How I got my coaching groove back: Nikhil Dey's breakthrough after a break

I recently took a short holiday from coaching and found that a break leads to a breakthrough. I took a 27-day break from being a coach and from being coached. Over Christmas and New Year, I was lucky enough to devote my weekends (the time I normally spend coaching) to family and being with the people I love.

The break acted as a wonderful reminder for me of how much I love coaching. As much as I enjoyed the break it also showed me how much of an anchor being a coach is to my life now.

The surge of energy that I received when I got back into coach mode took me by surprise. While I was aware of the power and impact that my coaching had in terms of supporting my clients, I saw how much it supports me as well.

Regaining my coaching muscle tone

Another lesson I learnt was that the gap in coaching gave me space to do other things with my weekends.

But getting back in the saddle after even a relatively short break gave me the jitters. I felt a bit hesitant and tentative when I sat down to centre myself ahead of the first session in the new year.

I need to examine this more, but the first conclusion I arrive at is best described through the analogy of exercise. If I do push-ups regularly my capacity to do more grows steadily. But if I take a month's break and then try and get back to my previous level it is not possible immediately.

At the same time pushing myself to the point where my muscles are sore and it becomes a burden does not help either. Finding my sweet spot is about understanding my body’s abilities and then pacing myself.

My capacity to coach in the same way is something I am discovering. How many sessions can I hold space for?

What kind of breaks do I need to give myself to ensure I am at peak performance?

Physician heal thyself is the answer. Having a coach. Using coaching supervision to take some questions too. Working with a coach mentor. These are some of the things that help find answers. And then taking a break from coaching, which gave me the biggest insight. I love coaching. It supports my life. Indeed, sometimes you don’t know how much you value something or someone until they are gone. Coaching was gone from my life for a month by choice and it was a powerful reminder of how much I love and miss it. I am looking forward to my next session. What is next? I don’t know. But I can’t wait to find out. Coach mode is back on.