Coaching for finding purpose
For times of transition and new beginnings –
when your image of yourself needs a fresh start
Find yourself, especially when the world around you is changing.
Coaching provides a safe space where you do not only plan the next step, but first ask yourself who wants to take that step. So that whatever the future holds truly becomes your own.
When the external frame is removed or altered.
There are times when life throws you a question that hadn’t been on your mind before: Who am I, really, beyond what I do? Sometimes this question arises early on, sometimes in the middle of life, and sometimes late. And it isn’t any less unsettling just because it doesn’t have a concrete form—on the contrary: the fact that it’s intangible often makes it particularly unsettling.
Some phases are beginnings. You’ve just finished school, or training, or college; the frame that structured your life for years is gone, and suddenly everything is open. Parents, teachers, and curricula told you what came next—now no one does. And you realize: what sustains you inside isn’t just your own thoughts, but also the expectations of others that you’ve never really questioned.
Other phases are breaks. An illness has changed you. A relationship has ended. Someone who was important to you has died. The children have left home, and with them a part of what defined you. Perhaps nothing “happened”—but you realize that what used to carry you no longer does.
Was beide Phasen verbindet: Das alte Selbstbild fühlt sich nicht mehr stimmig an. Ein Neues ist noch nicht greifbar. Und Sie spüren, dass jetzt nicht der Moment ist, einfach das nächste Etappenziel zu setzen – sondern erst einmal zu fragen, welcher Mensch dieses Ziel überhaupt setzen will. Und dann denken Sie: So bin ich doch eigentlich gar nicht – aber wer bin ich dann?
What both phases have in common is this: your old image of yourself no longer feels right. A new one isn’t yet within reach. And you feel that now is not the time to simply set the next milestone—but rather to first ask yourself who it is that wants to set this goal in the first place. And then you think: That’s not really who I am—but then who am I?
The questions that arise during this phase.
When our image of ourselves becomes blurred, the questions that arise are usually not loud ones—but quiet ones that keep coming back:
- What do I actually want—beyond what others expect of me?
- What is truly important to me, if I’m completely honest?
- What do I get up for in the morning, when the next step isn’t dictated by external pressures?
- Which ideas about myself have I adopted from others—and which are truly my own?
- What would I do if I didn’t feel like I had to have an answer?
- What parts of my old self-image can stay—and what can change?
These are the questions we’ll work on together in coaching. If you recognize your own questions here, it’s worth scheduling an initial conversation. In a free Discovery Call, we’ll assess where you stand—and whether my support is a good fit for you.
First answers you will find on your own:
Before you begin coaching, you can use the following two assessment tools to get closer to your own answers.
→ Self-Assessment: Inner Drivers (free, in German, no registration required)
→ Self-Assessment: Inner Saboteurs (more detailed, in English, per email)
They reveal which inner voices still control your behavior today. Often, these are precisely the reason why your own life feels as if it’s being controlled by someone else—even when everything seems to be going well on the surface.
The assessment is not a substitute for coaching—but it’s a good first reflection. Many clients bring their results to the first session and use them as a starting point.
What happens during coaching.
Finding yourself sounds like a search—but it’s usually more about uncovering. What matters to you, what comes easily to you, what gets you out of bed in the morning—it’s already there within you. What happened along the way is that you stopped hearing it. In coaching, we make it audible again.
We work on three areas that together shape the image you have of yourself:
Values. What is truly important to you—beyond what your family, social environment, or current life stage may have expected of you? Values are the foundation of your decisions. When you know them, decisions feel right from within, rather than imposed from the outside. If you’d like, I use Profile Dynamics® to help make your value preferences visible.
Strengths. Where does your natural energy come from – the kind you don’t have to make an effort to summon because it’s already there? These strengths are often so second nature that you overlook them. We bring them back into focus – as a guide to what suits you best. There’s a scientifically validated tool for this as well: the LINC Personality Profiler, which analyzes personality, strengths, and motivations.
Patterns. What images of yourself do you still carry that no longer hold true? Some self-images originate from a time when they were useful—from your childhood home, from your school days, from a phase of life that is long past. We look at them without discarding them, and adapt them to your current life.
From these three strands, a clear self-image emerges once again. One that isn’t imposed from the outside, but comes from within you—and therefore lasts.
The result—you, in your own unique form.
By the end of a coaching session, you haven’t been “given” a new self-image. You’ve simply regained a clearer view of your own—the one that was there all along. You know what matters to you, what gives you energy, and which old beliefs you can let go of.
In concrete terms, this means: You make decisions based on your own feelings rather than on others’ expectations. You once again feel whether something suits you or not. And you realize that you didn’t have to become someone new—but that the person you already are now simply has more room to breathe.
Change doesn’t have to be dramatic. Sometimes it’s enough to recognize yourself again—and the rest follows almost on its own.
This page is part of the “Be YOU – Rediscovering Yourself” section.
If your question relates more to your leadership role or a career change, you’ll find an overview there.
Let’s talk about it.
During a free 30-minute Discovery Call, we’ll get to know each other with no obligation. You’ll describe your situation, and I’ll give you an initial impression of whether and how I can support you on your career path.