Years ago, when I first began pursuing a coaching career, I had a goal to provide outstanding coaching each time I had a call with a client. I knew that to achieve this goal, I would have to get into the minds and hearts of clients, and truly understand who they were. I started asking my clients to journal online daily, and was quickly blown away by the incredible amount of data I was receiving. Not only could I constantly stay connected with my clients and thus speed up the coaching process, but I also could access their thoughts, beliefs, and perspectives.

Today I ask every client I coach to journal. Each day, I respond to their journal with questions and prompts, to help the coaching process to progress.

I’d love for you to experience this journaling-coaching experience for yourself. Here’s an exercise that you can try. Below is an excerpt from a client’s journal. Read the entry and decide where you will take the conversation. You can use the questions below to guide you. I would love to hear about your approach—please respond in the comments!

“I really don't consider myself a very exciting person. I'm happy with who I am. It just seems like people expect something else. I suppose it's easier if people have a handle to immediately identify you by. Everyone I know seems to have something that identifies them, something that makes them stand out. But I'm not sure what my interesting thing is.”

Some questions to get you started:

What is the struggle that this client is experiencing?

Do you believe this client when he says that he is happy with who he is?

How does this client see himself?