#96: Rebecca Norton – How Coaching Walks Can Guide Us To New Pathways Through Life
How do our surroundings affect our ability to think? And can we connect with our sense of place and purpose by immersing ourselves in nature?
In this episode of the Coach’s Journey Podcast, walking coach Rebecca Norton brings her combined expertise in coaching and mountain leadership to bear on these questions and many more, in conversation with host Alex Swallow.
Rebecca and Alex explore the lasting impact that access to the natural world has on our lives, from infancy through to adulthood, and how the coaching walks that Rebecca offers her clients help them to navigate new pathways – both in the physical environment and their internal worlds.
Rebecca, who delivers workshop facilitation and social prescribing alongside her coaching and “wonder walks”, describes how she carefully built up her coaching business while continually developing her skills and experience as an outdoor activities instructor.
She links the idea of being a tourist in your own city and developing curiosity about new perspectives with the importance of getting alongside coaching clients and seeing the world through their eyes.
The many twists, turns, ups and downs of Rebecca’s adventures in the hills act as a powerful metaphor for journeys through the challenges of careers, relationships, families and life decisions. Just as her clients gain new perspective on their lives as they ascend into the hills with Rebecca, so do we as she reflects on her unique, brilliant approach to coaching conversations and many other aspects of her work.
In this episode, Rebecca and Alex also talk about:
The power of experiencing coaching techniques from both sides
How to integrate experiences as we train and gain qualifications
The barriers we place between ourselves and our own fulfillment
Seeing who we need to become in order to achieve our goals
How to lower the importance of gaining a client when building your coaching business
Rebecca also reminds us that personal development can be a grueling expedition, and that if we fail to interrogate our deeper purpose and connect the ‘why’ that guides us, we can be at risk of losing our way. She generously ends this episode with an array of tips to help coaches stay at their best.
For more information about Rebecca, visit www.senseofdirection.life.
For more information about host Alex Swallow, visit https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexswallow.
Read more about The Coach's Journey at www.thecoachsjourney.com.
Music by My Good Man William: listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4KmeQUcTbeE31uFynHQLQg
To support the Coach's Journey, visit www.patreon.com/thecoachsjourney and to join the Coach's Journey Community visit www.thecoachsjourney.com/community.
THINGS WE TALKED ABOUT THAT YOU MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN:
The Coaching Academy https://www.the-coaching-academy.com/
Skill Force https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SkillForce
Wonder Walks https://senseofdirection.life/wonder-walk/
Peter Sage https://petersage.com/
The Life Coach Directory https://www.lifecoach-directory.org.uk/
The Self-Love Journal: https://senseofdirection.life/product/self-love-journal/
BIOGRAPHY FROM REBECCA
Rebecca Norton is a life coach, trainer and workshop facilitator from Sheffield, with a passion for the outdoors and a deep belief in the transformative power of nature. Known for her Yorkshire grit and curiosity, Rebecca has built a career around helping people develop greater self-awareness, improve their mindset, and make empowering choices that lead to fulfilling lives. A turning point in Rebecca’s journey came in 2000, when she read Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway by Susan Jeffers. This book opened up a whole new world of personal development, sparking her lifelong passion for self-improvement and learning.
Rebecca’s coaching is grounded in real-world experience and an unwavering commitment to personal growth. Her time spent in nature, whether walking, thinking, or simply being, has shaped not only her life but her approach to coaching. Rebecca was shortlisted for The Coaching Academy’s Best Newcomer Award in 2018 and has continued to expand her practice through further study and regular involvement in coaching forums. Rebecca was delighted to be voted SPMG’s (Supervision Plus Membership Group) Community Coach of the Year 2024. In her work, she draws on her rich blend of skills and experiences to empower individuals to lead lives they love, with a focus on self-discovery, resilience and positive action.