The Three Instincts in Coaching:
Getting to the Core of Life Balance, Values and Priorities
Course Description
Do you talk about life balance, values and priorities with your clients? Do your clients say that they ’sabotage’ themselves, but they have no idea of how or why that happens? Have you wondered why people repeatedly make decisions and take actions, even though those are not in their true best interest? These are all issues that show up in the arena of the three instincts and can play a crucial role in your client’s success.
We humans have a lot in common with the animal world. This part of life is called our Instinctual or Animal nature. We don’t talk about it much, especially if we consider ourselves to be “spiritual,” but how it operates in our life has a huge impact on everything we do. Our Instinctual Nature runs 24/7 and when it does so unconsciously, it is a major cause of ‘sabotage” and imbalance, both in our individual lives and in the social fabric of life.
The Instincts operate as a system distinct, yet closely interwoven with Enneagram personality types. Discovering which instinct operates most dominantly in one’s life is akin to discovering one’s personality type.
Here are just a few ways that the Instincts impact one’s life:
- They shape what is prioritized in daily life—day in and day out;
- They determine what decisions you make everyday regarding how you will use your life energy – whether or not your decisions run counter to what you know to be best for you;
- They impact the degree to which you take care of yourself, or not;
- They influence your inner sense of passion and excitement about life and what you do with that;
- They can determine what you think of ‘your place’ in social group, and the larger society, and how you act on that;
- They serve as a prevalent filter in what you look for in your important relationships, and what you disregard in yourself and others.
- They have major implications for our individual well-being and for the health of our planet.
This course combines important knowledge with honest inquiry, insight and tools to support your self-awareness and growth. If you have not studied the Instincts before, this will be one of the most astonishing courses you will take! If you have studied them, this material will give you a chance to engage in deeper work with the Instincts.
Format
This course is presented in a distance learning format, and includes six phone sessions of 1 ½ hours each.
Each session is formatted for engaged learning and inquiry: lecture, coaching demos and tools, occasional break-out sessions, and group inquiry. Because the activity of the dominant instinct feels so personal and true, it is useful to hear how others experience their relationship with their own instinctual configuration.
Between sessions, you’ll have readings and discovery processes (which you can use with your clients) to help you prepare for and integrate your learning. You’ll meet with rotating learning partners to review and practice coaching. A private online forum will connect you with your peers to share your insights and ask questions. You can expect to invest an additional two to three hours each week outside of class time.
You will have a chance to immediately use this material with your Deep Coaching fieldwork clients (as appropriate to the situation, of course).
CEUs
9 CEUs will be awarded for this course by the ICF and the CBBS.
Outcomes of the Course
Within the Three Fundamental Threads of Deep Coaching, you will expand your ability to:
1) Understand the Human Condition
- Experience the specific ways that the three instincts operate in daily life, and how reactivity is experienced in context of unconscious instinctual material;
- Explore the differing relationships among the three instincts in individuals;
- Learn how the instincts interact with and magnify the personality structures of each of the 9 types.
2) Self-knowledge and self-embracing of the coach
- Learn for yourself how the instincts operate within you now;
- Discover the hidden ‘saboteurs’ that keep you from a more satisfying and effective life;
- Find out what your particular ‘growth point’ is in context of the Instincts and practice working with it;
- Explore how you can use the Instinctual material to help you expand your consciousness.
3) The Coaching Field
- Become attuned to your client’s instinctual manifestations, and how they affect life balance, priorities and values;
- Practice sharing the instinctual information with your clients;
- Gain insights into coaching strategies that could unconsciously work against your client’s true desires’
- Discover powerful strategies that can lead your client to increased life balance and a deeper sense of self-trust and respect.
Materials
- Readings
- Worksheets and additional Deep Coaching guidebook materials
