***An Awesome Responsibility

I’m starting a teleseminar series this week. The information in Your Secret of Success is the same informatio
I’ve used with my clients and other teleseminars I’ve taught in the past. I’m very familiar with it, so I was surprised that along with thoughts about the content for the upcoming class I also experienced a twinge of dread. Maybe “dread” is too strong a word. Maybe it was anxiety. It isn’t a good feeling, whatever I call it.

This is a feeling I recognize from all my work that has been in service to others. I had it whether I did massage or health consulting or coaching or training. Over the years, I began doubting myself because of this twingy feeling. When I would realize I had a client scheduled, I got a sinking feeling. When I had a client coming for health assessment, I felt a similar twinge. When the feeling happened over and over, I thought, “Hmmm, I think this means I shouldn’t be doing this work if I so often dread doing it.” To be honest, that’s one of the reasons I stopped doing body work and health consulting. If I dreaded seeing clients there must be something wrong. All that thinking there must be something wrong made me believe that something was wrong and as a result, I became less effective. nn***Thoughts create feelings which determine actions which produce results.***

Somehow, I’ve powered through with coaching, the feeling isn’t as strong and I’ve gotten better at centering myself. I learned to be in what I call coach mode, where I am completely involved in what my client is thinking, saying and feeling rather than in what I am experiencing. Also, in almost all cases, at the end of the appointment, I have a very positive feeling that has allowed me to minimize the dread.

This morning, as I jou
alled about what I felt about the upcoming teleseminar, I came to an amazing realization. It isn’t dread I’m feeling, it’s the awesome responsibility I have to people who are my clients or students or audience. They put something of great value into my hands – themselves! And in many cases, they have paid me. Therefore it is totally appropriate for me to have feelings about what I am doing with them. I am called to respond to what they need, sometimes before they even know they need it!

Doesn’t it make perfect sense that the feeling was so much stronger when I was putting my hands on people or suggesting supplements to improve their health? In those cases, they were expecting me to take care of them. In my coaching work, I’m expecting them to take care of themselves. A good coach provides the tools for people to change their own lives. However, it’s still an awesome responsibility.

Once I recognized that my anxiety was totally appropriate, I immediately knew what to do about it. I took a deep breath, brought the feeling into my heart and made a commitment to do the best I can to guide my clients and participants to be whole, creative, and resourceful. What a relief!nn© 2007, Jacqueline Halen