Coaching Model: SERVE

A Coaching Model Created by Sarah Shokraie
(Personal Growth Coach, CANADA)

The SERVE Model is a five-step process that will help you look at your life as a whole. It is based on the belief that everyone is capable of creating the life they desire, and that through self-work and dedication, dreams can become reality.

1. Self-awareness — Become aware of who you are in the world.

Through examining where you are now, we can measure where you want to be. Self-awareness is key to understanding your needs, your desires, your patterns, both beneficial and harmful, your emotions, what drives you and what hinders you. Here, we will look at your values.

2. Exploration — Identify and clarify your goals — What do you want?

Without having a clear goal, it is difficult to know what direction to take and how to reach
your goal.

Here we will look at:

A. What you want to have.
B. Where you want to be.
C. Who you want to be.
D. What you want to do.

We will also look at WHY it is important to you and the meaning behind the goal.

3. Recognition — Acknowledge you.

Recognize the efforts you have made or are making, for no small act should go unnoticed. Understand that your efforts compound.

A reward system of some kind is beneficial here, and taking notice of what you are doing instead of what you are not doing will propel you forward to your goals and keep you in a positive headspace.

4. Visualization — Picture it vividly in your mind.

Visualizing your goals is not only powerful but practical because it has been proven to be a catalyst for creating results.

Here we will get crystal clear on the details of your goal:

1. What does it look like?
2. What does it smell like?
3. What does it feel like?
4. What does it sound like?
5. What does it taste like? 
6. Who’s there?
7. What are you doing?
8. Where are you?
9. What emotions are you experiencing? Etc.

5. Experiment & Empower — Get excited about the journey!

Now that we have gone over what you want and why it is important to you, what you have already done and tried, and what the end result will look like, the next step is to implement a plan that will help you navigate your way to your goal.

While it is important to have a route outlined, it is also important not to become too attached to how you will get to your goal because it is not entirely possible to predict every step along the way. New opportunities may arise and there is also the possibility that your goal may change.

Here, there is the opportunity to experiment with:

1. What works for you and what does not.
2. New learning and the chance to grow

You are taking the means necessary to achieve all that you desire in this life, which deserves acknowledgement in itself! Together, we will help you create the life you deserve to live.

The SERVE model also represents what it means to serve. As Martin Luther King Jr. once said:

Everybody can be great, because everybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You don’t have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve. You don’t have to know Einstein’s theory of relativity to serve. You don’t have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love.

Throughout your journey, it will be useful to ask yourself, “How does this serve others?”, but most importantly, “How does this serve me?”