Coaching Tips for Adventure Planning

At an “adventure talk” in London a few years ago, a friend of a friend asked me what kind of adventures I undertake.  I was somewhat taken aback at the question; I have always considered myself to have a sense of adventure but I couldn’t think of anything that I had done recently or that I was planning to do that would classify even vaguely as an adventure.  I’d ideas of things that I might do…one day…when time and money allowed…and when I was fitter…when I had the right qualifications…and if I could find someone like minded to do them with…and, and, and…

Sound familiar? 

In many aspects of our lives, be it work, family life, or taking on adventures, we can often find ourselves putting off taking the next step for a variety of reasons, including a lack of self-confidence, feeling overwhelmed by all the options in front of us or coming up against a hurdle that we perceive to be too large to overcome.  Sometimes we may not even realise that we are putting obstacles in our own way.

Coaching can be an invaluable tool in these situations.  Unlike mentoring in which the mentor provides you with guidance, direction and help based on their past experiences, coaching utilises your inherent knowledge, wisdom and experience to help you to find your own solution. 

A coach will listen to what you are saying and reflect back your thoughts, highlighting any inconsistencies in what you are saying and challenging your assumptions in service of raising your awareness.  A coach will also hold you accountable and, therefore, prevent you from letting actions slip by.

By its very nature, we can’t coach ourselves, but there are a number of coaching elements that can be utilised when planning an adventure, no matter how big or small, in order to keep moving things forward.

Coaching Tips for Adventure Planning

….Identify, challenge and expand your comfort zones.  Are you planning to do something, but keep finding excuses not to do it?  You are in your comfort zone.  Once you have identified your comfort zone, find ways to challenge the boundaries of it, before long you will find that your comfort zone has expanded and you are achieving your goals.

….Consider all of your options, don’t rule anything out, no matter how impossible it seems.  When thinking about the options that seem impossible, consider what it is that makes them seem impossible and try to view them from different angles.  What if the option was possible?  What would it look like then?  How would it have changed?  Viewing an option in a positive way will help you find a way to achieve it.

….Give yourself time to think things through properly.  Get away from social media, email, phones, TV, radio and other people, and create a positive thinking space.  Go for a walk, a run, sit in a quiet room, whatever works best for you.

….Write your plans and goals down, then identify the actions you need to take to achieve them and assign them a target completion date.  This simple act will clarify the plans and tasks in your mind and provide a reminder of what you should be doing that is not easily ignored.

….If you are struggling with confidence, try to take a positive view rather than thinking “I can’t do that”.  Think of times in the past when you have successfully dealt with a similar issue, what did you do?  Or consider someone you know, or know of, who is adept at handling the issue, what would they do?

….Finally, always ask yourself if there is “anything else”.  Anything else that you can think of that would help you achieve your goal.  Often, we stop thinking about our options before we have identified them all; we stay in our comfort zones.  Asking if there is “anything else” pushes us to look that bit deeper and in doing so we may come up with additional, better options.

Following these simple tips should help you move forward with your adventure planning.

Free Coaching Offer

Clare is offering a free coaching package to 10 members of Love Her Wild to help them with either their adventure planning or with work-related goals or issues.  The coaching package will consist of 5 x 30 minute sessions conducted via Skype/Facetime at mutually agreed times.  Spaces will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.

If there is additional interest from the membership, then she will provide coaching at a discounted rate.

To take up this offer email clare@celoxcoaching.com, referencing “Love Her Wild”.

“I look forward to working with you and helping you to achieve your goals.”

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