Imagine for a moment you have a beautiful rose bush planted in your garden. It brings you much joy every year as it blooms the loveliest of blooms and scents the air with a perfume that makes everyone who catches a whiff of it smile.
Now imagine one year your rose-bush doesn’t bloom the way is normally does. Perhaps you see only one small, scraggly bloom and the scent you usually enjoy is nowhere to be found. The leaves look tired and limp.
What do you do?
Do you perhaps find fake blooms and glue those on? Get yourself a bit of rose oil and scent the leaves? Ohh..Maybe a glade air freshener will do the trick!
No?
Of course you wouldn’t because this won’t solve the real problem and bring this gorgeous plant back to life and to it’s former glory.
You need to treat the roots, the plant itself.
This is what coaching is like. We don’t just slap a band aide on a problem. There are a ton of tools and resources out there to ‘fix’ the problem; but they are just like gluing on fake roses. They won’t work because they don’t last and they don’t really help until you have looked deeper. Coaching digs down and looks to find the roots of where the issue stems from so that real and meaningful change can take place.
If it’s time for you to start blooming again, your coaching session is waiting for you!
Nicely written! Awesome explanation of what you do!
thank you Jennifer!
Interesting analogy. So often we only treat the symptoms not the problem (root)
You are so right Roberta. This is often true in many things in life like our health, stress, and more.
Nice post Bonnie…A lot of people ask me about my work. They tell me : Isn’t going to a psychologist just about letting out your feeling in front of a stranger, I keep trying to explain the fact that a psychologist tries to dwell into “the root of the problem so that meaningful change may take place”…! (Your words!)
You know what struck me about your post Hajra, the fact that so many people don’t understand the power in being honest and letting those feelings out and facing them head on. Even if that is all you did (trust me I know you dig much deeper and offer a great deal of help) that alone can transfom lives!
Thank you for adding your thoughts! Much appreciation.
Beautiful post 🙂 What a great way to explain what you do
Thanks Melissa! It was a long time developing but I think it fits!
Hi Bonnie,
I love your post and the way you used roses and blooms. The name of my blog is “Bloomin’ Boomers” to show other baby boomers that they too can bloom.
Love the way we are relating to our clients. Thanks for sharing.
Cindy
What I loved most about this analogy is the end result is just beautiful for both roses and coaching. I’ve seen people really grow and bloom within their own lives and heart. It is just amazing to watch what folks can do!
Perfect post. It’s refreshing to hear this view from a coach as many I have met have been ‘just doing a job’.
Thanks Janine! I think you find in many professions those who are settled into a routine or find themselves uninterested in what they are doing. One of the reasons I love being a coach is I get to fulfill my desire to help others deeply. I love this about teaching too. Being witness to an ‘aha’ moment is what keeps me moving and fills my cup back up. These moments inspire me to learn more and do more. I feel sorry for those who have lost or never found that experence.
Take care Janine!
Beautiful analogy Bonnie – who wouldn’t be ready to bloom after that. I would even put an internal link at last sentence so people who are interested can find out more about your coaching services direct from your article.
Bloom on!
Thank you Maureen for those nice comments and the suggestion. On my way to do that right now! 🙂
And, a good coach tells the truth! Just like fertilizer can’t solve the problem of a rose in trouble, neither can the “fertilizer” of improper coaching.
Great post, Bonnie!
Roy you are bang on! I love how you made your point and continued with my analogy to boot! lol