Client Testimonials
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"I was feeling overwhelmed by all the changes that were taking place in my life and the countless decisions that had to be made. I was trying to figure out "what I want to be when I grow up", adjust to single parenthood, get my house ready to sell, and organize a graduation party. It was difficult to decide where to focus my attention from one day to the next. Char has helped me break each seemingly
monumental job into "do-able" steps.
She has helped me see how I can establish priorities and set boundaries
around my time and has shown me how to identify and eliminate "energy
drainers" from my environment. I feel a sense of relief after every
session with Char. I'm making progress!!" |
"Char's coaching helped me stay on track. She consistently asked what next steps I wanted to take on the path toward my goals. Her affirmation of my strengths and progress provided encouragement and support, energizing my initiative." JD |
"I had lost touch with what is important. My career was off track and I felt adrift. This aimlessness made it difficult to accomplish anything, both professionally and personally. A friend recommended life coaching and Char in particular as a means to help me re-define my purpose. "One of the first things we did was to identify what is important to me and establish goals and priorities. Aligning my objectives with my priorities gave me a clear picture of what I wanted and needed to do, and how I wanted to spend my time. Knowing the relative importance of activities in the context of the bigger picture kept me motivated on a daily basis to tackle even the mundane tasks required to reach my goals. " "We figured out what I needed to do to stay on track. Keeping my goals at the front of my mind was key, as is taking each goal and breaking it down into steps to take action on. At the beginning of each week, I would review my goals and make a plan to achieve them. Every day started with listing the activities I needed to do to reach my objectives. I used my coaching sessions in part to review my progress and get feedback on my action plan for the week." "At the top of my daily plans are friendly reminders for how to deal with those "gotcha's" that get in my way of achieving my goals. Char helped me recognize habits and negative internal voices that kept me from living a productive purposeful life. She also guided my discovery of strategies and tactics for dealing with these "gotcha's" or gremlins as she calls them. Reducing the negative self talk has been a big help for me. " "Life coaching with Char has been a life-changing experience. No longer am I cast adrift. I have some powerful tools at my disposal and a great coach by my side!" CA |
"Recently I heard Simon and Garfunkel together again, singing their song The Boxer . I realized how much I could identify with a beat-up aging fighter who was being injured by his circumstances and didn't know how to escape. That would describe me at the time I ran into the idea of coaching. I met Char Brooks at a woman's conference, and she offered me a free sample of her work. " "After one half hour session, I felt tremendously encouraged and had some concrete ideas for things that I could do to be more satisfied with life. Because I saw such fantastic results in an extremely short time, I took the risk of committing to a big financial "gamble." This was at a time that I wasn't working full time! However I was able to go back to work with courage because I could see that things could be different, and they already are. " "If you have some things in your life you would like to change, coaching may help you, too. The process of coaching alone did not fix me without my participation. Although it is not a quick fix like surgery or hypnosis, coaching has assisted me to step out of a really frustrating rut. I've begun building a happier life. " "Goals and plans have had to come from me; all the decisions and actions I have taken are my choice. So don't expect Char to play mother, drill sergeant or priest! She cheers from the sidelines, gives perspective and wisdom, offers alternatives and introduced me to resources that I didn't know about. " "An important way that Char interacts with me is to ask insistently, "What is it that you want, and how can you change what you do so that you actually get there?" In the beginning, it was hard for me even to figure out what it was that I actually was so miserable about. I felt ungrateful if I verbalized that I wanted a different life. Being able to put into words what I actually wanted was a motivation to move in constructive ways. " "No energy goes into victimization anymore. I just don't let it happen! I've learned a wonderful word. NO." "Another thing, for which I am very thankful, takes place when I evaluate my progress. I've always been the person who sees the glass half empty, at least in judging my own success in life. It has been very helpful to have another person thinking about my life. Most of the time I am too hard on myself and she helps me to balance out that negativity." "I'm learning to absorb some positive attitudes. I struggle with some chronic diseases and occasionally have pain that can knock out my action plans. Now, if I have a bad day, instead of fretting and digging myself into deeper despair, I can give myself a passing grade just for continuing to have the courage to show up. This has minimized my depression; so that the energy that used to go into keeping myself under control emotionally is freed up to joyfully accomplish some of my plans. " "Due to my ADD, another one of my struggles is staying focused. Having another person to compare what I planned to do versus what I actually did tends to get me back on task. However, I never feel judged or criticized, just redirected." LW |