You are Here. Accepting What Is, in Order to Move Forward

Every journey has to start somewhere. Life coaching by definition is a journey of transformation. It's a path from Point A to Point B. From where you are right now to where you want to be. And the first order of business in this journey is giving yourself an honest answer to the question: Where am I right now?

You are here. In this body, in these circumstances. Take a moment to think about what it looks like. What does it feel like? Take an extra breath if it gets hard.

When we seek help, be it life coaching or any other modality, we want to change things. We want change because where we are right now is uncomfortable. And it only makes sense that we want to "skip to the good part" and jump into the healing and solutions. But wait: as the saying goes, you can't know where you're going if you don't know where you are. So the healing starts with acknowledging and accepting where you are right now, what your condition is and how it feels. It's important to remember that accepting isn't settling. It's embracing your reality so you can start growing from here.

In regular coaching (life coaching, career, weight loss, and so on: we're NOT talking about brain injury survivors right now), there is an important point of responsibility. One way or another, the person ended up where they are as a result of their decisions or actions: staying in a toxic workplace too long, choosing the couch over being active. This is what makes coaching for brain injury survivors (or any post-traumatic coaching) so different. You weren't led to this stage of your life by your choices. No one wakes up in the morning and decides to have a TBI. This is something that happened to you and was beyond your control. It's a case of life being wildly unfair sometimes.

Your injury is not something you are responsible for. But it is your responsibility how you recover from it and how you live your life going forward. True, even years later you may not be back to 100% of how you used to be, and things will likely be different. Some things will remain beyond your control, but it is in your power to focus on what is within your control, and to take it from there. As life coaches at Unite Group 26, we are here to support you on this journey.

When thinking about where they are right now, it is not uncommon for injury survivors to feel anger and resentment. And yes, you have every right to feel angry: be it at life, circumstances, god of your own understanding, or the perpetrator of your injury (if there was one). It is absolutely normal to feel this way. Many survivors are told, with the best of intentions, that they should be grateful to be alive instead. And while gratitude is a powerful and transformative worldview, it does not cancel out your other emotions. Everything you feel is valid. You can be grateful and then angry a minute later. Or you may not be able to feel gratitude at all at this stage, and this is fine too. At a certain point you will be able to define which feelings and beliefs are serving you and taking you forward, and which ones don't. Anger and resentment usually don't make the cut, as they keep you stuck in the past.

But if letting go of negative thoughts is impossible from where you are right now, it's fine. At Unite Group 26, we are here to support you wherever you are on your journey of healing and recovery from a brain injury. Our life coaching service launches on August 17, 2026. Follow us on socials and reach out if this is something you would like to explore further for yourself or your loved one.