“But I’m too old; it just feels too late.” A version of that statement frequently comes from coaching clients who want or need to do something different, but feel they’ve missed the boat. For some, it’s a change that’s been forced on them, such as the loss of a partner, an illness, moving to a new area, or work-related, such as redundancy, insolvency, retirement or success. (Yes, becoming successful in your career or business can sometimes cause as much uncertainty and dissatisfaction as failure.) For others, life just doesn’t feel fulfilled or maybe there’s a childhood dream that hasn’t been realised.
A great many of my clients come to me because there’s something not ‘right’ in their world. As a life coach for business it’s my job to help people navigate the often choppy waters of change, as they move forwards towards a more satisfying future. But first we have to get over the blocks that might stop them and one of the key ones is age.
Whether it’s on a major scale, like switching career, moving house or getting divorced, or lesser things such as taking up a new hobby or redecorating the lounge, it truly is NEVER TOO LATE to make a change. However, it’s important to take REALITY into account, especially as you get older. To do this, you need to ask yourself a number of questions: They include:
- Why do I want to make this change?
- What impact will it have on my life?
- What are the pros for making this change?
- What are the cons for making this change?
- What’s the worst thing that could happen?
That last question really is important. Sometimes it’s the FEAR of doing something that stops us and facing that fear head on can help minimise it. A while ago, I worked with a client who wanted to move to another part of the country and had been talking about it for ages. When we started coaching, he had to face up to his procrastination. We looked at the ‘what if?’ scenarios and he recognised that the worst thing was that he might be unhappy and not make any friends. Once he faced that, he knew he could return up north if that was the case. He handed in his notice at work, put his house on the market and 6 months later moved to Devon. He’s been there 2 years and is extremely happy. He’s 61 years old. He says, “Facing up to what was blocking me, ie my fear of change, really helped me to realise the sky wouldn’t fall in on my head. I’m loving it here and just wish I’d done it ages ago.”
In 2009 my coaching business was so badly affected by the recession that I couldn’t continue. I had no Plan B and was scrabbling around for a job, any job, to pay the bills and feed my son. I was 54 years old and felt I was too old to change, having been in training and coaching all my life. I started a little blog about my travels, entered a competition and won, realised I had the chance to fulfil a life-long dream to become a travel writer, decided I had nothing to lose and for the next few years travelled all over the world, writing about my adventures and managing to keep a roof over my son’s head – just … Read my travel blog The Quirky Traveller here.
10 years later, I’m back coaching people who want to make a change in their lives and hope to carry on for many years to come. So, if you want to do something different, what are you waiting for? It really isn’t too late, so get started NOW.
Zoë Dawes aka The Quirky Coach
I’m a life coach for business and ambassador for a simpler way of living. Having worked and travelled all over the world I now relish living in this special part of the UK. It lifts my spirits, frees my mind and reminds me of what’s really important, which is my family, good friends, a harmonious environment, doing a job I love, red wine and lemon meringue pie. Let me know what’s important to you. If you’d like help making a change in your life, get in touch via one of the ways below.
- Visit me at www.zoedawes.com
- Follow me on Twitter @thequirkycoach
- Find me on Facebook www.facebook.com/thequirkycoach
- Connect with me on Instagram @thequirkycoach
