The Courage to Engage with a Coach

If you’ve ever felt hesitant, nervous, or scared about seeking coaching, this is a must-watch!

A Familiar Face

During a recent zoom consultation, I encountered someone who mirrored my own past reservations. Their struggle to make eye contact, their shaky voice—it all felt so familiar. As I got to know them, I witnessed their transformation from tentative to curious, and finally, to being open and eager. It struck me that this kind of courage deserves to be celebrated, and I realized that I needed to talk about it more because nobody else seemed to be doing so.

Hi, Hello, Aloha

But before we dive deeper, let me introduce myself. I’m Heather Patterson, a coach dedicated to helping you bridge the gap between where you are and where you want to be in life, leadership, and love. Welcome —I’m absolutely thrilled that you’re here!

Normalizing Getting Help

That consultation call inspired me to add the topic of “the courage to engage with a coach” to my list of video ideas (yes, I keep a list, or I’d forget them!). You see, I’ve been in your shoes before—feeling the dread, fear, and the vulnerability of exposing my shortcomings and failures to a virtual stranger. It can be daunting, right?

The truth is, cultural and familial paradigms of independence and self-reliance make engaging with a coach challenging. Depending on how deeply ingrained these paradigms are, it affects our level of engagement and openness. However, if you’ve had prior exposure to coaches or other forms of support, you might find yourself more receptive.

In my own journey, I’ve had coaches and teachers throughout my life—cheer and softball coaches, a piano teacher, and even therapists.

In my early twenties, facing a failing marriage, I sought help from a therapist recommended by a co-worker. I went through the same wave of nervousness, guardedness, curiosity, and ultimately, enthusiasm.

Since then, that feeling has resurfaced countless times—be it with co-workers, bosses, trainers, therapists, or coaches—in various areas such as love, relationships, money, career, business, and spirituality.

Surprisingly, I’ve even experienced it with my golf coaches and trainers. It’s almost absurd to think that I should know everything about those topics!

But here’s the thing: paradigms can be little buggers! And it’s only natural to feel vulnerable when baring it all, especially to a “stranger.” It takes courage to be vulnerable. It take courage to admit what it is that we really want and ask for help getting it.

Brene Brown Says

In preparation for this message, I referred back to an old faithful: The Gifts of Imperfection and found where Brene talks about common courage versus heroism. (Watch the video to hear the quote) I love what she says and believe engaging with a coach is not only courage and vulnerable, it is an act of heroism for oneself.