Being present, staying present—an ever-changing, ever-enriching experience!
My theme for 2024 has been presence.
In my January blog post about annual themes, I described what that means to me: “I want to show up wholeheartedly for myself, my family, my friends, my clients, and my purpose. I want to metabolize life and all it brings with equanimity, not overly emphasizing the easy things or shying away from the hard.”
Over the last year, my family and I have changed almost everything about our lives to facilitate more presence. In November 2023, we lived in northern Virginia, and I worked for the federal government. Our family was stretched thin by how much work it took during the mornings, evenings, and weekends to do life upkeep while Josh and I worked more than full-time. Now, we live on a farm in Wisconsin. We have local family support and more breathing room in our schedule. My coaching practice has expanded, and I work for Boulder Crest Foundation.
I applied for my Professional Coaching Certification (PCC) from the International Coaching Federation this month. Reflecting on what I’ve learned from over 500 hours of coaching, plus the hundreds of hours of coaching education and practice, I noticed that presence is a theme there, too.
Coaching as growth and inspiration
Presence and coaching are both journeys and destinations. They both involve a process of exploration, discovery, and growth.
The best coaching requires my full attention to the client in the present moment. It can’t be done with an agenda and requires trust that together we will discover something better than anything I could manufacture intellectually.
Being present with coaching during this year, I’ve seen clearly that coaching is where I synthesize all the parts of who I am. It allows me to connect deeply with people who are meeting with me because they want to grow. It allows me to be in service to supporting the enrichment of people’s lives. My clients inspire me, and the practice of being present in coaching catalyzes my own growth. I believe we inspire each other—and there are moments of breakthrough, insight, and peace for both my clients and myself.
Being present as attention to change
Writing these posts has been a meaningful journey far outside my comfort zone, and I’m intensely grateful for the support I’ve had. But I’m at a point where I need to pause some commitments to continue being present the way I want to be, so this will be my last newsletter for now.
Thank you for being part of my writing journey!
My schedule is full enough during this season of life that, outside of my Boulder Crest job, I want to devote every hour I can to coaching sessions rather than coaching-adjacent activities.
Presence is a choice—a deliberate act of attention. Sometimes, it means doing less rather than more, redirecting time and energy to the best of many great opportunities. It often needs to be calibrated seasonally, but it always leads to deeper connections, greater fulfillment, and a more meaningful life.
What could you start or stop doing to be more present?
Photo by kermit nicou