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Writer's pictureEmma Najman

Why Do You Need a Mentor?

Updated: Dec 21, 2022

Why you need a mentor


Why a mentor is important:


If you’re feeling stuck, struggling to find motivation to move forwards alone, it’s time to find a mentor.


Choose an experienced mentor in the habit you need to change.



Emma Najman, NDIS, Cancer Rehab & Chronic Pain Physiotherapist, Pilates Instructor & Yoga Therapist
Emma Najman, NDIS, Cancer Rehab & Chronic Pain Physiotherapist, Pilates Instructor & Yoga Therapist


A mentor will support you, cheer you on, provide feedback, advice, and help you define and reach your goals.


It can be a key relationship in your life and one that has the potential to impact your health and fitness choices significantly.


Mentors play a valuable role in the lives of people looking to achieve new levels of success.


Hiring the right mentor for your specific needs takes time and research to find the best person.


What is a mentor?


A mentor is a person with specialised knowledge whom you may enlist to educate and motivate you.


Similar to coaches and teachers, mentors guide less experienced people through the learning process by establishing trust and modelling positive behaviours.

Many mentors choose to help educate others because they understand the value of their wisdom and knowledge and wish to pass it on. Others enjoy the challenge of helping people achieve their goals.


Why do i need a professional mentor?


A mentor who is a professional in the area you require help will have greater knowledge, experience and boundaries to ensure you learn the skills you need, to reach your goals, with support.


Physiotherapist Mentoring a rehab client
Physiotherapist Mentoring a rehab client

Do you need a mentor to be successful?


9 reasons why you need a mentor to achieve your personal health and fitness goals:


1/ Increased knowledge


Mentors are valuable sources of knowledge. They have already been through the learning process and provide advice on issues like how to reduce stress, increase motivation and adapt routine to be more efficient.

They are able to connect their experiences with your own.


2/ Constructive criticism


Friends and family members may hesitate to provide the type of feedback you need to make a change in your life.

Mentors offer constructive criticism designed to strengthen areas of your life that need improvement. Without this insight, personal growth may take longer to achieve. Encourage mentors to tell you how you may improve your strategy to better reach your goals.


3/ Personal growth


Mentors look for ways to encourage personal growth. Once they understand your skills and abilities, they may put you to work on a specific task to see how well you perform. Based on your performance, they might give you another challenge to test you or give you detailed feedback on what you did well and what you may improve upon. Mentors look for teaching moments that help you grow along the way.


Personal growth is a lifelong journey. People who intentionally set out to enrich their lives through self-growth and development report that they are happier, more successful and have better relationships. In this article, we explain why personal growth is important to your career and list some tips to help you get started on a path of personal development.


Why is personal growth important?


Personal growth is the direct result of efforts made to improve yourself. Sometimes referred to as self-improvement or self-actualisation, the purpose of personal growth is to improve one's habits, behaviour, actions and reactions.


Some examples of personal development include:


  • Learning to overcome the urge to procrastinate

  • Taking time to be there for your body through exercise and a healthy diet.

  • Learning to break the habit of laziness

  • Learning to be more considerate

  • Learning to become more responsible

  • Developing new skills and learning new things

  • Changing your mindset

  • Adopting a more positive attitude


Mindset focus for personal growth, meditation practice
Mindset focus for personal growth, meditation practice


Strategies for personal growth:


While everyone's personal growth path varies, here are some habits you can adopt to get your transformation started:


Keep learning

The ability and desire to learn are powerful skills that can have a positive impact on many areas of your life. Learning can take place through reading or studying, or in a more interpersonal sense through listening.


Experience new things and places

Variation can challenge your thought processes, senses and personal growth.

Try new types of exercise in different settings.


Running in the great outdoors
Running in the great outdoors is a challenge and variation for mental health

Get creative

Creativity promotes self-awareness, which is an important aspect of personal growth and development.


Make your health a priority

Personal growth requires commitment and self-discipline. It means prioritising what is good for you, rather than what's easy. Treating your body with care and respect is an important part of your individual development.


Personal growth is an active endeavour and it requires strength and endurance, which is why getting in shape is so beneficial for personal development. Making your health a priority looks like eating a balanced, healthy diet and exercising. It's getting enough sleep, and taking your vitamins. A healthy lifestyle will lead to many benefits, one of which being that your self-perspective will absolutely change for the better.


Evaluate your life


Self-awareness is a key aspect of personal growth, so it's important that you take some time to do a full evaluation of your life.

Here are some important questions to ask yourself that will help guide you through effectively evaluating your life:


  • What is your life like now? What areas are you happy with? What areas do you feel need to improve?


  • What would you like your life to be like? How do you hope to improve yourself, and why is it important that you do so?


  • How do you accomplish these changes, and what do you need to do so? What knowledge and experiences will aid in your personal development? Spend time looking for resources to help you along your journey.


  • What is your timeline? Make a list of activities and things you'd like to experience, and create milestones, to keep track of your progress.



Once you've confronted your shortcomings, make plans to improve them. Being aware is only part of the struggle. Creating change and self-growth requires action, so start by taking small steps to improve your situation in life.


Manage your time


Wasting time is all too easy, and most of us do it for hours every single day without realising it. It can feel like you don't have time, but that's likely just an illusion. You have time, you'll just need to modify how you spend it. Prioritising your personal growth will radically change how you spend your free time.


Here are some common time-wasting activities, and how you can restructure them to benefit your personal development:


  • Watch less television and when you do watch, truly focus on watching shows and films that you love instead of binging something you're really uninterested in.


  • Reduce the amount of time that you spend aimlessly surfing the internet. Consider setting a timer to make you aware of how much time has passed.


  • Rethink your commute and consider taking the bus instead of driving. You could then use the time to read, meditate or listen to podcasts and learn new information or skills.


  • Recruit some of your friends to turn a mindless hangout into something more constructive and/or productive, like volunteering, spending time in nature by hiking or kayaking, playing a sport or taking a class together.


3 generations taking a pilates class together
3 generations taking a pilates class together


4/ Words of encouragement


When you need an extra boost of confidence, mentors offer support and words of encouragement to keep you going when life gets tough. Without a mentor, negative thoughts may become more prominent in your daily life, especially when dealing with change. Positive encouragement helps motivate you to keep trying your best, despite the challenges.


5/ Firm boundaries


Successful mentorships are founded on boundaries that define social expectations and make you feel safe. Mentors create healthy boundaries that work in your favour. For example, mentors help set priorities, define unacceptable behaviours and provide guidance regarding balanced scheduling. Mentors help bring awareness to any issues that may be affecting your emotional well-being and provide solutions to overcome any negatives with boundaries.


6/ Unbiased opinions


Because mentors play a neutral role in your life, they have the ability to give unbiased opinions on subjects you care about.

Drawing on their past experiences, mentors provide opinions that they believe fit your circumstance best.


7/ Trusted ally


The relationship between a mentor and a mentee must be built upon trust, honesty and transparency. When you need someone you can trust, having a mentor as an objective third-party is a great resource. Mentors work to earn your trust in a variety of ways that include showing up regularly, checking in on you, listening to your stories and keeping your information confidential.


8/ Goal-setting


If you need help setting and achieving goals, mentors are the perfect allies to keep you accountable. Your mentor can help improve your health and fitness by setting new goals for you and providing clarity on how to take action. When you first begin the mentorship, write down a list of goals that you would like to achieve but make you feel uncomfortable in a positive way. Know that this discomfort comes from a fear of change. Once you achieve your goals, notice how this fear transitions into excitement.


A Cancer Rehab Physiotherapist in a Rehab setting with her client
The Cancer Rehab Physiotherapist provides a mentorship role with her patient


9/ New perspective


Working with a mentor is life-changing because it helps you understand who you are and what you want to become. Mentors help promote feelings of awareness and discovery that only come through conscious effort. Once you've experienced life with a mentor, you may want to share your experiences with others too, which helps you become a better leader yourself and provides you with a new perspective on life.


Where can you find a mentor?


Ask friends, colleagues and family who they recommend, who had assisted them, or someone they know, to make positive changes successfully in the area you are looking too change.


Where to find a mentor online?


Look for reviews from other clients who have worked with a mentor and see what they are saying and how it has helped them to make positive changes.


Interview the possible mentor and ask lots of questions including asking to speak with a client they have worked with, to check how satisfied they are.


Need help to GET YOU STARTED?


Unsure where to start? JOIN our support group TODAY:



I’d love to offer you a FREE phone call to discuss your injury/condition and see whether I am the best Mentor for YOU.



Just click the link below to find out more and book:



Emma Najman, NDIS, Cancer Rehab & Chronic Pain Physiotherapist, Pilates Instructor & Yoga Therapist


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