Bright Morning Blog

Best-selling author and coaching expert, Elena Aguilar, shares her wisdom about coaching, leading teams, and designing and facilitating transformational professional development.

Practice for Embodied Change

May 11, 2026

James Clear writes, “Learning more will increase knowledge, but only attempting more will reduce fear.”

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Do You Want to Make the Next School Year Easier?

June 17, 2024

If you’re not familiar with it, the 5-Minute Rule is a proven cognitive behavioral therapy technique that can be summed up with “Just do it for five minutes.” It makes starting tasks that have been looming easy by minimizing the effort required to get going.

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This Summer, Build Your Skills at Creating Connection

June 10, 2024

The top core human need is the need for connection. ‍So how do you create connection between adults? Which structures do you incorporate into coaching, facilitating, and leading teams so that meaningful connection happens?

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How to Continue the Quest to Better Know Yourself

June 3, 2024

In the Onward framework, the topic for June is “Know Yourself.” While the second chapter is on understanding emotions, I think that you can’t know yourself without knowing your emotional landscape.

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I’d Always Be in the “Needs to Improve” Column in this Area

May 20, 2024

Truth is, a part of me hates emotions. Hates that I experience them. Hates that I have to deal with them. I’m afraid of them. I find them uncomfortable. I’d rather write, present, or facilitate a meeting than feel my feelings. I also think I don’t do feelings well. If there were a rubric for feeling feelings, I’d always be in the “needs to improve” column.

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5 Questions I Ask Myself When I Design PD

May 6, 2024

I’m deep into designing my new, in-person The Art of Transformational Coaching workshop, which I’ll deliver during fall 2024 in 9 cities around the U.S. This workshop is based on my forthcoming book, Arise: The Art of Transformational Coaching, and both the book and workshop reflect all that I’ve learned in the 20 years since I became a coach, and in the 11 years since I published The Art of Coaching (retiring in July 2024 with the release of Arise).

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My best design resource

April 29, 2024

I am deep in planning my new in-person workshop on Transformational Coaching. In Fall 2024, I’ll be taking this 2-day learning experience on the road. It’s been over 4 years since I’ve done these kinds of workshops, and I can’t wait to be in person with others who are committed to transforming schools.

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End-of-year reflection questions for you

April 22, 2024

These reflection questions invite you to consider your ways of being—and they’re ones you can offer coaching clients as well. At the core of Transformational Coaching is the concept of the Three Bs: Behaviors, beliefs, and ways of being. We know that it is only by coaching in these three domains that we create sustained, transformative change in schools; our behaviors emerge from our beliefs and our ways of being.

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“These kids can’t…”

April 15, 2024

My newest book, Arise: The Art of Transformational Coaching (July 2024), has two chapters dedicated to coaching for equity. And another three on coaching emotions. And even more on preparing ourselves to coach. And of course, a lot of concrete strategies. It has so much because in many ways, this is complex. And it’s also simple: when we tend to ourselves, we can tend to others.

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Bright Morning Blog

Practice for Embodied Change

Do You Want to Make the Next School Year Easier?

This Summer, Build Your Skills at Creating Connection

How to Continue the Quest to Better Know Yourself

I’d Always Be in the “Needs to Improve” Column in this Area