Amy Bloustine on Setting Goals and Reaching Milestones.

We recently had the opportunity to ask certified life and career coach, Amy Bloustine questions on how one can better themselves both in their career as well as their daily life.
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Q Amy, When did you decide that you wanted to help others to better their lives?

I am pretty sure that, at one time or another, we all get stuck. We don’t know how to change, or even exactly what we want to change, and we don’t know how to find direction – so we give up. We frequently stay in a job, a relationship, or another situation simply because it’s comfortable, even if we are unhappy. And that’s what happened to me.

With the help of a career coach, I began to examine my situation, step out of my comfort zone, and determine what I wanted to do. At one point, my coach asked me if I had ever thought about becoming a coach myself. It seemed outlandish at first – but when we talked further about it, something clicked. A light went on. I had that “aha” moment that I never thought I’d have. It became clear to me that coaching – helping people – was what I should be doing.

Since becoming a coach, I’ve not only helped to change the lives of my clients, but I’ve undergone a complete transformation as well. I’m happy, fulfilled, and confident that I’m doing what I’m meant to be doing. My ultimate goal is to help others get here too. I know it’s possible to be happy and make those changes and, if I can do it, I absolutely want to be able to help others to do it too.

Q What were some of the unexpected hurdles” and “What were some of the unexpected benefits of becoming a Life Coach?

Becoming a certified life and career coach has definitely been a life changing experience, something that I never expected would give me such pleasure with such great rewards. But, it can be daunting as well. Everyday, you have to show your clients how they can change their lives. I’m basically asking them to trust me, this total stranger, to help them do this, which means I have to believe in the strength of my own work. When you are first starting out as a coach, this can be overwhelming. You tend to question everything you are doing, and you set the bar so high for yourself. Sometimes, it might not always be realistic, but you keep trying everyday until it happens. It then does happen, and when it does, it’s incredible.

Another unexpected hurdle? “Wanting” or “expecting” everything to happen all at once. Like many people, I am not good at being patient. I’m hard on myself, and I often work to make it happen as soon as possible. I have to remember that it will happen, and also remind myself how important it is to learn along the way, absorb what I am learning, and then apply it accordingly.

Here is the greatest part of this entire adventure: what I actually do is help my clients see their world differently. Because when I help someone see their world differently, their world changes. When someone sees the world differently, they show up differently, and they create results that looked impossible a moment before. In the end, it is pretty amazing to get to be a part of their journey and to watch this transformation happen. That’s one of the most unexpected benefits of becoming a life coach. This truly makes me so happy. Everyday, I learn something new from my clients that I did not expect.

Q What is the one common problem you see among a majority of your clients?

The most common problem I see among the majority of my clients is the struggle with time management and trying to get their lives organized. This happens with both my life coaching clients and my career coaching clients. It can be truly paralyzing for many. It’s the reason many people are stuck and don’t know how to move forward in their lives.

Q What are some things that are supposed to help a person reach their goals, but can actually hurt their chances of success?

Setting goals is an essential practice for living a happy and fulfilling life. Goals are good things. Goals provide you with purpose, direction, structure, and motivation. They give you something to strive for, and they force you to change and improve yourself to achieve them.

Since becoming a coach, I see goal setting in a completely different way than I did before. I truly believe in the value of going through this process and what happens when someone doesn’t set goals.

I’ve found that most people fail to accomplish their goals because of one of these three reasons:

  • Lack of clarity of what his/her goals are.
  • Lack of accountability; they don’t have an accountability partner or know how to be accountable to
    themselves or others.
  • Lack of flexibility and understanding that life happens, and you have to manage those life interruptions as they happen and allow for this flexibility.

Now, these reasons may seem very basic, but they can truly affect the outcome of one achieving his/her goals.

Q What are some common misconceptions your clients have about making changes in their lives?

People think that change should happen quickly- we all want things right here and now. We are society that wants everything immediately and in order to make these changes, you must take your time, take little steps instead of big ones and practice what you are learning along the way so you can sustain these changes. We know that change is a process, and it’s an undeniable fact that a lot of tiny successes add up to bigger ones. If you make small steps consistently over time, it is impossible for your momentum to not shift in your favor.

Tavis Bucklin

Tavis Bucklin is a #1 Best-selling author, and contributing iReporter for CNN covering leaders in Business, Health, and Personal Development.Tavis has been published in ABC, CNN, NBC, FOX and Forbes Magazine among other outlets.