Kingstown College Coaching Magazine vol.5 2019/2020

www.kingstowncollege.ie
95
needs is action. It needs people to
step up. It needs us to believe we can
have an impact. Many of us believe
nothing we do will make a difference
while others feel it is up to them to
save the world. Neither is true. We
alone cannot save the world, but as
individuals we can all have an impact.
As Helen Keller put it ‘I am only one.
I cannot do everything, but still I can
do something; and because I cannot
do everything, I will not refuse to do
something that I can do’.
Action is at the heart of coaching and
empowering you to identify and take
the steps needed to achieve your
goal, whatever that may be, is a key
part of the process. The question then
is - can the coaching process not only
empower us to act for ourselves but
also empower us to act for the greater
good?
Trusting ourselves: None of us has all
the answers. But coaching differs from
mentoring and other relationships
where you seek advice from a more
knowledgeable, more senior, more
‘successful’ other, because coaching is
built on the premise that each of us
has the best answers for us within us.
Coaching helps us realise that when it
comes to our lives we are the experts,
when it comes to finding our passions,
only we can do that, when it comes to
using our strengths, that’s down to us.
Good coaching gives us the courage to
believe in ourselves. And the courage
to know it’s ok to sometimes try and
fail because that is all part of the
process, part of the learning, part of
getting closer to where we want to
be. The question then is whether that
courage and greater trust in ourselves
is of value to wider society?
I don’t have all the answers to these
questions, and I know that the plural
of anecdote is not data, but I have
seen people come to coaching in
the pursuit of an individual goal and
through the process of questioning
the status quo, becoming more aware,
believing in enough, focusing on the
future, unlocking their imagination,
becoming better connected, finding
their strengths, becoming empowered
and trusting themselves they have
developed projects, goals and
dreams that are not just of benefit to
themselves but are of benefit to wider
society.
So I do believe that coaching is not
only good for us, as individuals, but
it also has the potential to be good
for the planet. And I look forward to
seeing coaching become more readily
available so that more of us can be
part of creating a positive, sustainable
future for ourselves and generations
to come. There is much to do.
References
Seligman, M. E.P (2002). Authentic
Happiness. Nicholas Brealey Publishing.
Neale, L. (2015). Playing for Time: making
art as if the world mattered. Oberon Books
London.
Stelter, R. (2007). Coaching: A process
of personal and social meaning making.
International Coaching Psychology Review.
Vol. 2, No 2. July 2007.
Markway, B (2013). Why do smart caring
people ignore environmental issues.
Psychology Today. Available at: https://www.
psychologytoday.com/us/blog/living-thequestions/201311/why-do-smart-caringpeople-ignore-environmental-issues
Hopkins, R. (2019) From What Is to What
If: Unleashing the power of imagination to
create the future we want. Chelsea Green
Publishing. vi Goleman, D (2007). Social
Intelligence: The new science of human
relationships. Cornerstone.
Jo Sachs-Eldridge
Jo Sachs-Eldridge has a degree in Psychology, a Masters in Sustainability, Planning & Environmental Policy and an Advanced Diploma in
Executive, Personal & Leadership Coaching. Jo has been part of many exciting projects for change in both Wales and Leitrim. She has designed
and led workshops to empower others to bring their strengths to their communities and is currently a member of the team coaching young
people through the Ideas Collective programme, bringing their ideas to change the world to life. Jo is a coach, a change maker, a community
connector and a mum who still believes we can create a positive future for all.