Rethinking Truth. It's the name of the textbook when I studied Adult Education at a Postgraduate level. I loved it, so when my first assignment came back with barely a pass, I was really disappointed. I'd worked hard on it and contacted the lecturer to find out what had gone wrong. It turns out I was one of the few who passed. The lecturer explained that assignments at a post graduate level require critical thinking. By definition, this is "the process of actively and skilfully conceptualizing, applying, analysing, synthesizing, and evaluating information to reach an answer or conclusion.” It took a while to get the hang of because it's not how we are used to thinking.

Do you remember learning to drive? The pounding heart, jerky movements and huge mental effort to remember everything that needed to be done? Nowadays, I get in the car and driving happens automatically while I think about other things! This is how many of us go through life, we get into routines, and so it goes until we take a holiday or something major happens to shake things up.

A similar thing takes place at a deeper level inside us. Something happens and we start believing certain things about ourself and after a while we stop questioning whether it's true or not. How often do you hear yourself saying, oh, I'm not good at... maths / art / public speaking? And maybe in one particular instance you weren't, maybe you failed maths, or botched an oral and so you tell yourself, you just aren't good at that.

It is these kinds of beliefs that we question in life coaching. It's as simple as a raised eyebrow asking, really, is that actually true? It's a magical moment when, what feels like an insurmountable brick wall facing you, dissolves into nothing more than an outdated thought. It takes time to change our thinking. Questioning our beliefs takes effort and a willingness to be uncomfortable, but the rewards are worth it.

We have such intelligence, the human mind is a miracle and yet we drink Coca Cola and smoke cigarettes because the ads are brilliant. Coca Cola will still be there when we stop believing we are, as the jingle says, “Opening Happiness”. It is us that will be different. We will able to analyse and evaluate information and reach our own conclusions about what brings happiness to our lives.