Hello Carrie,
So you're a bored solicitor, looking for more interest at work. You say you're not sure how coaching could help, so I thought I'd take a couple of minutes to give you my thoughts on that. Even if you decide not to pursue this further, these ideas may help you to help yourself.
The first step is always to turn the problem statement into a goal statement - which you've done to some extent. So "I'm bored" becomes "I want a more interesting environment". The next step is to "polish" that goal. What would that more interesting environment look like? Go nuts - and don't be limited by any notions or "being realistic". This is the usual first step I take with clients.
Often, they find that first step difficult, because they are trapped in current reality, and unable to conceive of radically different ones. They may also have limiting beliefs which are hidden from them - they don't know they have them. I bring an external perspective to that, and a lot of experience, so together, we can push past "normal" into "life changing" territory.
Another obstacle is often that people "just don't know" what they want - all they know is what they don't want. In these cases, we often look for core values, and then work back out from those to find new ways to think about being happy in life. You might think that just introspecting on your own core values would tell you what they are, but depressingly, this is very seldom productive; over the years I have developed and refined a set of "low tricks" to flush out core values, so this works pretty well nowadays.
Having found the new vision for your life, it's time to assess how to get there. Sometimes, that means surprisingly small but creative changes, and we work together to experiment with making those happen. Other times radical re-alignment is called for, and then it's about managing fear, developing a transition strategy which keeps you solvent and sane.
Throughout all of this, I'm usually helping my client to fight their pessimism and maintain their stamina. It's seldom a straight-line process.
EXACTLY how this all works is always unique to the client and their circumstances, but these broad brush strokes are generally in play, and when this is done, clients find themselves in working lives which nurture and grow them; where work complements private life.
I hope that makes sense.
