I have had the incredible opportunity for two thousand hours now to sit across the screen from people who want to make progress in some area of their life. 

One definition of progress I love is “forward or onward movement toward a destination, to improve, to proceed, to advance, to make headway, to press on, to gain ground, to forge ahead, to work one’s way.”

When people ask me what I coach about, that’s what my new answer is: I help people move forward or move on.

I help them:

Improve.

Proceed.

Advance.

Make Headway. 

Press on.

Gain ground.

Forge ahead.

Work their way.

In the course of doing this work, I’ve noticed (at least) 20 things that I repetitively find myself coaching about. Each one of them could be (and maybe will be?) a complete post. These situations come up so often – in women, in men, in young adults, in teenagers, in all of us! – that it’s hard for me not to call them Universal Truths.  

It was an interesting list for me to compile – and maybe it will be an interesting list for you to read.

So, in no particular order, here is my list of Universal Truths:

1. Every one of us wants to know we’ve made the ‘right’ decisions.
2. Telling ourselves we shouldn’t be feeling something often creates more of a problem than the feeling itself.
3. The kindest thing we can do is to include people – and that includes including ourselves! Deep down we all just want to be picked.
4. Defensiveness usually indicates that what’s being said contains (at least a little) piece of truth.
5. The most trouble we cause ourselves is caring about what others think of us more than caring what we think of us. 
6. We’re often really interested in some habit or goal or hobby but not interested in really doing something about it.
7. Using the strengths of our personality to our advantage – rather than to our disadvantage – can help everything. Period.
8. Resentment is almost always an indicator that we are not taking care of something we really desire.
9. It’s so much harder to fully accept other’s humanness when we don’t fully accept our own.
10. Envy usually points us toward some aspect of something we really want.
11. The voice in our heads isn’t always truthful and isn’t always kind – and it’s so much easier to compare ourselves or criticize ourselves than to be compassionate for ourselves or congratulate ourselves.
12. Tears almost always suggest that something real is happening.
13. No one else can ‘make’ us feel something or ‘hurt’ our feelings – but wow, do we think they can!
14. When we’re ‘amped up’ or ‘triggered’ or ‘activated’ we have hit on something that, if explored usefully, can tell us SO much about ourselves. Anger holds information.
15. Having our own back is generally way more difficult than advocating for someone we love.
16. There are two sides to passive/aggressive communication: Most of us don’t really understand what it is, and All of us use it more than we think.
17. When we lose someone, we often miss the part of them that made it easier for us to like ourselves. It might be what we loved about them most.
18. There is nothing that will serve us more than building credibility with ourselves.
19. We have way more power over what we notice in the world than we give ourselves credit for.
20. A little courage creates a little movement – and often, that’s all we need.  Just a little.

I can’t wait to hear about which of these might have resonated with you or peaked your interest.  And – somewhere in the next two thousand hours – I sincerely hope I have the opportunity to help you progress with it.  

I have tips and tricks and tools of my trade to help YOU. I’m sure of it. 

Lastly, thank you, thank you, thank you to those of you who have already taken me along on your progress journey.  I will never, ever take your trust for granted. 

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PS If you liked this post – or any others, I’d love you to pass it on to a friend.  They can subscribe here if they’re interested!