If You're Asking 'Am I Still Passionate About Coaching?' - Read This Before You Quit

I used to think that if you questioned your passion for coaching, you should just quit. Clean break. Move on. Find something else that lights you up. If you’re asking it, it’s not for you.

That was immature thinking.

Here's what I know now:

The question "Am I still passionate about coaching?" is seldom actually about passion. It's about direction.

The Framework: What Actually Stays Constant

When coaches come to me feeling burned out or questioning whether they should quit, we audit three things:

Effort- Are you still willing to put in the work?

Intent- Do you still want to help people transform?

Direction- Is what you're doing aligned with how you want to help?

In almost every case, the first two haven't changed. The effort is there. The intent to serve is there. What's misaligned is the direction.

You're passionate about coaching, but you fucking hate sales calls.

You enjoy the visibility and opportunities the platform offers, but the actual work necessary to maintain it exhausts you.

You want to help people, but the systems you're using don't actually serve them the way you envisioned.

That's not a passion problem. That's a problem with direction.

The Audit: Three Questions That Matter

When you catch yourself questioning whether you should quit, ask these instead:

1. Am I still willing to do hard things to serve my clients? If yes, your effort is intact.

2. Do I still want to see people transform? If yes, your intent is intact.

3. Is the work I'm doing each day aligned with the impact I want to have? If no, your direction needs adjustment.

Most coaches who quit do so because they confuse a direction problem with a passion problem.

They throw out the entire business instead of adjusting the route.

What Direction Actually Means

Coaching is the vehicle. The systems determine the direction.

Your direction includes things like:

• Your service model (1-on-1 vs. group vs. hybrid)

• Your marketing approach

• Your pricing structure

• Your ideal client

• The problems you're solving

• The time you're investing in tasks that don't fill your cup.

All of these can change without your passion for coaching changing.

I'm passionate about elevating coaches. That's never changed. But the direction I take to do that has evolved significantly. The systems I use, the offers I create, the mentees I work with, and the platforms I build have all been adjusted and refined based on what serves both me and my clients best.

When something isn't working, I don't question my passion. I question my direction.

The Real Work: Identifying Misalignment

If you're questioning your passion, do this exercise:

Write down everything you're doing in your business right now. Then put each item into one of two columns: fills my cup or drains my cup.

Now, what would need to change to shift the things that drain you to the things that fill your cup? And if they can’t, do you NEED to do them?

You may be spending 15 hours a week on Instagram when you actually hate creating content.

You may be running a group program when you thrive in 1-on-1 work.

Maybe you're undercharging and resenting your clients because of it.

You may be coaching people you don't want to work with because you haven't clearly defined your ideal client.

None of that means you're not passionate about coaching anymore. It means your current direction is misaligned with your core values and how you actually want to serve.

Permission to Change Direction

You don't need to blow up your entire business because you're exhausted by parts of it. You need to identify what's not working and adjust.

Effort stays constant. Your willingness to do hard things doesn't change.

Intent stays constant. Your desire to serve people doesn't change.

Only direction changes. And it should change, frequently, as you learn what actually works for you and your people.

The question isn't "Am I still passionate about coaching?" The question is "Is my current direction aligned with the impact I want to have and the life I want to live?"

Answer that, and you'll know exactly what needs to change.

If you need help figuring all this stuff out, I literally do this every single day with my mentees. Book a call with me here, and let’s discuss whether I can help you get a better GPS.

Keep Raising the Bar,

Paul Oneid MS, MS, CSCS