What do you do when “life happens….”?

There is a saying: “life is what happens when you stop making plans”

This assumes that we have a plan!!

Even if we have a plan, life can throw up things that we have to deal with regardless of what the original goal was.

So what do you do when, regardless of whether you have a plan or not, you are stuck in “life” with not knowing what to do next? Who ya gonna call?

Ghostbusters?!! Your local friendly astrologist?!! Aunt Mary?!!

Or take it seriously and call a professional. But then what kind of professional?

As you are not ill, your doctor cannot help you deal with it – nor, seeing as it is not a behavioural problem or issue with your state of mind, can a psychologist, psychotherapist or other form of counsellor necessarily help.

It is a practical dilemma – often known these days as a “life issue” – and may even be one that you cannot discuss with your family, friends or work colleagues. Especially if the dilemma entails a mix of conflicting professional and personal choices – such as whether to change jobs, sack somebody to get a promotion, end a relationship in favour of a new career direction, deal with what is happening on the home front and not bring it to work, move countries…….and all of the above for one person to have to deal with at one time in their life.

You may somehow be both unfortunate and fortunate at the same time in having to make such choices – which cannot necessarily be done in isolation from one another. So how do you choose what to do? Or know how to go about it?

Enter The New Profession: Life Coaching

This is where Life Coaching, a fairly new profession, enters the fray of that “to be, or not to be” question we may often ask – but perhaps with not quite as dramatic consequences as when Shakespeare’s Hamlet deals with it where it is likely to bring down a nation. However it may feel like that. The main thing is that we now have someone to talk to for help in dealing with an issue that may be VERY important for us personally in obtaining the happiness and life that we seek – or dealing with something tricky that has arisen that puts what we already have at stake.

So what has led the 7C Alliance to Life Coaching?

In short, to help each of us both ask and answer questions on how we can begin to live a life WITHOUT limits. Or, simply, help get the life that we always wanted but were too afraid to even dream it, let alone take action.

In the past 7 years since it was first incorporated as a bunch of IT professionals coming together to support one another in getting and doing work, the 7C Alliance has helped its members with professional issues – but there have been occasions when it has been more than just a question of work. Members have needed someone that they could call if they had a personal goal that they have been struggling to achieve in line with their professional ones – and needed extra support beyond other members’ technical knowledge and the professional support that we had all developed together and provided to ourselves through 7C Alliance Limited.

For instance, a few years back we had two members fall in love.

One who was from Melbourne, Australia, and one who was a British national. The professional plan of the Melbournian was to work on contract for a short while in the UK – but, personally, it was with a view to meeting someone while she was here. At first the guy she’d met (and also introduced to the 7C Alliance) was happy to consider the plans – but then a question arose when they came to get engaged of whose country they should live in after they got married.

To cut a long story short, things did not work out and they went their separate ways – however both found it difficult to know who to turn to, as family and friends were divided over the issue and neither were happy. The challenge was therefore much more than professional – however it affected both professionally as well as personally through how they could not reconcile lives individually or as a couple.

Shortly after that another member had relationship issues that affected his professional life. These involved similar considerations of whether to stay with his partner who was expecting him to make a career change to fit with the lifestyle that she wanted – but that also meant giving up on dreams and goals that he had chosen for himself. It could have resulted in a serious breakdown – however he discovered a professional called a “life coach” who helped him with better understanding himself and his needs as well as making choices that would help him with how to manage this very personal crisis.

It was foreseeing more issues like this that the 7C Alliance realised that there was a need for members to have support to deal with such life challenges in order to succeed in life as much as professionally – and recognising that the two are closely linked.

So welcome Larissa, a Life Coach and new Alliance Partner

We are very pleased to announce an alliance with Larissa, a Life Coach who is experienced in helping people with the types of issues described. She is available to advise about life coaching generally through the Open Practice Technology Network.

For 7C Alliance members, Larissa can be contacted for an appointment through the 7C Alliance switchboard on 0844 844 2470. The first appointment is available for free on the basis of gaining mutual understanding and commitment.

For further details, see the following blog post by Larissa that explains what life coaching is.

Tags: Life Coaching, Lifestyle