Last week one of my clients apologized to me for, get this, losing weight. Ok, it was more for not logging his meals. And he didn't exactly say he was sorry but his tone was very apologetic. Anyway. The point is he was almost apologizing for getting the desired outcome. He thought that I would be upset because he wasn't logging his foods. That's throwing the baby out with the bath water. (Actually I don't know if I'm using that phrase correctly or not; also why would anyone throw away a baby?)
As his coach, I couldn't care any less that he wasn't logging his food because he is getting the results that he's after. My job as the coach is to help clients get results. I definitely come in with a plan but if the client is doing something that's working, good bye plan.
More importantly my client shouldn't care about my plan if, and only if, he's getting the desired results. I think people get caught up in "following the plan" that sometimes they sabotage their own progress.
This isn't me railing against planning. All of my clients will tell you that I love having a plan. I love them making progress even more though. Progress is the key. If progress is being made, as long as no one is getting hurt, I'll help clients do whatever to help clients continue that progress.
Now once/if the progress stops, the client and I will have to reevaluate. Either way we will continue to monitor for progress. Most importantly we will celebrate any and all progress.
