For the past few weeks, I had been struggling to turn my swimming pool from a dark, murky green into the clear blue water it was meant to be.
From my limited knowledge of pool maintenance, I knew the green color was probably caused by algae. But I did not know why the algae had taken over, what the underlying problem was, or how to fix it properly.
I had faced a similar issue once before. At the time, a pool professional added some chemicals, vacuumed the pool, and made the water look clear again. Soon afterward, the pool was closed for winter, so I never learned what had caused the problem or how the solution worked.
This time, I could have called an expert and asked them to fix it. Instead, I wanted to understand the problem for myself. I wanted to know:
- Why had the pool turned green?
- What conditions allowed the algae to grow?
- What did the water actually need?
- What could I do differently to prevent the problem from returning?
That search led me to Jane—a pool professional at a local pool store. Her name has been changed to protect her privacy.
Jane did not immediately tell me what chemicals to buy. She listened.
She asked thoughtful questions:
“How long has the pool been green?”
“How severe is the problem?”
“What chemicals have you already added?”
“When did you add them?”
“What does the water look like now?”
As I answered, I realized I was sharing more than information about my pool. I was also expressing my frustration, disappointment, and sense of helplessness. I had already invested significant time and money in maintaining the pool, and I wanted to understand how to solve problems like this rather than repeatedly depend on someone else.
After testing the water, Jane helped me understand what was happening.
The pool was not green because of one simple problem. The water chemistry was out of balance. The alkalinity was low, the pH was outside the appropriate range, and the free chlorine level was almost zero. The algae had consumed much of the available chlorine and continued to thrive.
The solution was not simply to add more chlorine and hope for an overnight transformation.
The water first needed to be brought into balance. Then the pool could be treated to eliminate the algae. The filtration system needed to run continuously, and the filter pressure needed to be monitored. The pool also required time.
Jane explained that the journey from dark green to clear blue would probably involve several stages:
Dark green.
Greenish blue.
Teal.
Cloudy blue.
Milky blue.
And eventually—clear blue.
If I followed the process with consistency and patience, the water would eventually become clear.
That experience made me think about personal transformation.
Your Life Is Not a Pool—But the Journey Can Be Similar
Each of us knows the context of our own life better than anyone else.
We know our experiences, relationships, strengths, fears, disappointments, hopes, and aspirations. We understand the history behind the challenges we face—even when we may not fully understand why we feel stuck or what needs to change.
Like my pool, our lives can sometimes feel out of balance.
We may be:
- Searching for greater meaning or purpose
- Navigating a major career transition
- Recovering from loss or disappointment
- Adjusting to a new phase of life
- Struggling with confidence or motivation
- Feeling successful on the outside but unfulfilled within
- Trying to become a more effective leader
- Wondering what we want the next chapter of our lives to look like
When we face these challenges, it is natural to want a quick solution. We may look for the right answer, the perfect plan, or someone who can tell us exactly what to do.
But meaningful transformation rarely works like a magic treatment.
This is where life coaching can help.
A Life Coach Does Not “Fix” Your Life
Jane did not take control of my pool. She listened, asked questions, helped me understand the underlying conditions, and explained the steps I could take.
A life coach works in a similar way.
A coach does not dictate what your life should look like or tell you which decision to make. Instead, a coach creates a supportive and thoughtful space where you can explore your situation, gain clarity, examine your assumptions, identify possibilities, and design actions that are meaningful to you.
Through active listening and powerful questions, a coach may help you reflect on:
- What is really happening?
- What matters most to you?
- What may be keeping you stuck?
- What assumptions are influencing your choices?
- What would a meaningful outcome look like?
- What strengths and resources can you draw upon?
- What small action could move you forward?
The answers are not imposed by the coach. They emerge through the client’s own reflection, awareness, and choices.
Tools Help—But Mindset Creates Lasting Change
Just as my pool required the right treatments and continuous filtration, personal transformation may involve practical tools.
A coaching journey may include:
- Clarifying values
- Creating SMART goals
- Breaking large goals into smaller actions
- Building accountability
- Tracking progress
- Reflecting on what is working
- Adjusting the approach when needed
But tools alone do not create transformation.
Lasting change often begins with a shift in mindset.
When we see ourselves, our challenges, or our possibilities differently, we may begin to make different choices. Repeated choices become new behaviors. Over time, those behaviors can create different outcomes.
Transformation is often not one dramatic event. It is a series of small, intentional changes practiced consistently.
The Cloudy Blue Stage Is Not Failure
One of the most important lessons from my pool was that the water would not turn from dark green to crystal clear overnight.
There would be intermediate stages.
The pool might look better one day and still appear cloudy the next. That would not necessarily mean the treatment had failed. It could simply mean the process was still underway.
Personal transformation is similar.
We often define success by the final result:
The new role.
The promotion.
The successful career transition.
The renewed sense of purpose.
The improved relationship.
The greater confidence.
But the journey toward those outcomes may include uncertainty, setbacks, experimentation, learning, and adjustment.
Those stages are not automatically failures.
They may be evidence that change is taking place.
A small improvement can be a stepping stone. A new insight can create momentum. One meaningful action can make the next action easier.
Instead of waiting only for the final “clear blue” outcome, we can learn to recognize and celebrate progress along the way.
Three Reflections From My Pool
1. You are the expert on your own life.
A coach may bring perspective, presence, questions, and useful tools. But you bring your lived experience, values, strengths, and aspirations. Coaching is a partnership—not a process in which someone else takes control of your life.
2. Coaching helps you design your own path.
A life coach does not provide a universal solution or prescribe what your future should be. The coaching process helps you gain clarity and develop solutions that are aligned with who you are and what matters to you.
3. Transformation is not a magic pill.
Coaching does not remove every challenge or create instant results. Meaningful change requires openness, reflection, commitment, action, learning, and patience. The process can be powerful when you are ready to engage in it and when you find a coach who is a good fit for you.
My pool is still on its journey from dark green to clear blue.
And perhaps, in some area of life, many of us are too.
The question may not be:
“How quickly can I reach the final destination?”
Perhaps the more useful questions are:
“What is beneath the surface?”
“What needs attention?”
“What small step can I take now?”
“How can I stay patient and consistent while change unfolds?”
Transformation may not happen overnight.
But with clarity, intentional action, support, and patience, change becomes possible—one step, one insight, and one small shift at a time.