If you’ve been struggling to find the motivation or confidence to go for your driving licence, or you have fears and phobias about driving, perhaps a life coach can help you.
Having a driving licence will give you added mobility and better job prospects, and achieving your licence can be a boost to your self-esteem. But if you’ve tried before and not passed, or if you’ve never managed to get around to it, perhaps using someone to give you a gentle nudge (or a strong kick) in the right direction could be the thing you need.
Many people also suffer from anxiety and stress when driving, especially if they have been involved in a serious traffic accident. This can cause sweaty palms, increased heart rate, a feeling of adrenalin in your body and butterflies in your stomach.
A life coach can help you with goal setting, figuring out your purpose in life and helping you make a plan that you can stick to that doesn’t feel overwhelming. They can suggest techniques to help improve your communication and confidence and reduce your anxiety, and will work to help you improve all your abilities and skills.
We spoke to Karen Ross and Nakul Riswadkar at Fresh Ways Forward Coaching about how a life coach could help someone who is struggling with their licence or has a phobia or fear related to driving.
What should a person expect when they engage a life coach?
“Coaching could last from a few sessions to deal with a specific issue such as nervousness when driving, to longer programmes of 6 weeks to 6 or 12 months looking at career direction, life goals, and any areas of life including health, relationships, financial security or spiritual growth. Sessions are usually 1-2 hours but can vary from 45 mins to 3 hours.
“In the first session we would start by focusing on the client’s outcomes – what do they want to get out of coaching? What is the challenge they want to solve, or the goal they want to achieve?
“We would help the client think through that fully, talk about how the coaching process works/what we will do together, and then make a start.
“Coaching will often involve home activities of some kind, from making notes on something in particular, to researching career ideas, taking some action steps for goals, etc. Some coaches provide more tasks than others. Homework is usually a valuable part of the coaching process – after all it is your process after all, so it’s well worth doing it, and people often get more out of each coaching session when they do.”
What questions should you ask your life coach to ensure they’re the right fit for you?
“The areas that get focused on are driven by the client, but can be partly dependent also on what the life coach tends to specialise in, so good questions to ask a coach are:
“What areas do you tend to help people the most?
“What do you enjoy helping people with? (A coach can sometimes try to be everything to everyone, but having experience in the specific areas you’d like help with is useful.)
“What kind of clients do you work with?
“What is your background?
“It’s important to choose your coach based on what feels right for you. It’s ok to say ‘no thanks’.”
Karen and Nakul also suggest that you should get into the habit of noticing progress, try relaxation and strength-based techniques such yoga, pilates and tai chi, and learn mindfulness techniques (we’ll have a future story on using meditation).
Nerves and anxiety can cause your mind to go blank which is bad news for your theory test, and if you are taking your practical test your lack of confidence can cause you to be hesitant which could earn you a fail. Working on your brain and body are the best ways to resolve these responses long term. As well as looking at life coaching you should also check out our guides on using affirmations to help you pass your driving test, and using hypnosis to help you pass your driving test.
Darren is a member of the Institute of Advanced Motorists and the NZ Motoring Writers' Guild
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