"I enjoy asking questions because it keeps me quiet for a bit longer."
Vanessa Bruni
About Me
I completed an honours degree in Psychology, a masters in Pastoral counseling and then entered the wonderful and rigorous training of parenting five children. Parenting is stimulating and terrifying all at once and I am still thrilled by the opportunities for growth it presents. It humbles me as I often feel inadequate for the job. At the same time equipped in every way to love my children.
My husband I have home-schooled three, almost adult daughters.
We are currently enjoying the adventure of educating our two primary school sons. I love being at home but also love adventure trips with my family.
I trained as a Life coach because I love progress,
solving life’s problems and discovering strategies to live better.
Life sometimes feels chaotic and the truth is I am rarely in control of what could happen today or in the future. This is hard to accept and I often try to order and control my environment and even my family so that I can feel more secure. I am learning to laugh at my futile attempts to control life and focus my thoughts on being grateful for the stuff that comes my way daily.
Sometimes I like it and sometimes I don’t.
I love things that look simple, I find them relaxing. This includes colours that are understated, like navy, white, soft green and even black. I used to resist my natural attraction to these tones, I thought they would make me feel sad. As I have become more accepting of myself, I rest in the soft tones as a place for my mind to recharge.
My Coaching Plan
I love life coaching because I have seen it effectively bring change
in the stagnant areas of people’s lives.
I love life coaching because it declutters your mind.
Then it enables you to focus on what is important and valuable to you.
It surprises you by bringing renewed energy and opportunities.
Together we will identify where you would like to make progress. This sometimes takes time and patient curiosity,
but it is essential not to rush into action.
When the direction becomes clearer, we will design the easiest plan for sustainable change.
How My Coaching Works
My aim with coaching is to help each person to do what they already want to do, and to experience a feeling of progress immediately.
The feeling of progress is not based on increasing motivation or will power, but on starting with behaviours that are easy to do and quickly give you a sense of progress towards your aspirations. I have noticed that the feeling of progress is often followed by excitement and courage as people face their fears and unhelpful beliefs. Change that previously seemed impossible can be accomplished by starting small and building steadily. Accomplishing specific aspirations or goals are not the only aim of my sessions, but they do provide a place to start as you choose new habits that reflect your values.
I am interested in how people form habits.
It is surprising that so much of life revolves around our habits. They impact every area, not only our behaviour but our thoughts, emotions, and relationships.
We often persist in habits that are unhelpful yet find it difficult to maintain
those that we know are best.
The methods I use in my coaching program focus on creating life-giving habits that are easy to implement and bring a feeling of hope and progress.
Clarifying your goals and aspirations.
What do you want?
An aspiration is defined as, “A strong desire, hope or longing to achieve something.”
The first step in my coaching program is to clarify your aspirations and goals. This process is unique for each person and often the goal you begin with changes as you develop insight into yourself and your values. It is essential to be patient and curious during this stage so that your action plan and strategies are focused in the right direction.
Assessing your
aspirations and goals
I love life coaching because I have seen it effectively bring change in the stagnant areas of people’s lives.
I love life coaching because it declutters your mind.
Then it enables you to focus on what is important and valuable to you.
It surprises you by bringing renewed energy and opportunities. Together we will identify where you would like to make progress. This sometimes takes time and patient curiosity, but it is essential not to rush into action.
When the direction becomes clearer, we will design the easiest plan for sustainable change.
Identifying your
unhelpful beliefs
The term “belief” is not limited to religious or spiritual beliefs you may hold as true. It refers to any attitudes or recurring thoughts that you hold as true about yourself or life in general. These beliefs often exist in your subconscious, but they have a strong influence over the way you behave.
During any of our sessions together you may discover limiting beliefs that prevent you from progressing towards your goal.
Once you have clarified your goal for the next six months, we have a session focused on identifying your unhelpful beliefs. You will learn how to replace them with beliefs that support you towards achieving your goal. We only identify your negative beliefs that relate to your goal. This focus prevents your being overwhelmed by the number of unhelpful beliefs you may become aware of. You will learn a practical skill to identify a negative belief and dismantle it so that it no longer interferes with your progress.
Values
An aspiration is defined as, “A strong desire, hope or longing to achieve something.”
The first step in my coaching program is to clarify your aspirations and goals. This process is unique for each person and often the goal you begin with changes as you develop insight into yourself and your values. It is essential to be patient and curious during this stage so that your action plan and strategies are focused in the right direction.
Here are some examples:
• I value beauty in my home, in the form of art, good books, orderliness, food and décor.
• I value a supportive, pleasurable marriage where we encourage each other in stimulating activities,
service to others and educating our children.
A perspective on beliefs
I like to see your beliefs as guests. You invite them to come in and have a conversation with you. Listening to your beliefs clarifies what they have to say. You can then decide if they make sense. Unhelpful beliefs often come in the form of accusations and criticism. I am there to help you ask your guests for evidence that supports their accusations and criticisms of you.
We give them a fair trial but if the evidence they present is not conclusive then you can tell them not to come in next time, to stay at the door.
“changing small behaviours that would help me become the healthy person I wanted to be, was easy.”
Sandy Lawrence
“changing small behaviours that would help me become the healthy person I wanted to be, was easy.”
Sandy Lawrence
