What is a Catholic Life Coach?

“Coaching is not telling people what to do; it’s giving them a chance to examine what they are doing in light of their intentions.”

– James Flaherty

In the pace of today’s world it’s all too easy to lose touch with who we really are and with what truly matters. How can we possibly begin to integrate the spiritual, professional and social spheres of our lives?  Christian Coaching uses Pope John Paul II’s personalistic philosophy of treating the entire human person, to integrate our spiritual, psychological, physical, emotional and social well-being, toward true human fulfillment and genuine happiness, using a Christo-centric approach.

So what is coaching to me?

From the moment I learned about the concept of Life Coaching, I knew it was a perfect fit for me! In my psychotherapy practice, I have always believed that the client is the true expert on themselves. Even the most troubled among us have the keys locked within them, though some are buried very deep and require a great deal of work to unearth. The difference between the mentally well and those with illness, is the willingness to search for those answers. My role is to be the ‘tour guide’ to help them unearth all the facets of the jewels that lie within them. I see life like a treasure hunt. The Lord has written the clues of our lives on the maps of our souls and I want to help you discover yours! As a matter of fact, when contemplating what to call this site, I originally wanted to use TourGuideToYourSoul.com. With the New Age misuses of the word ‘soul,’ I was concerned about misinterpretations and abandoned the idea. That is in fact what Coaching is to me though. It is walking beside you on your Way to Emmaus, entering into your dreams and the plans He has made for you (Jer 29:11), helping you discover them all!

Jesus died to set us free, yet we bind and limit ourselves in countless ways. Helping you break out of self-imposed limitations, drawing you nearer and nearer to the fulfillment of who God made you to be, helping you find your passion, is my passion! My greatest desire is to make His love palpable to the world. By each of us closing the gap on who we are and who He created us to be, we also begin to close the gap that exists between ourselves and God. The closer we become to Him, the more we are filled with His love and take His love out into the world. Once again, Jesus has arms and legs (St. Teresa of Avila) and a heart and voice. In other words, His love becomes as palpable as when He walked among us!

“Socrates once commented that the unexamined life is not worth living. Lately, because of restlessness, we have taken to examining our lives less and less. When we are unreflective, invariably it is because our restlessness lacks a proper asceticism and simply propels us into a flurry of activity which keeps us preoccupied and consumed with the surface of life with the business of making a living… with distractions and entertainment. It is then that our reactions no longer issue from a center within us, but instead are products of compulsion. We do things and we no longer know why. We are chronically pressured, victimized and hyper-driven. We are overworked, but are bored, socialize excessively, but are lonely and work to the point of exhaustion, but feel our lives are a waste. This is the unexamined life as Socrates spoke of it.”

– Fr. Ronald Rolheiser