5 Minutes With Judy Klipin

You’re a Martha Beck trained life coach – why her?

I read Finding Your Own North Star by Martha in 2001 and immediately felt a resonance with the content of the book and the methods she developed to coach her clients. The concepts of the “essential self” and the “social self” really appealed to me, as did her conviction that every one of us knows what makes us happy and what is good for us. When we stop worrying about what “everybody” will think of us, and as soon as we access our essential self, we can start making decisions that make us truly happy.

What is an “adult child” and why have you devoted a book to this topic?

The term “adult child” is used to describe people who, for a range of reasons, experienced a childhood that was inconsistent or unpredictable in some way. As children they may have been forced to grow up prematurely, and as adults often feel quite childlike in many situations.

Why should someone consult a life coach? Surely it’s all common sense?

Someone should consult a life coach if they are feeling like they want to make changes in their lives but are not sure what changes to make or how to make them. Coaching is really effective for people who are feeling stuck in some area of their life or who want to change the patterns in their thinking or behaviour that they have become aware of and that are holding them back from reaching their full potential.