Why Life Coaching Works for the Gifted
entelechy, gifted, life coaching, self-actualization Add commentsIf you look at my Twitter profile, you’ll see I’m Chief Sanity Officer for Gifted Grownups & Parents of Gifted Children. What does this mean? First of all, gifted people and parents of gifted children can lead crazy lives with so many abilities, so many interests, and so little time. Gifted people and their parents need some sanity!
But how do I offer it to them? I offer it through life coaching. Life coaching is a relationship developed between a client and coach to help the client discover his/her unique identity and purpose. You can read more about life coaching on the What Is Life Coaching page on my website.
Why coach gifted grownups and parents of gifted kids? While some may think I’ve chosen a crazy, narrow niche for my coaching practice, I’ve found that the gifted profile makes gifted people and their parents particularly good coaching clients. In this post and in many that will follow, I will share why I find this to be true.
The first reason I believe life coaching works well for gifted people has to do with our word for the day (we gifted people love to learn new words): entelechy. Entelechy is the drive toward self-actualization, and most gifted people possess it in truckloads. How many times have parents of gifted children said “I just want him/her to reach his/her potential”? Many gifted people of all ages feel this push. Deidre V. Lovecky, Ph.D, posits that entelechy is one of five traits present in gifted people (you can read her article “Can You Hear the Flower Sing?” in this Dynamic Living blog post).
This characteristic of gifted people is one reason life coaching serves them well. Life coaching helps people discover who they were created to be and what they were created to do. It gives them a place to develop and implement concrete expressions of their unique identity and purpose. It’s about clients discerning their potential and figuring out how to maximize it and use it in life. Parents of gifted children can benefit from life coaching too. It helps them discern what they uniquely have to offer their children to help those kids reach their potential.
If you’re feeling the push-pull of entelechy on your being, please contact me about a thirty-minute complimentary coaching call. It’s my purpose to help you discover yours!
©2010 Lisa Lauffer
March 4th, 2010 at 8:03 pm
Dear Coach Lisa - I’ve got entelechy and I’ve got it bad. Oh thanks so much for the new word - I love it - it sounds like some kind of bug. I’ve got the bug alright! Oh, excuse me I’ve got to run out and take some photos of the clouds that are magnificent in this sunset. OK, I’m back. So I’ve got this bug that also sounds like it itches. That’s really what it feels like, this drive to self-actualize. You are right Lisa, life coaching is perfectly suited to gifted people. Keeps me engaged!
March 9th, 2010 at 6:32 pm
Dear Kathy,
Take two pictures, and call me in the morning! LOL!
I love you how describe entelechy–as a drive that actually itches. In my experience, it’s a delicious, aggravating, energy-producing, energy-draining, involuntary pull, It won’t let me go, and I wouldn’t want it to (except for the times I wish it would). And it definitely itches!
March 16th, 2010 at 11:54 am
[...] In my last post, I described one reason why I coach gifted people and parents of gifted children (which, let’s face it, are generally gifted people themselves. And yes, moms, that does include you; your children aren’t just gifted because of their fathers. If I had a nickel for every time I’ve heard that one…Anyways, I’m now going to simplify my life and your reading by referring to gifted people and parents of gifted children as “gifted people.” Now, back to our not-so-regularly-scheduled blog post). It’s a word called entelechy, which is the drive to self-actualize, and you can read here how this characteristic of gifted people makes them prime coaching clients. [...]
March 22nd, 2010 at 10:16 am
The drive of becoming self actualized is not entelechy. The drive of accomplishing all that one can is! Knowing oneself does not mean that one has development potential. Self actualization may be a necessary condition to entelechy, but it does not ensure it. Also, the trait does not come from being pressured by parents and the like. Entelechy comes from within and not from outside pressures.
An excerpt from the SENG website.
“Entelechy. From the Greek word for having a goal, entelechy bespeaks a particular type of motivation, inner strength, and vital force directing life and growth to become all the self is capable of being. Adults gifted in entelechy are highly attractive to others who feel drawn to openness, warmth, and closeness. Being near someone with this trait gives others hope and motivation to achieve their own self-actualization. Teachers, therapists, physicians, and social reformers may be among those so gifted. Examples include Helen Keller, Carl Rogers, and Eleanor Roosevelt.”
http://www.sengifted.org/articles_adults/Lovecky_CanYouHearTheFlowersSing.shtml
June 1st, 2010 at 9:52 am
[...] Why Life Coaching Works for the Gifted [...]
June 1st, 2010 at 9:09 pm
If the countless books I’ve bought, the classes I’ve taken, and the countless hours I’ve spent trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up indicate entelechy, then I have it! Giftedness, perfectionism, trying to fulfill my “potential” - yup, yup, yup.
June 2nd, 2010 at 12:10 pm
Patty, I am not surprised AT ALL!!! I hope this helps you understand more about your beautiful, brilliant self!