The Most Important Question You Will Ever Ask

Posted on 23 February, 2012 by Paul

As a coach it’s my job to ask the questions that help my clients resolve a problem, achieve a goal or see something from a new perspective.

What is the question?

Recently I was delighted to be able to coach someone for a TV show. Gok Wan is a hugely popular body confidence and fashion guru. On his show last night I was seen coaching a young gay man who needed help boosting his confidence. You only see me on screen for about 30 seconds, but during my slot I ask Daniel what he’d like to get out of the session.

“By the end of this coaching session, what do you want to achieve and take away with you?”

Why do you need to ask this question?

This is a normal question to ask, and the reasons behind it may already be obvious to you. But just in case let’s break it down and see why it’s the most important question you could ever ask.

1. It starts off the conversation by clearly understanding its purpose.
2. It gives you a chance to mark where you are now so that you can compare it with where you feel you have reached at the end.
3. It confirms commitment that this is a conversation about change, not about wishing things were different.

What happens if you don’t ask it

Think about a time when a conversation with someone went round in circles. Or a time when you thought you were setting a goal, but you never seemed to move towards it.

Chances are you didn’t ask yourself, or the other person the most important question.

“What result do you want from this?”

Not asking this question, is like jumping on the first train you see at the station, but not knowing where it’s going, or even knowing where you WANTED to go!

Motivating Fitness in Others

Posted on 19 February, 2012 by Chris, Paul

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We love getting comments and topic suggestions from our listeners. Recently Karen posting this on our Facebook page

From Karen of True Form coaching:  I’d love a topic on: Motivating Fitness in others: most people know that they “should” exercise, lose weight, make a healthy food choice and yet, when I present it to others I’m often met with their negative self talk, excuses, resistance and so forth. How is it that the benefits of sleeping better, feeling better, having more energy and a clearer mind is not motivation enough for those that might want to exercise but don’t make it a habit or a priority?

Thanks for the great question Karen! Both Chris and Paul are, what some people might consider, fitness nuts. They both understand that getting people to be as motivated as they are about fitness as we are can be a real challenge.

So on this show Paul and Chris cover why giving people the facts simply isn’t enough, there has to be a way to reframe their understanding of what fitness is to them. It doesn’t have to be all stats based, body obsessed and a constant battle. Helping people see that being healthy doesn’t have to mean going to the gym 5 times a week. A simple walk for 30 minutes 2-3 times a week is a massive improvement to sitting in front of the TV all the time.

During the show you’ll hear some tips and ideas to help connect with people from their point of view so fitness doesn’t seem so daunting.

If you have any comments or topic suggestions, pop a comment below or visit us at Facebook.com/ActionPodcast

Food Aware

Posted on 15 February, 2012 by Sam

 How food aware are you?

I’ve always been quite conscious of the ingredients in foods I eat, because I’ve suffered from a range of allergies since a very young age. However the phrase “You are what you eat” still puts a bit of the fear into me – because it is really easy to deceive ourselves about the things we put in our stomachs.

After the first mistake in seven years that led to me eating a tiny amount of wheat (and being quite ill) recently, I decided to target my broader dietary complacency with a dose of daily reality.

Challenge: Keep a food diary for 3-4 weeks!

This was something I’d been thinking about for a while, but it seemed like a pretty big commitment to record everything I ate/drank for a month. Plus I wanted to capture how I felt after consuming different things, because I also suspected I had been ignoring a number of signals my body had been giving me… being a wheat-intolerant vegetarian means I’d eat loads of fresh fruit & veg right? Ah, denial!

So after only a week of keeping a food diary, I’ve been amazed at some of the insights Read more of this article »