Ever wondered what having some coaching for your creative career would be like? In this blog, an anonymous client shares her experience of working with me. My heartfelt thanks to ‘K’ for her insights…
What working with a good creative coach can feel like …
A creative coach skilfully guides you to work with your intuition and build upon your personal insights and experience. A good creative coaching session feels like a productive conversation with a close friend who holds a mirror up for you to see yourself. This results in a greater level of self-awareness and strength to support you in your chosen creative career.
Why I began working with a creative coach
A friend of mine had received coaching from Sheila and I witnessed her undergo some significant shifts in both her confidence and approach to her creative career. I wondered if it would work for me. I had reached a point in my life where I had so many music projects piling up, and my creativity wasn’t going to stop anytime soon. I had to start getting serious about being a musician if I wanted to finish those projects. It was time to stop treating being a musician as a side gig after all these years. I had finally decided to make it my full-time gig.
My first session with a creative coach
I rambled on and chatted nervously as I fumbled to put into words how I felt about my music. Sheila’s warmth and empathy immediately put me at ease. No matter how awkwardly the words spilt from my mouth, she understood my struggles and heard me. Opening up about this part of my life was unexpectedly cathartic. Letting someone into that space is obviously a big trust move. The pay-off is in the quality of the feedback that you receive. I quickly realised that creative coaching was a chance to open up all my baggage about my music and throw out what didn’t serve me anymore. I was ready to roll up my sleeves, do the work and lighten my load.
Reaping the rewards of creative coaching
After a few sessions, I settled into a rhythm. My big messy lump of “stuff” was starting to get untangled as Sheila helped me sort it all into smaller piles. I had a group of issues that all centred around one deeper issue. After each session, I had homework in the form of exercises or questions that I could go away and digest. Being able to focus on one topic and/or question each session meant we could really examine what was going on inside me at the deeper level. There are sometimes pauses while I search for answers and moments where I have to laugh, or else I’d cry. It’s hard work and I often feel resistance when talking about certain topics. But it’s worth it – especially when you feel yourself growing and getting stuff done.
A good creative coach draws the answers from you
As corny as it sounds – the answers are inside us. Working with Sheila has helped me to trust myself more and more. She has a keen sense of how far to push you on certain topics, and which questions to ask to gently extract the answers. I tend to lose touch with my inner voice because it speaks so softly. I realise now that it simply doesn’t need to shout. I just need to take a quiet moment to turn the volume down and listen to it.
Making the connection between coaching and valuing yourself
I feel like I now have a firmer grasp on how I need to function as an artist moving forward. Working with Sheila has ensured that my foundations are solid. When you start to value your creativity, there is a shift that occurs deep within. You value yourself more. You want to dissolve blockages. You want to grow. You don’t want to sit there, do nothing and accumulate any more baggage. You realise that your creativity is a huge part of who you are and therefore absolutely worth all the hard work.
If you’d like to experience a creative coaching session with me then go to Why Coach with Sheila? to find out more about working with me. Or email me for a free 30 minute Skype consultation to find out how I can help you.