As the seasons change, with leaves transforming into the beautiful shades of autumn and the temperatures dipping into the cool and crisp zone, fall is an excellent reminder that we can also change. My “passion project” of providing health and wellness coaching for women has demonstrated so well that we can genuinely cultivate real and lasting change when we connect our desire for change to our strengths and values. While I learned this in my formal training, the research also supports this, and seeing it play out on a real-life stage is powerful.      

After my clients went through health and wellness coaching with me, I reached out to some of them to ask permission to share more about the positive changes they experienced with their personal health and wellness journeys. They did a lot of self-reflecting on their strengths, values, and what matters most to them during our sessions.   I love that these ladies’ seemingly “small” changes had a big impact.   This article is a “first” in sharing real-life change and how small changes can make a big difference.

Terri, 66, is a semi-retired health professional currently teaching a few health-related classes as she works her way into full retirement.

Challenge:   Too busy and overly stressed

Vision:   To be healthy and enjoy people and life, to have an enjoyable retirement

When I began health and wellness coaching sessions with Terri, she doubted herself and her abilities to “let go of some of the poor behaviors that have caused me to be stressed and anxious.”  Terri’s vision was “to be healthy and enjoy people and life, with more peace and less ‘busy.” Her vision helped her identify several of her strengths and values, including being dependable, helpful, and available to others and enjoying and living life.    Exploring her vision, strengths, and values set the stage for her to set a goal to implement effective ways to reduce stress levels to live a healthy lifestyle, and to set herself up for an enjoyable and less stressed future retirement, where she still could “be there” for those she loved.   She set a 3-month goal of reducing stress by changing one part of her morning routine at least 3 times a week by the end of the month, more specifically, dedicating at least 15 minutes for eating breakfast.  

At the end of our coaching sessions, Terri consistently took 15 minutes in the morning to relax and have breakfast at least three times a week over 30 days.    She reported feeling more relaxed, less rushed, and less stressed as she went about her busy day and calendar of activities. Being successful with this small, first action step – eating breakfast in the mornings – created momentum for Terri to keep going and do more. She was also successful over 2 months in making it to 3 out of 4 appointments and activities on time in a given week due to better planning and taking time for herself at the beginning of the day. Lastly, she successfully turned the computer off at least five evenings a week and did something relaxing. One small step led to several others, and at the end of the path, she reported dramatically decreased stress levels and greater enjoyment of life – just what she was seeking!

Terri shared that “being aware” and verbalizing intentions, commitment to improvements, and building “accountability” are essential to her future goals. She said several times through coaching sessions that she was “finding her power.” She shared that determination and accountability were the keys to her success.  

A year later, post-coaching, Terri says, “I am still managing my time much better, planning my schedule with flexibility, and meeting many of the objectives that we set together. For example, we determined that I tried to fit too many activities into my schedule before I needed to leave for a meeting, causing me to always be late. I am always working on that issue but feel I have made a lot of headway.” 

“Now, when I am trying to make an appointment on time, I find that setting a timer helps tremendously. In the past, I would push my time to the very last minute, rush in to put on my clothes and fix my makeup, grab my keys, notes, or directions, and rush out the door. Today, I am happy to report that once the timer goes off, I put down the shovel, watering can, or broom, gather my things, and leave in plenty of time to arrive before the event begins. Dennis is also less stressed since he was running into church with me to ensure we arrived before service began. Success is sweet.” 

Terri is closer to her vision and goal of a healthy, happy, and less stressful life, which will soon lead to an enjoyable retirement. And it all started with breakfast- one small action step.

If you still need to check out my earlier article on the power of the action step, take a peek.   You might be like Terri and find that one small step can lead to a big change!