A Coaching Power Tool Created by Deborah Campbell
(Holistic Lifestyle Coach, UNITED STATES)
Hope is both the earliest and the most indispensable virtue inherent in the state of being alive. If life is to be sustained hope must remain, even where confidence is wounded, trust impaired. Erik H. Erikson
Definitions
(Oxford Dictionary unless noted otherwise)
Hope is
a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen.
Full is
not lacking or omitting anything; complete.
Hope-Full is
defined by combining these two definitions: A hope-full person is expecting and desiring something that is manifested with nothing missing and/or being complete such as: goals reached, desires fulfilled, dreams lived.
Hopeful is
feeling or inspiring optimism about a future event.
Differences
What oxygen is to the lungs, such is hope to the meaning of life. Emil Brunner
There is 1 letter difference between Hope-Full and Hope-ful… the letter L.
Let’s take a look at words beginning with the letter L.
- Powerful words that start with L are: love, light, life, limitless, lion, live, laughter, lavish, leader, learn, look, leisure, lucrative, lush, liberate
- Dis-empowering words beginning with the letter L are: lost, lack, limited, life-less, listless, lame, lazy, lonely, least, last, low, lukewarm, lie.
There are noticeable differences between the meanings of the words in list 1 and list 2. There are also significant discrepancies between living a life full of transforming power in a hope-full lifestyle versus the more passive rendition hope-ful.
Hope is fundamental to any success. The level of hope within one’s heart influences the level of success one will achieve. People with low to average levels of hope speak of hope in a broader sense.
I hope I get that job. I hope I can lose that weight this year. I hope I enjoy that event, I hope I get that room organized before the holidays. I hope I make it through school. I hope I’m a good mother/father. I hope this is the right decision.
The person low on hope or hopeful is hesitant, wishful thinking, delays decisions, insecure, and discouraged with little or no confidence.
People with high levels of hope are decisive in their communication.
I know this is the right decision for me. I will find the answers for me to lose weight and keep it off. I am a great parent and will continue to learn skills to make me a better parent. I will do well in school. I know the event is going to be great. I will organize that room on Saturday.
A hope-full person is peaceful, passionate, enthusiastic, eagerly anticipating results, pro-active, confident, committed to change and dedicated to moving forward.
Self- Application
We can live three weeks without food, three days without water, and, yes, we can even live three minutes without air, but we cannot live without hope. Mumford
My desire is that my body and mind function in optimal capacity as designed by Creator God, and I believe that my body is built to live that way. I enjoy eating a good meal and feeling full and satisfied when I am done; on the other hand, being hungry is not fun for me. Concerning the care of my body, I have choices to make that will either align with my hope and belief or not.
For example, one option is to fill up on junk food, but over time, my body and mind will not serve me well and begin to break down with sickness, stress and anxiety. For short periods, the body will continue to perform with little or no food, but over time it will weaken and show the effects of lack of nourishment and eventually die. I may be hopeful my body will eventually become vibrant, energetic and alive, even if I don’t feed it properly or at all, but that will not be the case. In this situation, I am low on hope; my thinking and actions do not support my beliefs, blocking the desired result.
A human being is a deciding being. Dr. Viktor Frankl
Another option is to choose a healthy well-rounded lifestyle. One part of the plan involves choosing to eat healthy food consistently so my body and mind function to capacity which will enhance my quality of life and well-being. How do I know when my body needs to be re-filled or eat? My body has a built in hunger meter which is very verbal in communicating to me. When I miss a meal, at the most inconvenient moment, loud, uncontrollable, embarrassing noises erupt from my belly that are heard by all within range. To avoid this scenario, I tune in and listen to my hunger meter in which I decipher when I am: too-full, full, a little hungry and very hungry (empty). Next, I take the appropriate measures to properly replenish. In this situation, I am hope-full and confident in the decisions I am making. My thinking and actions are aligned with my beliefs and produce the desired results.
Let your heart guide you. It whispers, so listen closely. Author Unknown
In my life, I focus on the whole person: spirit, soul and body. I want to operate at my peak level and live life to the fullest. The sky is the limit with unlimited possibilities. One critical component of my healthy lifestyle plan is my hope meter inside my heart. The heart is intrinsically joined to my spirit, soul (mind, will, emotions) and body and strongly influences my decision making. I regularly monitor my hope meter for positive versus negative readings to determine if I’m on track to living my life fully. I’m mindful of my spirit through prayer and meditation. Is my life peaceful, positive visual images or negative thoughts and fears? I’m mindful of my soul through emotions; what am I thinking, feeling and saying? Am I feeling peace, anxious, tense, happy, optimistic or grumpy? Is my body feeling relaxed, tense, pain, rested, exhausted, hydrated or hungry? If any of the 3 parts register a negative symptom, I take time and address the issue(s) until it’s resolved and I am back on course.
Life provides a wide array of obstacles which drain hope from my heart; sometimes a flood of problems will arise suddenly. Therefore, it is vital to have structures in place which keep pouring healthy hope into my heart to enable wise decisions that align with my values, beliefs, goals and dreams. This is achieved through designing a personal routine, tailored for me, at The Hope Gym, where there is a constant flow of positive, encouraging energy within and without.
The schedule is as varied as the exercises. Examples of internal exercises that deposit hope in the heart are: prayer, meditation, journaling, music and mindfulness. External exercises are: yoga, walking, exercises, reading, healthy meals, hydration, massage, sleep, quality time with healthy friends and family, and being coached. The Hope Gym routine is customized to each person’s specifications: personality, situations, goals and dreams. A Lifetime Membership commitment to The Hope Gym offers a lifetime of extra-ordinary, excel-beyond benefits.
Coaching Application
Hope is a renewable option: If you run out of it at the end of the day, you get to start over in the morning. ~ Barbara Kingsolver ~
The Coach is to
provide an on-going partnership designed to help clients produce fulfilling results in their personal and professional lives.(International Coach Federation)
This process is begun by the Coach creating a safe environment through which a trusting relationship between the Coach and the client will be nurtured and grow.
The client begins the Coaching journey with a level of hope desiring to accomplish more in his/her life. The client is generally unsure of the steps to take in the journey to get from present to future. The following plan is designed to facilitate transformation to shift a client from being Hopeful to Hope-Full.
Discovery: Desires, Dreams, Beliefs and Opportunities
The first step is to identify where the client is now and where the client wants to go.
The Coach and client explore: core values, beliefs, desires, dreams, life purposes and key strengths. The Coach is fully present, intuitively listening and verifying accuracy through paraphrasing the information back to the client. The empathetic Coach asks powerful, open-ended questions to draw out underlying messages and challenge assumptions, through curiosity. This creates self-awareness, which is a pivotal point of change for the client. The heart is intrinsically connected to the other stages and paramount in the decision making process.
Questions asked in this stage:
Identify Priorities, Establish Goals, and Examine Barriers
During this stage, the client determines what the most important areas to pursue are. There is a strong focus on transferring past successes to the future, validating positive aspects of client’s lifestyle, and affirming what works or is empowering in the client’s current situations. Priorities are identified and goals established.
Next limitations and barriers are examined that may be preventing the client from moving forward. The Coach continues to expand awareness of client’s thoughts, feelings and beliefs through positive questioning, reframing perspective and visualizing. The client re-evaluates his/her belief system to determine whether they are empowering or dis-empowering and how they impact decisions made. Steps are taken to transfer dis-empowering beliefs to empowering beliefs.
Questions asked in this stage:
III. Creating and Implementing the Action Plan
During this stage, the Coach assists the client in shifting spoken dreams and desires to becoming reality through an action plan. Strategies are developed, a self-development plan is created and structures established supporting client’s value and belief system. Possible obstacles are discussed and addressed.
Questions asked at this stage:
Accountability, Acknowledgement and Celebration
A schedule is set-up for accountability and to measure progress. The Coach is affirming and encouraging of the decisions made. There is celebration of the obstacles overcome, goals reached and progress made.
Questions asked in this stage: