I have led overseas expeditions for over 20 years. It started with “Operation Raleigh” in the eighties (later “Raleigh International”), a UK based series of community service, science and adventure expeditions for youth between 18 and 24, three months at a time, mostly in developing countries.
As directing staff and medical director, I witnessed the enthusiasm with which young people from many countries came together, living and working cheek by jowl under rudimentary conditions, learning, growing, leading, and achieving amazing feats they never thought possible. Everyone went home a changed person, fired up to tackle the rest of life’s challenges. In many ways, this mirrors what life coaching achieves — a safe space for individuals to rediscover themselves and unlock new possibilities.
I have also led disaster relief missions such as to Sri Lanka after the Asian Tsunami, Haiti after an earthquake and lately Philippines after Typhoon Haiyan. I have never been short of doctors and nurses willing to volunteer, often at great personal cost to professional and family life. They were mostly mature, some in their fifties and sixties who had the wisdom of age but the spirit of youth. I have been amazed and humbled by their selfless service under arduous conditions, eschewing seniority and status to do whatever is necessary. All derived a primeval sense of satisfaction from “getting on the ground” and just doing it.
What is it that links the young and not-so-young in such projects? Many young people are mentally trapped by a rigid educational or social environment or have had few opportunities and little to look forward to. Going on an expedition takes them out of their environment and allows them a “re-boot” with new purpose, new relational skills and a sense of accomplishment that will see them through their future endeavours. Older professionals often suffer ennui. Pretty much doing “more of the same”, many struggle to retain a sense of purpose wondering if their decades of labour have really made any mark and what their “last one third” will hold.
For everyone, the opportunity to escape, even for a little while, allows them to go back to absolute basics, whether it is building a bridge by hand, diagnosing a chest infection without imaging or operating on an appendix in the field without electricity. Their bodies and minds, when unconstrained, are stretched; they are forced to re-evaluate their values and priorities; often a new sense of purpose and a fresh joie de vivre springs forth to fortify them for the next phase of life. For many, holistic health coaching provides the mindset and wellbeing reset needed to navigate major life transitions.
Getting back to basics is the key to finding new purpose. No matter how inured in a system, culture or job, seekers of their own destinies need opportunity and help to re-discover themselves. While very effective, not everybody needs to go on an intense expedition to Outer Mongolia or deepest Africa. Coaching and mentoring provide such an opportunity within the mind of the seeker. Going back to basics in order to go back to the future is part of what coaching and mentoring can do. An adventure beckons. Whether through personal transformation or holistic wellbeing, a qualified life coach can help you reconnect with what truly matters. Get a coach-mentor to help you in your journey! In shared settings, group coaching offers powerful breakthroughs as participants learn, reflect, and grow alongside others.