Lately, focusing on inner development and imagining a better life has become a trend. Articles, talks, and courses to help people be happier, dream, or find their path in the world pop up every week. Similarly, becoming a coach is a career path that has gained track in the last years.

Is it that easy to help others successfully transform their life and be happier?
Is it that easy for people to harness their imagination and generate ideas for better futures?
Is everyone open and receptive to engage in this type of work?

In my experience, embracing imagination and journeying inwards — and guiding others — is much harder than it seems.

Boosting emotional well-being and engaging in meaningful inner-discovery demand a great deal of work. This is not aimed at putting people off from pursuing well-being activities or practicing exercises, but managing expectations. We are used to getting everything fast — from news and food to installing services and buying shoes. In contrast, reconnecting with our imagination and strengthening well-being is not that fast. Any type of work aimed at growing from the inside out requires intrinsic motivation, sustained effort, and intentional practice over a long period of time – no shortcuts here.

It is important to communicate these requirements clearly to avoid disappointments or people feeling frustrated soon after starting a course. Unfortunately, I see these behaviors happening too often among my students — and even clients! Most of them enroll in a well-being course because they think “it will be easy” or in an imagination workshop because it will be fun. However, as they realize the work it entails to peel off personal barriers and gain meaningful results, some students feel blocked, others quit. Simply put, they are not ready to embark inwards, learn who they are, and face their emotions, fears, and struggles.

The following signs point to students not being ready to engage in self-discovery work:

• Generic responses to in-class or homework assignments
• Lack of engagement in imagination and creativity driven activities
• Lack of engagement in discussions
• Lack of curiosity – no questions asked
• Laughing during meditation to distract other classmates
• Lack of attention in class or interest in listening to others’ experiences
• Falling asleep during class

Inner development is a personal journey — each experience will be different. Activities are designed to guide learners to deepen self-awareness of emotions, thinking patterns, response styles, and become more emotional intelligent. The effectiveness of these activities relies on the learner’s effort and depth of analysis. For instance, students who do take the activities seriously do truly transformative work and each week they reveal something new about themselves. But those students who do not, complete the activities in under 10 minutes or write the responses using ChatGPT — this becomes too obvious when more than 20 students have experienced the exact same emotions and challenges in the same week.

Our worst barrier is us

Initially, I thought that students were not taking the course seriously. After a few weeks, I realized that they were also experiencing discomfort. Social media and devices have become our go-to to experience a temporary escape from our negative feelings and anxious thoughts. So, a class that asks students to not use devices and to stay in silence doing nothing but paying attention to their thoughts and emotions for 5 minutes can be terrifying. Many of these students genuinely struggle to go deeper, to intentionally think about their feelings, and to connect with their emotions.

Human skills, imagination, and other related well-being work is extremely important and needed. But romanticizing what it takes to engage in this journey sends the wrong message. People want to want to focus inwards, feel uncomfortable, and identify ways to cope with those feelings. That is, intentional buy-in is a must.

Understanding when you are ready for this journey is the first step to succeed.