Falling Into Coaching

by Peggy Haymes

Noticing the greenish tinge on the short, steep ramp to the door of my storage shed, I told myself that it was likely to be slick. I needed to be careful.

I wasn’t careful enough.

After getting my rake out of the shed,  I started down the ramp. With the first step, both feet went out from under me and I landed flat on my back. I lay there for a minute, not moving as I checked in on all my parts. Fortunately, I wasn’t injured and it made for a good story for my coworkers on Monday morning.

The following weekend I was doing some yard work in a bed beside the bottom of my driveway. I didn’t pay attention to the faint darkening of the asphalt on the steep part of my driveway, indicating that a bit of moisture was holding tight to the asphalt. I took a step and…

Both feet went out from under me and I landed flat on my back. I lay there for a minute, not moving as I checked in on all my parts. Fortunately, I wasn’t injured. I was too embarrassed to tell many people on Monday morning.

However, I did the next logical thing.

I made an appointment with my coach.

I’d lived in that house for over fifteen years, and never once had I fallen flat on my back on the ramp or the driveway. Doing it twice over eight days got my attention. There was something I obviously needed to look at. I don’t believe God slapped me down with a strong hand and mighty arm over those eight days. I don't believe angels were dispatched to trip me up. What I do believe is the more we aren’t paying attention to what's going on inside of us the more we are likely to miss what’s going on outside of us. Like slick ramps and wet driveways.

Working with my coach we began untangling it. I’d known for a while I needed to make a change in my work and ministry but I’d been putting it off. Change would bring real grief in leaving people about whom I’d come to care deeply. Change meant disruption. It was easier just to stay.

Until it wasn’t.

My coach didn’t tell me what I should do. Instead, she asked me questions that made me say the words out loud that I’d been trying to push to the side. Once I said them out loud, I couldn't ignore them any more. She then helped me walk through the steps I needed to take to make such a change reality..

Sometimes we come into coaching because there’s a big tangle we cannot sort out. Sometimes we come because there’s a nudge that won't go away. Sometimes we come into coaching because we want to keep growing in our work and in our lives.

And sometimes we fall into coaching.

You can wait until you’re flat on your back, although I don't recommend it. 

If you’re interested in working with a coach or even finding out more about how coaching works, Pinnacle has a number of trained coaches who bring a variety of experience to their work.

We’ll be glad to talk with you.