Know your history and what you can do with it!

Know your history and what you can do with it…. 
​(Her story, his story and the importance of your history.)

What do you mean ‘know my history’ Coach LJ?

As a career coach, I have the privilege to come and meet a lot of people from all walks of life. Different beings, different personalities, different upbringings and different stories. Those stories are a big part of who they are at the moment. It is a combination of unwritten rules of the family they are part of. The jobs and positions their parents held. Their siblings and their relationships with them. The schools and universities they went to. The friends they have the sandbox till now. Nine out of 10 times I ask my clients to write their own story, their autobiography.

These stories are worth to be written down. Going through the motions of life and daily routines it is almost a necessary thing to do. Sit down, think your life over and then write. The remarkable thing is that everybody will write different stories. Not because the people are different. The story is different because he will start his story from the age of 8 years old because he vividly remembers an event from that time which made quite an impression. Someone else will cover her professional career up until now.

Is there a “right story”?
In writing your own biography, there is no wrong or right. What comes to mind at that writing moment in time will be written down. When you are done writing about 4 to 5 pages, I presume you will read it and maybe discover patterns, specific choice of words. Maybe you elaborated on a subject or timeframe a few pages. This is interesting information that might give you insights on your behavior, the jobs you choose, the companies you work for or even the partner you are with. There is so much hidden knowledge in your story. That is why I believe in this approach. I refer to this part of career coaching as the phase of taking inventory. What are all the pieces of information from your past that made the person that you are now?

After the inventory.
After having taken inventory and having made sense out of all the events from the past my client is able to pivot toward the present and the future. Depending on my clients’ initial ‘career’ question the path toward a solution or answer to this question can now be faced with more knowledge about oneself. To be a leader of oneself and possibly others it is a necessity to understand oneself. Or at least try!

It can be daunting to sit down and write your own life story I understand that. Maybe there is a way to try it by keeping a journal of your current life. Or you might want to write down your accomplishments you have achieved so far. There are many roads that lead to Rome.

To being a conversation towards “your story,” please consider setting up a 25-minute exploratory session with me.

​I look forward to hearing your story!
– Coach LJ