This paper would not be complete without touching upon the subject of intuition: Unfortunately, too many people still have difficulty with relying on their intuition even though they can distinguish reasonably well between the “little voice” and other voices of their identity coming through. By effectively utilizing the positive self-affirmation method outlined herein, the channel of accessing one’s intuition also grows. Whether journaling proceeds action or comes after it, the best way to develop a practical and consistent plan of action is by connecting with one’s intuition through self-observation, self-inquiry and self-reflection—hopefully on a daily bases.
Although most people tend to favor their rational mind, the next right action step furnished by one’s intuition will always supersedes any action created by the rational mind relying on memory and logic, especially when it comes to issues of the heart— and the hope being that a self-actualizing person is continuously working towards a balanced state of the heart and mind. In fact, people who rely on their intuition first tend to use their rational mind more expertly than those who chiefly rely on their logical reasoning.
A skillful coach knows that a client’s capacity for self-awareness and self-growth—both necessary to reaching goals— resides in the client’s intuitive faculties. The client’s epiphanies or “Aha” moments are strong indications that intuition has been tapped, and therefore, the coach needs to learn how to help the client expand in this territory in order to help him or her formulate and take the next action step. It is also the most difficult task for a coach to undertake since the nurturing of a client’s intuition is paramount to the client becoming self-generative of any state, goal or desire he or she chooses to experience.
However, if encouraged and consistently fostered, the payoff exceeds all expectations. Therefore, action must be taken as part of an effective positive self-affirmation method, but if fused with intuition, the point of arrival is that much sweeter, for a holistic engagement of the psyche always yields the right results even through temporary discomfort and/or suffering by liberating the authentic self from old beliefs that no longer serve.
Finally, the practice of quite reflection or meditation fuses it all together into a unified or holistic system which promotes the development of a healthy psyche expressing itself adroitly in body, heart and mind. Every exponent of exploring and evolving the human consciousness promulgates meditation in one form or another for the simple reason that it works by calming the mind, stabilizing the senses and strengthening one’s intuition.
Moreover, regular meditation naturally generates more challenging states such as detaching from desired outcome, accepting of difficulties, feeling and expressing genuine gratitude for all things and people, and surrendering to a higher self that is linked to a mysterious force that holds all life together in a unified pulsating field of all possible transpiring experiences and realities— and on all conscious levels.
Pragmatically speaking, the expressing of gratitude and allowing for things to naturally unfold, allows the person to celebrate more successes along the way while teaching him or her how to relax the psyche which will reward the aspirant with a deeply satisfying state of beingness or stillness— yet another very important ingredient to manifesting the heart’s desire with the simple act of intending.
III. Final comments on applying positive self-affirmations to coaching
Not all clients will be open and/or willing to use positive self-affirmation as part of their strategic solution of coping with and resolving of their issues before reaching their desired destinations. After all, this method is just one approach, one tool—albeit a potentially holistic one— to shift a perspective and realign the client’s attitude and beliefs to reach his or her desired goal in a relatively timely manner. There are many other coaching techniques that may be more applicable to client’s situation and preference.
It is extremely important for a coach to listen in closely and decipher the client’s need through the various layers of personal psychology peeking through before proposing this or any other method. If the coach hears an opening— as in the case when the client is repeating the same storyline or voicing complaints, the coach can ask or invite the client to explore the given issue through the lens of the positive self-affirmation method to see if this resource is appropriate in its scope and application. It sometimes happens that a client is very enthusiastic in applying this or other methods in the beginning, but than as his or her interest wanes and disappears altogether, it is a good indication that this is not the right approach, at least not at that point of the exploration. If, however, the client does obtain some positive results, however minor at the beginning, it will be necessary to ask the client to recommit to using the method consistently and keep him or her accountable throughout the process.
While it is possible to maintain this method in the background in the coaching session(s), it will serve its vital purpose, if it is designated as the primary tool of the coaching discussion because it will allow for an integral approach to surface via the exploration of client’s observation of thought patterns and ensuing reactions to daily stimuli, all of which will allow for partial albeit necessary release of negative thoughts, beliefs and patterns as the structure continues to be modified to accommodate client’s unique psychology and preference. Most importantly, the tool remains at the disposal and control of the client outside of the session(s) where the real work takes place.
At best, the positive self-affirmation method can serve as a helpful and potentially an integral tool in aligning client’s energies (thoughts, attitudes, beliefs, and habits) to better meet his or her self-designated higher purpose for leading a more expansive and satisfying life. At worst, the method can appear inconsequential and/or irrelevant to an individual’s path of growth and self-transformation despite the indubitable fact that some of the method’s underlying principals are running at default despite a lack of conscious awareness.
For the casual user, positive self-affirmations offer little outside of the instantly gratifying inspirations with an occasional motivational nudge to rise up to action. And it is often the anecdotal part of the explanation that moves people to rethink their life and make some important changes, albeit not necessarily holistic ones. It does appear, however, that the complexity of human personalities, conditioning and preference demands a wide range of methodologies and techniques in scope and exploration before one is successfully applied and maintained by a client to benefit him or her on the path of self-growth and hopefully the path of self-transformation.