.
Drivers
What makes a person take a particular action? There is something that acts as a driving force or motivation, and it could be (and generally is) more than one, operating at the same time. From core values to pleasure, from the desire to contribute to the need for safety, there are different kinds of drivers, and they can also vary in intensity, depending on the situation. The more aware the person is of those drivers, the more empowered he will be to decide how to combine them and use them, and the better his decision will be regarding the next action.
Identifying drivers
We could identify as many drivers and combination of drivers as people exist in the world. This model suggests a list of possible drivers to combine, align and work with:
Describing drivers
What I need
In this category the client can think about what is a “must” now, what are his priorities. Every one of these items could be considered an end in itself.
Examples:
- Earn money
- Work
- Doing exercise
- Eating healthy
- Going to bed/getting up early
- Spend time with my loved ones
- Some practice (e.g. a hobby, playing music, practicing a martial art)
Useful questions for this category:
What I need to do in order to move towards my goals
In this category the client can define the actions that are necessary in order to move towards his goals.
Examples:
Useful questions for this category:
What makes me feel good now
In this category, the client can think of what are the activities that bring enjoyment, pleasure or joy to his life. Also in this case, every one of these actions could be considered an end in itself.
Examples:
- Reading
- Learning
- Going to nice places
- Meeting new people
- Having good conversations
- Walking
- Practicing a hobby (playing music, watching movies, practicing martial arts)
- Helping others
Useful questions for this category:
What I can do to make a contribution
Behind this point there is the idea that making a contribution to other people´s life instantly brings fulfillment, good energy, meaning and happiness. Here, we will invite the client to explore his potential to help other people now.
Examples:
- Help
- Write
- Listen to someone that needs it
- Smile at others
- Lend books
- Make someone laugh
- Be patient with others
- Give
- Spend time with someone (your loved ones, the elderly)
- Babysit your friend´s kids
- Cook for someone
- Teach
- Sing, make music
- Join efforts, get involved in your community, help at some NGO
Do your job with the right intention and care (whatever your job is, you can always use it as a vehicle to have a positive impact in others people)
Useful questions for this category:
What my intuition says
Intuition is a powerful source of information, and that information is of a particular nature, different from the information we can get through our senses or through reasoning. Sometimes, when feeling overwhelmed by to many thoughts or options in our mind, a good option is to stop, breathe and feel what our intuition says. There is vital information there, about what the best next action is.
Examples:
- Relax
- Enjoy
- Connect with others
- Work harder
- Be patient
- Wait
- Help
- Have a rest
- Take care of yourself
- Practice
- Refine your craft
- Go out
Useful questions for this category:
- How do I feel?
- What do I feel?
- What´s the first thing that comes to my mind?
For this category, there are exercises that can be particularly helpful, for example breathing, relaxation and visualization exercises.
These categories are not mutually exclusive
It´s important to remember that sometimes these categories overlap each other. As in every model, this is a theoretical representation, but reality is always more complex and boundaries are always more blurry in real situations.
Resources
Every action requires certain resources. From time to money, from energy to information. Part of the process of determining the best action is define what are the resources needed.
The more clearly the needed resources are identified and defined, the better the decision will be made regarding the next action.
Also, a lot of times, the client already possess valuable resources that could be used to take the right action now, but he is not aware of that. This step is very simple, but yet not obvious. Becoming aware of the resources we already possess can be extremely inspiring and empowering.
Examples of resources:
- Time
- Experience
- Knowledge
- Skills
- Energy
- Information
- Network
- Tools (laptop, cellphone, internet)
- Job
- Money
How the model works
As it was mentioned before, these drivers are always present, coexisting and varying in intensity. They can be all equally important or not, depending on the client and the moment.
This model suggests working with the client to help him identify, define, align and combine the drivers that are important in that particular moment, in order to help him take the best, most suitable and powerful action, preventing him from feeling overwhelmed or losing momentum due to elements like procrastination or fear.
A possible structure for a coaching process based on this model could be:
Also, a new process could start. Action will bring results, new vision, new resources, new needs, new drivers, and with that a new opportunity to use the model.