Forty-two year old car mechanic Grant Ryan, from Milton Keynes, never really saw himself as a get-up-and-go sort of person. After leaving school he married his childhood sweetheart and went into the family business, and felt he was more or less set up for life. His father’s ill health meant he inherited the garage business at the age of 31, but he divorced four years later.
“My marriage was comfortable but nothing special. We’d both turned into our parents a lot sooner than we expected, and neither of us was prepared for that. I’ve got two great kids so I am lucky, and I still get on with my ex, but after a while you start thinking there has to be more than this to it all”.
Shock to the System
Grant spent most of his time at work, or at home thinking about work. When Grant was 38 however, his father collapsed and died from a sudden heart attack. That traumatic event was enough to make Grant take stock of his life.
“My dad was only 63 – that’s no age at all. His death made me realise how little time we really have available to do the things we really want to. It let me see my life through a fresh pair of eyes, and I didn’t much like what I saw”.
Having no real direction or focus Grant sought the guidance of a Life Coach. For one hour a week, over a period of 8 weeks, Grant would offload concerns and worries and return home filled with renewed enthusiasm. At first Grant wasn’t sure if his commitment to change was enough to create the dramatic shake-up he wanted. Over the course of sessions however, his Life Coach Annie would allow Grant the opportunity to voice his concerns before helping him to define goals and shape plans that would help him achieve what he most wanted to.
Open Challenge
Annie would challenge Grant to expand his ideas and to think bigger and better thoughts. At first Grant would set himself relatively small, safe challenges, but because he was fulfilling these in no time he began to think up challenges that felt a lot more daring.
“In the space of 8 short weeks I went from feeling too timid to even go out for a drink without my mates, to signing up for a course of Salsa classes every Thursday night. I was mixing with a group of lovely people I didn’t know but I was loving it. After the fourth class my confidence was so much more in evidence that I decided I would make my next challenge much more daring”.
Grant felt so empowered by the Life Coaching sessions that he signed up to do a charity Sky Dive. Without the help, guidance and support of his Life Coach, Grant doubts he would have summoned up the confidence all on his own. Not only had his self-esteem and confidence levels rocketed but he was also inspired to take more of an interest in his health, fitness and general wellbeing.
“I feel like a new person. I can’t believe that for so many years I was content to just get on with my life and to not want more than I had. Life Coaching has given me back the power, which was mine, but I just never knew I had”.