Noticing and taking advantage of your natural way of getting things done — your “conative style” as Kathy Kolbe calls it — is the most effective and enjoyable way to find a coach (as well as to do most anything else):

• If you Google by the hour and love research of all kinds, then you’re a Fact Finder — don’t fight it. Dig on in. Look around online. Your friends, family, or favorite authors, celebrities, or bloggers may mention a coach THEY like. Or you can create search strings combining “coach” with other keywords (“weight loss “, “spirituality”, “vegetarian pagan libertarian” etc…). Read tons of different coaches’ web pages, and keep a list of which coaches have which of the traits, prices, programs, experiences, interests, or products you admire. I mean, I know you like to do this, right?! And as you flesh out your research, the decision will jump right out at you. [Note — If this paragraph makes you feel sicky, no worries… more methods are coming up and one will suit you!]

• If you like well established, harmonious systems, then you prefer what Kolbe calls the Follow Through approach to action. I suspect you’ll enjoy looking into different life coach training programs, finding a program you admire, and narrowing your search to their certified trainees.
  

[There is no national or state certification for coaches, nor has one independent certifying organization clearly emerged as dominant. Certifications are designed and awarded by each individual training program.]

• If you’re a hands-on kind of person — an Implementer — start collecting and using the delightful “pink spoons” available on many coaches’ websites! Named after the ice cream samples that Baskin-Robbins offers up (and let’s just pause right here to bless B &R’s little hearts), these freebies are available on many coaches pages: newsletters, worksheets, tool kits, etc… Coaches without pink spoons (me included!) may offer a 15-minute get-to-know you free session if you ask. After you engage with a coach directly or through a custom-made product, you will know how much you love her or him.
  

• If you like to jump right in and get going, then you are a Quick Start, and Honey — let’s face it — you probably already signed up with someone! Maybe you heard of them by word of mouth or saw them on Facebook. Good for you. You can always change your mind and try someone else if you want to (as you already know… that’s part of why you don’t sweat these decisions much).

Each one of us absolutely engages in each conative style at times, so please mix and match any or ALL of the above techniques. But however you go about it, there is one important tool I recommend for anyone’s decision: your own Body Compass:

To learn how to tune up this ever-present, always honest, outer guide to your own inner wisdom, click here.

Short version: follow your gut.Your heart. Any and every part of your body sending you signals.

Even if your research OR some sterling certification OR a splashy e-book OR your mother’s best friend seems to point to one coach, always check with — and GO WITH — your own sense of the thing. Take the time to slow down and notice your actual physical sensations and ask yourself — “Does this feel freeing?”  Never intentionally walk into anything that feels like it’s shackling your true self.

This one-two-combo — your Body Compass + your conative preferences — is a super-powerful way to make any decision. And best of all, it feels like a secret sinful way to go about things because it is so dang FUN. Try it for yourself, and let me know where I’m wrong or how I can be of service to you in working through some tough choice.

Meanwhile I’m Googling to find the Baskin-Robbins closest to Sheridan, Wyoming. My next post may be from Nebraska.

All my best,

Betsy