[dropcap type =”circle”]F[/dropcap]rom time to time we all feel a bit stuck and unsure about what to do next, and it’s very easy to just do nothing and carry on as normal-it’s much harder to decide to make positive changes that will improve our life but even harder to know where to start and who to ask for help, but an Oxfordshire-based life coach has come up with a simple but very effective way that we can all use to start to make changes and all it takes is a pen and a piece of paper and a few minutes a day.
Sarah Adams (the publisher of Cherwell Valley Today) has been working as an accredited personal development or life coach for several years alongside her long career in the media. She has coached groups of people who found themselves in very vulnerable and challenging circumstances and also works with clients on a one to one basis to help them navigate through life’s challenges.
Sarah has developed a unique coaching programme called Write Your Life. This combines writing and uses her journalism experience, with tried and trusted life coaching techniques and has already created incredible results for many people.
She said: “Life coaching does sometimes get a bad press-people assume it’s just talking. There is a lot of talking involved but it is so much more than that, and the people who I have coached over the last few years are proof that it works as they are all doing great things with their lives now and have robust coping strategies for handling whatever life throws at them. My programme uses professional life coaching techniques that I have combined with a series of specific daily writing or journaling exercises to really get people to unravel their lives and look in detail at what is really going on. I have been writing pretty much every day for 30 years so I know how it can be used to make plans and deal with difficult situations. Journaling and daily writing have really had a renaissance, and using them to improve your life as well as document what’s going on is a very effective way to move forward.”
Creative processes have been proven to be very valuable and effective at helping us to reach our goals-wherever we are in our lives and whatever we are facing. In his book ‘Opening Up By Writing It Down,’ James Pennebaker-the originator of expressive writing- looks at how writing in this way improves health and eases emotional pain. He says that writing can clear the mind, help with problem solving and enable us to take on new information.
Sarah added: “Daily journaling or writing is a very effective way to start clearing the clutter and make some really positive changes. It only takes a few minutes a day and before you know you it things appear much clearer and you are actually able to start making plans. In a digital age where we spend so much of our lives staring at screens and keypads, it is good for us to use pens and paper as well. You are far more likely to achieve a goal if you write your plans down and if you write with a pen and paper rather than on a screen it has far more meaning-and yet research has shown that only 3 % of people ever bother to write down their goals. Those of us who do achieve great things!”
As well as one to one coaching sessions and workshops, Sarah has created online courses for people to complete in their own time and at their own pace. She added: “People from across the world have signed up to the online courses and this is a great way to start your self development process as you can take your time and complete the exercises so that they fit in with your schedule. It’s a very cost effective way to dip in to coaching and daily writing and see if it is going to help you.”
Sarah’s book “Write!…What’s Next?” will be on the shelves at Christmas. She added: “Daily journaling and life coaching are a great combination for self development. It’s a simple activity that everyone can build into their day and even people who have never really enjoyed writing before really embrace it and find it quite addictive. Simple things such as writing a list of things you would like to change in one area of your life, or writing down everything in your life that you are grateful for can have a surprisingly profound effect and spur people on to make significant and lasting changes.”
More information about the Write Your Life programme and Sarah’s workshops is available here www.sarahadams.me.uk you can also download free e-books.
Readers of Cherwell Valley Today can access her online course at a special price here
You can email Sarah at hello@sarahadams.me.uk
