Personal Training
Personal training or coaching are terms that many are not personally aware of despite our daily exposure to their business counterparts. Many of us are veterans of organizations that are slow to react to change, risk-averse, and often home to a multitude of dysfunction. We collectively responded with a "told you so" when outside consultants were sought for their fresh perspective. In an ideal situation these "outside the box" individuals succeeded by their lack of company history and the resulting freedom enabled by the lack there of. So many of us see the wisdom that an objective perspective brings to our professional lives, but yet we fail to see the need for it in our personal lives. Even if we do sense the need, we often fail to act as our entrenchment to our comfort zone is stronger. We strive to enact change in the work environment, moving beyond the resistors and obstructionists, yet we become apprehensive when change is required on a personal level. Stepping away from the emotional perspective of one's self, let us frame it in a different perspective. How difficult would enacting change be if only one "buy in" were necessary? Taking this a step further take away sales pitches, committee meetings, ulterior motives, and competing agendas from the range of obstacles. In the business world this situation would be best described as a done deal. At the end of the day most of what stands in the way of personal change is ourselves.
Much like management consultants Personal Trainers are tasked with helping us see our options in the boxed in reality that we have chosen for ourselves. While the result is therapeutic in nature, Personal Training is not inherently focused on ones "inner child." Personal training focuses on realities and choices and tends to be more action oriented than psychotherapy. While the term "inner child" has become cliche, some present choices have their roots in past struggles. One of the many areas that personal trainers coach clients in is that of self-esteem. Many trainers will utilize physical challenges as a means of building up confidence and increasing ones self-esteem. Often times the best way is to bring the individual out of their present environment. Devoid of distractions, familiar comfort retreats, and past examples of failure, this new environment provides the necessary training field for growth and development.
