Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself. – Leo Tolstoy

 
People coach with me for all kinds of different reasons and outcomes, personal and professional.

 
But one thing I’ve noticed is that clients who are really ready for change and want to dig in tend to get the most results.

 
It’s like this – imagine you own a house.  It’s a perfectly fine house, and you like it pretty well, but there’s something about it that you want to change.

 
You could rearrange the furniture in this house: put the sofa over here, move the chairs and the coffee table over there, get some new lamps, paint the walls.  It might look a little different, a little fresher, but it’s still the same fundamental layout.

 
Or you could go down to the basement, and really take a look at the mechanicals and the foundation of this house.   Take a look to see that the footings of this house are solid, and that all the parts are running smoothly, efficiently, and soundly, the way you want them to.

 
It may be temporarily more messy and chaotic to check out those darker
corners, strip down to the studs, or to a bust out a wall or two.

 
But rather than rearranging the circumstances and situations of your life, how about being sure that the foundations of your life are strong and well-built, working for you, supporting you? 

 
That’s what good coaching can do, I think. 

 
Not because your foundations are busted or broken, but that they need to be mindfully maintained, taken care of, attended to, so that you can intentionally grow the rest of your life’s house from a solid footing.

 

Your Turn

In the Comments below, tell me: Are you redecorating your life or are you remodeling it? How could shoring up the foundations of your life help you go even farther?

 

Loved this post?

Then use the icons below to tweet it, share it on Facebook and send it to specific friends via email.

 
Photo credit: iStock

 
Editor’s note: This post was originally published in July 2013 and has been updated for content and relevancy.