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What a pleasure to be able help! I chose to become coach because it allowed me to help people, as some have helped me when I was going through difficult transitions in my life, or sometimes, as I would have liked to be helped. Because we have to be honest, I do not believe that anyone helps their neighbor out of pure generosity of heart. I believe that helping others is selfish, we help for the happiness it brings us, the feeling of accomplishment. Even seeing and receiving gratitude is selfish. And where is the harm? Is it really that bad to feel good when you're helping someone else feel good? Is one a bad person if the help given does not represent a pain, a constraint, a sacrifice? Is taking advantage of the helpful act really evil? Why think that helping and happiness are incompatible? Why believe that sacrificing will make us happy? Or that it is more important, more noble, to sacrifice oneself than to be happy. Sacrifice has such a violent, dark connotation... After all, aren't we talking about human sacrifice? A ritual by which one puts an end to the life of another person in order to obtain compensation… not very positive all that…. A principle by which one person must lose something (preferably in suffering) for another to gain. Does it really work? Is the person who wins happy? Should a mother sacrifice her life as a woman because she has decided to give everything to her children? Is forgetting a part of oneself necessary for donation? Does the gift therefore become a kind of debt that weighs, consciously or unconsciously, on the recipient? This notion of sacrifice in suffering does not make anyone happy…. In any case, not permanently. So why not try to be a little selfish? Be careful, not selfish in the sense "I only live for myself, and the others be gone"! I'm talking about measured selfishness, which allows you to give to others and to give yourself, which allows you to feel good while making someone else feel good ... positive selfishness, which allows you to be generous, without letting your generosity intrude on your limits and what is important to you. The one that allows you to help, and to feel good about having helped, without making you feel like you're sacrificing yourself. Why not call it "selfishnice", because it is selfishness that is nice for you and for others. So how do you decide to be “selfnice”? Why not start by asking yourself the questions “Will I be happy to help? If I spend a few minutes of my time helping, would I have wasted my time? or can it make him/her happy, help him/her move forward? » Today, after dropping my nephew off at airport security, I popped into the terminal bookstore (I love looking at all the gadgets on sale for travelers). While I was waiting to pay for my new notebook (I also love notebooks…), a gentleman (a young retiree), with an accent that seemed American to me, was buying a prepaid SIM card. When he asked the cashier if he was supposed to install it himself, she replied rather curtly that he was. He tried to make her feel sorry for him by telling her that normally his children would have helped him, but she ignored him and moved on to the next client. Of course, I completely understand that the cashier does not have time to help her, and that it is not in her job description. However, she might have been able to comfort him in telling him it was not difficult…. Oh well… Once I had paid for my notebook, I saw the gentleman on my way out sitting on one of the seats in the terminal hall. He looked a little lost in the task ahead. At that moment, I said to myself “am I in a hurry? do I want to help? could my day benefit from assisting this gentleman? ". My answers “no, yes, without a doubt!! » So I approached him and offered to help him. What a joy to read the relief on his face! Thanks to my help, he was able to call his daughter to reassure her that he had arrived safely, he was comforted that his new card was working, and he was able to pick up his rental car in knowing that he was accessible by telephone and could also have access to the internet while on the move. And me then? "Selfishnicely", I was able to practice my English (he was actually Canadian), I was able to do one of my favorite activities (playing with a cell phone, I loooove gadgets) and I hava had an encounter that inspired me to sit down and write this text, while smiling and feeling proud that I was able to help. And for the bonus gift, the smile and the gratitude of this gentleman who will perhaps, thanks to my gesture, have a funny anecdote to tell! 😉 Now, just for fun, and if we imagined that instead of helping this gentleman, I had decided to move on, just because, as often happens for many people (including me when I'm in a bad mood), it was not really my problem…. What do you think the results would have been? For the gentleman: he tries for a few minutes to open the his phone's SIM card slot without the right tool (I discovered today that an earring can have several uses!), and like he has booked a rental car and he does not want to lose his reservation, he gives up without being able to call his daughter, without means of communicating while traveling in a country he does not know... etc. By snowballing effect, his daughter will worry until he can communicate again…. obviously there are dozens of possibilities of what could have happened, but you get the theme. For me: I go on my way, and I do what I had planned to do, i.e. going to sit on a bench with my notebook, to wait for my nephew's plane to take off, waiting for an inspiration that probably wouldn't have come, and so I would have spent the time looking at my phone or playing solitaire... nothing very productive or nourishing, and I would surely have found the time very long... Of course, not helping this gentleman would not have depressed me, or made me sad. It would not have changed the course of my day in a negative way…. But why miss an opportunity to be "selfnice" and bring positivity, satisfaction, pride, a smile, see a laugh, and make a good day a great day?? !! I see no reason, and you?

We sometimes find ourselves in discussions or situations in which we disagree, where our interlocutor may seem aggressive, the tone rises because we do not understand each other, we end up saying things that we do not really mean, or not entirely, and which not only damage the relationship, but also do not advance the situation… Does that speak to you? This kind of situation often makes us question ourselves, question the reasons why the discussion got out of hand, what pushed our interlocutor to be aggressive, or to talk to us as he/she did. It can leave us bitter, angry, stressed, exhausted… And when it gets to that point, it's hard to go back, the relationship suffered, we spent a lot of energy, and nothing constructive came out of it… A rather negative result!! So why wait to get there to ask questions? What if you were wondering what can cause your interlocutor to react as he/she does during the discussion? What could be wrong with him/her? Maybe he/she was already upset, or the subject is sensitive…etc. Also, why are you reacting like this? What did this discussion touch in you that made you wince? What is it awakening and why? Often, having a different perspective can change our view of the situation and who we are talking to. Changing our perspective can help us to accept that there can be an infinite number of reasons why a situation can get out of hand, which are probably not related to us or the subject of the discussion, and allow us to take a step back so as not to not commit ourselves to a negative outcome. This is an additional step towards a better understanding of oneself and of others, towards constructive and positive communication. Coaching can help you in this process!

Who has never heard or used expressions such as "the glass is half full", "better late than never" or "after the rain comes the good weather"? They are part of our everyday language and are used spontaneously, almost automatically. We can think that their use by a person, attests to his/her positivity, to his/her ability to see the good side of things, but that this is not given to everyone. We can also think that these words are just empty, easy-to-use, that they don't reveal anything about us. Shouldn't we start from the principle that these words have a power, a real power that acts on the one who chooses to pronounce them as on the one who receives them? For example, saying that a person has a bad character does not have the same impact as saying that they have a strong character. A bad character encourages you to move on, while a strong character implies a person who has charisma and does not allow himself to be manipulated. Two other examples: Why mention “bad weather” rather than mentioning the benefits of rain on vegetation? To a child who has had an average mark, isn't it better to say "it's good and it shows that you have potential for progress" rather than to be satisfied with a short and sharp "you can do better" ? Have you noticed that saying or thinking things in a positive way changes your vision of things, your perspective but also the perspective of the people around you? So why not try to choose other words to shed a new light on your thoughts and discover new bright perspectives? For your well-being and for the well-being of the people around you!!

Still wondering if coaching is for you? Here are some examples of why people choose to contact a coach: Do you no longer feel like you belong in your job? You want to know if you need to change and what else you could do that would bring you a sense of alignment. You feel overwhelmed by your day-to-day life and need to find ways to better organize your life. You are starting a new business or a new position and you need to boost your self-confidence and get rid of the impostor syndrome. Your living environment is not the one you always dreamed of and it weighs on you, you need help to find how to change this situation. You are going through a difficult period in your personal life and want to find a way to regain serenity and peace of mind. You have a problem with a colleague or a family member and you want ways to improve your communication to create appeasement. You have a travel, construction, renovation project, etc., and you wish to be accompanied in the planning and realization of this project. You want to find the motivation to change something in your life: practice more sport, eat healthier, get up earlier, go out more, etc. You want to learn more about yourself, your abilities, your talents, your strengths, to continue to progress in your personal development. Or quite simply, there is something wrong, which prevents you from fully blossoming and you want to understand and move forward. … The above reasons are just a few of the multitude of issues that can be addressed through coaching. But whatever your problem, your coach will be at your side to help you find out your answers and solutions! Let's meet up for a free 30 min session, by phone or video, to discuss it and determine if coaching is for you !

You're tempted to sign up for a coaching, but you have no idea how it works.... Here are some explanations to help you. A coaching process usually takes 6 to 8 one-hour sessions, spread out on 2 to 3 months, in agreement with the cadence decided by you and your coach during the first session. The first session will help you and your coach get to know each other, and establish a trusting relationship and kindness. You will clarify together your current situation and you will explore the situation you wish to reach when the coaching ends. This desired situation may be the answer to a question, a decision, a solution to a problem. It may also be that you wish to get your confidence back, or simply to find serenity and well-being. This desired situation will be formulated as a coaching goal, and sub-goals (I like to describe as steps) will be defined. Each follow-up session will be articulated on the same outline: clarification of the subject that you will present and definition of the session goal. Then, thanks to powerful questions and coaching tools, your coach will accompany you in the exploration of the options available to you, and the definition of an action plan to reach your goal. You will regularly check the coaching progress with your coach, and you will decide together if you are on the right track, or if your goals need to be adjusted. Coaching is a flexible and living process!! And when you will have decided that your goal has been reached, thanks to the success criteria established during the first session, you will decide if your coaching is completed! If you have anymore questions, or if you want to find out if coaching is for you, contact me for a free 30min session !!

The first time I contacted a coach, I really didn't know what to expect, or even if coaching could help me. By then, I had been working for more than 15 years for the same company. I had held several positions, as an engineer, a manager, a project manager... etc. However, for the last 3 to 4 years, I hadn't been feeling like I belonged there. I told myself that the position didn't suit me anymore, but even after changing position, I could not get motivated anymore, like I had been in the past for years to push forward , to excel at my job, and to get up in the morning... As part of a redundancy plan, my company was offering the possibility to leave voluntarily. That was not the first time this happened, but I had never even thought about leaving, it had never crossed my mind. But this time, it was different. I started thinking "what if I left?"... I was suddenly overwhelmed by a lot of different emotions: curiosity, doubt, hope, panic fear, confusion... After a few days, I was completely lost and exhausted... and I still didn't have any answer to my question !!! One of my friends had become a coach after she left her job, and one day as we were talking she offered to coach me. I was a bit puzzled as, after all, how could coaching help me get rid of this terrible fear which seized me every time I considered leaving my job?? This fear which led me to believe that I couldn't do anything else, that it would be totally unreasonable to leave a stable and well paid job, even though I didn't fit in anymore. This fear to fail in finding a new activity in which I would fit... But I took the plunge (nothing to lose, right?!) and coaching helped me realise that I had more strength and talents in me than the ones I used in my job, and that the skills I had acquired in my professional career could be transposed to another activity. Thanks to coaching, I have found my new mission, an activity with which I am aligned and which helped me get motivated again. All this helped me overtake the fear which was holding me back from stepping towards freedom, and personal and professional fulfilment. If you too, you want to blossom and find fulfilment, contact me for a free 30min session, so that we can assess together if coaching is for you!!

1. Life coaching is like going to a psychologist. WRONG !! Even if, like a psychologist , your coach is empathetic and caring, coaching is focused on the futur and your coach will accompany you in your research for answers and solutions, to help you go forward. 2. You really need to have a problem to be in need of coaching. WRONG !! Coaching allows you to get a wider perspective. Quite often, we remain in our comfort zone, telling ourselves that it's not bad. Coaching can help you change "not bad" into "great!" !! Why settle for little when you can make your dreams come true ??!! 3. If I go see a coach, I'll need to answer personal questions and I will have work to do. WRONG & TRUE !! In coaching, there's no obligation, you only answer the questions you want to answer and you will take the actions you'll decide to take. However, coaching is a partnership between the coach and his/her client, and as in all partnership, both parties have to be committed to get results. To help you in this process, your coach will provide a caring and confidential environment. 4. Coaching is for weak people who can't take decisions by themselves. WRONG !! Personally, I've always considered that asking for help is a strength. You need to be strong to admit that you can't do it alone. However, in coaching, you alone will answer your questions, will find your solutions, and will take your own decisions ! 5. A coach gives advice and tells you what to do. WRONG !! One of the principles of coaching are that you, the client, have all the resources you may need to go forward. Your coach, with the help of powerful questions and specialised tools, will accompany you on this road to progress, allowing you to become aware of your strengths, your talents, and all your sometimes hidden resources. If you have anymore questions, please book a free 30min session so I may give you answers and so we could assess together if coaching is for you !! Cécile

I meet a lot of people who think that once they're done with their coaching, everything should be great, no more blues, no more downs, only highs!! And as life is made of twists and turns, unforeseen, good and bad surprises, we are all exposed to stressful situations regularly, and sometimes, when we're tired, a bit overwhelmed by all the things we have to do every day, we have difficulties to cope. And despite all the things we have learned during the coaching, despite the progress we have made, and all the things we have learned about ourselves and about the tools to manage our stress, we are feeling depressed, down... How disappointing after all this hard work!! In those moments, it's good to remember that personal development is a journey, it takes time, and it is not because we have learned the tools to manage stress that it has become a reflex yet!! Practicing is the key!! So what should we do when we facing this situation? If the things you have learned don't help, don't sweat it!! Sometimes our body and our brain are sending us messages to make us understand that we need to let it go, and accept this situation without fighting it. Sleep on it and tomorrow will be a new day, filled with a new energy which will allow you to try again practicing the tools you have learned!! And if you feel the need for a little push, feel free to book an additional coaching session, for a "boost", to help you get back on track with the continuous improvement!! Cécile