Realizing that Life On Purpose attracts a fair number of life coaches, I thought it would be fun and some value added to the blog to create a new category just for coaches (although others should benefit from the tips, techniques and tools that I’ve accumulated over the past 20 plus years of coaching).

I’m going to start with one of my favorite and oldest ones that dates back to my earliest days when I was first introduced to this empowering coaching formula. The following is taken from my new book, Life On Purpose: Six Passages to an Inspired Life. Enjoy:

Turning On Your Radar for Insights

When you come to a conversation with a beginner’s mind you are open and receptive to insight. Your mind becomes a radar. Its job is to pick up useful and valuable insights that will contribute to your life. One definition of insight is, “the act or result of apprehending the inner nature of things or of seeing intuitively.” But detecting insights is just the first step.

Look at the following formula, which my first coach, Judy Billman, shared with me. See if you can fill in the missing part of the equation:

Insight + ________ = True Growth and Development

Judy pointed out to me that it’s easy to become overly enamored with insights. While, as the formula suggests, insights are an important part of our growing and developing as human beings, they aren’t all that powerful by themselves. Or, as Judy used to say, “Insights by themselves are a bit like a pinch in the buttocks. They may be momentarily interesting, but hardly life transforming.” So what’s the missing part of the equation? What is necessary in order for our insights to contribute to our lives?

The answer is action. In other words, we need to integrate the insights we glean from coaching conversations into our lives through action. By the way, virtually any conversation can be viewed as a coaching conversation when you keep the monkey mind, full cup syndrome, and bias out of the way. One simple way to do this is to write your insights down on the Insight Pages you will find at the end of the book. Then, periodically, take an insight that resonates with where you are and determine what action or actions you will take to begin to integrate it into your life.

So, what insight have you had lately that you’d be willing to integrate into your life with some action? Why not declare your intention by sharing it here as a comment. And if you’re open to it, I may offer some suggestions as to how to get the most from the insight.