The high expectations we set for ourselves: it’s never enough
We set impossibly high expectations for ourselves. We want financial security, a thriving career, a fulfilling job that still leaves room for family, relationships, and free time. On top of that: the perfect home, the sleek car, dream holidays, kids who excel at both sports and the arts. The sheer abundance of choices modern life offers us is overwhelming.
But does fulfilling all those desires actually make us happy? How do we find our own personal vision of happiness within all that noise? Do we even know what we truly want anymore? What genuinely makes us happy? Or does real happiness drown in a sea of material comfort?
When there simply isn’t enough time
“I have one child, five years old. I get up at 3:15 in the morning to get the housework done before heading to work. Otherwise I can’t get everything done. A second child is simply not an option. We can’t make it work financially. We’d be shortchanging everyone too much.”
— Liesbeth, 35
These are painful testimonies. You encounter them often, though usually in less extreme forms. At the core, it comes down to daring to make choices and the fear of losing too much… where “too much” is almost always financial or material. And do you dare to step away from materialism as the sole source of happiness and look for it elsewhere?
Coaching: finding out what truly matters to you
This is where coaching comes in. Coaching first and foremost makes you more aware: of yourself, of your deeper values, of your true desires. Through coaching, you learn to make more conscious choices: choices that genuinely fit who you are and what makes you happy. That opens the door to finding happiness beyond the world of material comfort. You might even discover a deeper kind of happiness there… one that truly satisfies.
Coaching leads to awakening awareness, a deepening of self-knowledge. And that is becoming increasingly necessary. Prosperity keeps rising, and more and more people claim their right to more: more material comfort. But does that actually make them happy?
Greater self-awareness is what we need. That means looking more honestly at our competencies, our time, our working rhythm. Recognising that not everyone operates at the same level allows you to make more conscious choices about what suits you and what truly makes you happy.
Happy at work, happy at home
That’s why having a coach at work can be genuinely valuable: a space where you can come back to yourself, at least for a moment. And if that sense of coming home to yourself carries over into your personal life, your employer benefits too. As they say: “happy cows give quality milk”.