8 Tips For Living Better With Zen Coaching

Zen coaching is a proposal that involves the fusion of two approaches. On the one hand, the discipline of coaching that is dedicated to following up, instructing and training people so that they can reach their goals. This is a Western construction.

On the other hand, Zen, an ancient oriental philosophical system that seeks mainly to awaken consciousness. Such awakening is understood as the result of a subjective individual evolution, whose purpose is to reach peace and harmony.

Zen coaching aims to enhance the development of mind and spirit, in order to reach those goals that make us happiest. From this approach, there are 8 essential aspects to get on the growth path. They are as follows.

1. Challenging your own prejudices, something essential in Zen coaching

We are all full of unfounded beliefs. Not even the most rational are safe from this. Regrettably, many of these prejudices become a major limitation for moving forward in life.

Challenging our prejudices is not easy. To do this, we first have to recognize them,  exploring those “truths” that we have always assumed to be obvious or indisputable. Then, be willing to assess their legitimacy and change focus if there is no reason to keep them.

2. Treat goals in three scopes

Zen coaching indicates that you must set goals in three dimensions: be, do, and have. The scope of the being is related to the values, abilities and levels of evolution that each one wants to reach. Doing has to do with the actions you want to carry out, with the concrete results you want to achieve. Having, in turn, refers to the material world, to what one wishes to possess.

It is important that all these goals are planned precisely and not generally. It is also essential to establish a specific deadline to reach them. One month, one year, five years, etc. The definition and deadline are fundamental.

3. Recognize the impossibility of changing some things

Life has its own limits. The first one is death, against which we can do nothing. There are other completely insurmountable barriers that we must learn to recognize and accept.

Zen coaching warns us that if we cannot identify these impossible desires and let go of them, we may be very unhappy. We will spend a lot of energy focusing on something we cannot achieve. This takes us away from many important goals that would actually be achievable.

4. Place yourself in the present

Being in the present moment does not mean losing perspective. We all come from a past that shaped us and made us what we are. We also act in order to carry out projects and goals for the future.

What Zen coaching teaches us is that in the action plan, we must focus on the present. The past is in the mind as well as the future. The action, in turn, is in the here and now. The present is life as such, so it is essential to be in it.

5. Take responsibility

We always gain a lot when we manage to take responsibility for our actions and our lives,  when we stop victimizing ourselves and clinging to external pretexts to justify what we cannot be or do.

Taking responsibility means being able to accept the fact that our lives are the fruit of our mistakes and successes. From no one else, just from ourselves. Although we don’t have control over everything that happens, we can work out how to deal with events.

6. Take ownership of your time

Time is the most valuable asset that human beings have. In some ways, it’s the only possession we really have in our lifetime. We are often not aware of this and irrationally waste it.

Appropriating our time is giving it the value that corresponds to it. Eliminate, without compassion, all those activities that are irrelevant or that contribute little. Give a place to everything that is important instead of wasting it uselessly.

7. Put effort into step by step

When we understand that great achievements are built step by step, we begin the path to achieving what we propose. Zen coaching invites us to be mindful, patient and disciplined on the path to what we want.

Every big goal is made up of small steps. Each step is a step in this long chain of actions that lead us to our purpose. The way to achieve something is to apply the old saying: no rush, but no pause.

8. Make decisions and move to action

Uncertainty is a permanent reality. We will never know for sure whether choosing one path is better than choosing another. However, if we spend a lot of time pondering, we will most likely enter a phase of paralysis. For this reason, Zen coaching insists on the importance of making decisions. Reflecting is important, but then you need to move on to action. Often only the facts can clarify our doubts.

All these aspects finally lead us to the conclusion that living better is not so difficult. Zen coaching mainly teaches us that it is just about accepting reality as it is, and dealing with it in a constructive way. Everything else comes in addition.