There isanother way.

Life coaching for people ready to question old patterns and choose what comes next, on their own terms.

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INSTEAD. is a fictional portfolio concept by Deliverate Design. No live bookings are available.

You can be doing everything right and still want something different.

The job makes sense. The calendar is full. You're dependable, capable, and very good at getting through a week. But somewhere along the way, your choices started feeling less like yours.

INSTEAD. is a space to notice that feeling, ask better questions, and decide what deserves to change.

Get to know the approach
No reinvention required.Just room to think without the usual expectations speaking first.

Try a different question.

Some thoughts arrive so often that we stop hearing them as choices. Select one that sounds familiar.

Another way to look at it

I should have it figured out by now.

What would I choose if I didn't have to know the whole answer yet?

Clarity can come from taking a thoughtful first step, not from predicting every step after it.

Portrait of the fictional INSTEAD. coach, Tess Marin, in the sunlit archway

Someone to think with. Not someone to think for you.

Meet Tess Marin, the imagined voice behind INSTEAD. Her approach starts by listening for what matters underneath the automatic answers.

There are no scripts for who you should become. The work is to make space for honest questions, useful reflection, and decisions you can actually live with.

Meet Tess

Support that meets you where the question is.

Maybe you need one honest conversation. Maybe you need time to practice a different way of making decisions. There's room for both.

Quiet desk with an open journal, pen, and laptop beside a coastal archwayThe Reset Session Coach speaking with a client in a calm, light-filled roomThe Steady Practice Woman taking a quiet moment on a coastal terrace at golden hourThe In-Between

The Reset Session

One focused conversation to untangle a decision or pattern.

See the format

The Steady Practice

Six sessions to make space for reflection and meaningful follow-through.

See the format

The In-Between

Ongoing check-ins for a season of change.

See the format

A different choice looks different on everyone.

These fictional scenarios illustrate the everyday situations the coaching concept is designed around.

Portrait of a fictional woman in a cream shirt, looking thoughtful by an archway

When being reliable became exhausting.

A fictional story about boundaries, work, and a new kind of yes.

Explore the story
Portrait of a fictional man in a navy shirt seated beside a sunlit window

When a good path stopped feeling right.

A fictional story about direction, doubt, and making room to reconsider.

Explore the story

AI-generated portraits and narratives are fictional examples created for this portfolio website. They are not client endorsements.

The next chapter doesn't need the old instructions.

We can start with a conversation about the thing you've been thinking about lately.

Start a conversation

Good questions can change what happens next.

INSTEAD. is for thoughtful people who want to hear their own voice again, not another set of instructions about the life they should be living.

A fictional coaching practice, built with intention.

Sunlit architectural walkway opening toward the sea

Meet Tess Marin.

Tess is the fictional coach imagined for this portfolio concept. Her work is shaped around a simple belief: you don't always need more advice. Sometimes you need the chance to listen carefully to yourself.

INSTEAD. makes space for people at the point where a once-comfortable decision no longer fits. A change in work. A relationship with expectations. A new season that makes an old plan feel unfamiliar.

No dramatic overhaul, no borrowed definition of success. Just careful attention to the choices in front of you.

How coaching works

What guides the conversation.

Curiosity before certainty.

We look at a situation from more than one angle before deciding what it has to mean.

Honesty without pressure.

You can name what's difficult without needing to turn it into a polished success story.

Action that feels like yours.

Reflection matters because it changes how you show up in ordinary, real decisions.

Not a new personality. A little more room to be yourself.

The idea behind INSTEAD. isn't to make you endlessly improve. It's to help you recognize when habit, obligation, or fear has been making the decision for you.

Sessions are conversational, practical, and shaped around a question you care about. You remain the author of the next move.

Tell us what you're navigating
Sunlit journal and coffee on a stone table beside a coastal view

You already get a say.

The first step can be as small as giving yourself a place to think differently.

Find your format

The conversation is about your life. Not a formula.

Bring a question, a change, a pattern, or the feeling that something is off. We'll make it more understandable, then make space for an intentional next step.

Individual coaching. Thoughtful pace. Your decisions.

Close editorial view of a thoughtful coaching conversation across a table

Choose the space you need.

Illustrative formats and prices for the portfolio concept. These programs are not currently offered for purchase.

A laptop, notebooks, and coffee waiting on a quiet terrace table
Room to reflectBring the actual question in front of you.
A woman walking toward the sea through a sunlit architectural opening
Permission to reconsiderLook past what you've always done.
Close view of a coaching conversation, hands gesturing above an open notebook
Practical conversationReflection that makes room for action.

The Reset Session

Details and inclusions

One thoughtful pause around a particular decision.

$14575 minutes, one session

For the question that has been looping in your head. We identify what's making it difficult, look at the assumptions underneath, and leave with a next step that feels reasonable.

  • One private 75-minute video session
  • A short reflection prompt before we meet
  • Your own written next-step notes
Ask about this format

The Steady Practice

Details and inclusions

More time to question a pattern and try something new.

$720Six sessions across 12 weeks

For transitions and familiar habits that take time to understand. Each conversation connects reflection to a real situation, with room to learn from what happens between sessions.

  • Six private 60-minute video sessions
  • Simple practices between sessions
  • A final review of what has shifted
Ask about this format

The In-Between

Details and inclusions

A regular place to check in during a changing season.

$260Two 50-minute sessions per month

For a season when decisions are evolving. We keep the conversation close to real life, revisiting what's working and what deserves a different approach.

  • Two private 50-minute video sessions monthly
  • An optional check-in reflection
  • Month-to-month illustrative format
Ask about this format

What happens between conversations matters, too.

Coaching is not about finding one perfect answer in a session. Sometimes the useful change is noticing an old habit on an ordinary Tuesday, asking a different question, or trying a smaller next step.

Tell us what you're working through
The fictional coach making notes beside her laptop after a reflective conversation

How the work actually feels.

We start where you are.

No perfectly prepared agenda needed. We begin with the thing that feels most present.

We pay attention to the pattern.

We explore your assumptions, choices, and the pressures that might be speaking for you.

We make the next step yours.

We leave space for action, reflection, and the option to change your mind later.

Before we begin, a few useful answers.

How is coaching different from therapy?

Coaching focuses on reflection, decisions, and future actions. It isn't mental health treatment, and this fictional practice does not claim to provide clinical care.

Do I have to know exactly what I want to work on?

No. You can start with a feeling of being stuck, a recurring question, or one decision you've been avoiding.

Are sessions in person or online?

These illustrative packages use private video sessions. In a real practice, format and availability would be confirmed before booking.

What if none of the packages seems right?

Use the contact form to describe what you are navigating. This portfolio demo will show what an inquiry could look like without sending anything.

Can I purchase a session here?

No. INSTEAD. is a fictional portfolio concept, and the packages and pricing are examples only.

Start with the question you have.

You don't need a five-year plan to have a worthwhile first conversation.

Start a conversation

There isn't one right way to move forward.

Everyone arrives with a different question. These imagined stories show the kinds of choices coaching can help someone explore.

Fictional scenarios, not actual client testimonials.

Imagined client Amara, in a cream shirt, taking a quiet moment by the sea

A fictional example about boundaries

When being reliable became exhausting.

Amara was the person everyone counted on. At work, at home, in friendships, she almost always said yes before asking whether she had room.

Read the imagined story

The important question wasn't whether helping others was good. It was whether a yes given from obligation felt like a genuine choice.

Through a few imagined coaching conversations, Amara practiced noticing the pause before answering. Not every request became a no. More of her answers became intentional.

Imagined client Jules, in a navy shirt, considering a new direction

A fictional example about direction

When a good path stopped feeling right.

Jules had built a career that looked sensible from the outside. The harder part was admitting that what once felt ambitious now felt like something to maintain.

Read the imagined story

The imagined coaching work didn't end with a dramatic resignation. It began with naming which parts of the job still mattered and which parts had become automatic.

Jules explored small experiments before committing to a bigger change. A decision got clearer because the question became more specific.

Imagined client Dev, seated in a warm, quiet room

A fictional example about change

When the plan changed, but the expectations didn't.

Dev had entered a new season of life. Things had shifted, but the rules Dev was using to judge each day still belonged to the years before.

Read the imagined story

The work began with noticing how often an old measure of success shaped the present. Through reflection and trial, Dev considered what enough could look like now.

Nothing in this example promises a neat ending. The value is in the permission to reconsider.

Why these stories are fictional.

This is a portfolio demonstration of a possible coaching website. The characters, AI-generated portraits, and experiences above are created examples, not testimonials from real clients. A live practice would replace them with permission-based, accurately attributed client stories.

Your story isn't finished.

The interesting part might begin with a question you haven't asked yourself yet.

Begin with a conversation

Tell me what you've been thinking about.

You don't need to have the perfect words. A question, an unfinished thought, or a little context is enough to begin.

Open notebook, pen and coffee in a light-filled space overlooking the sea
An intentional next step usually begins with an honest first sentence.

Start here.

This is a working demo of the inquiry experience, not a live booking service.

Portfolio demonstration only. This form does not send, store, or book anything. Please don't enter sensitive personal information.

Not sure which format fits?

That's a good place to start. You can explore the three illustrative options on the Coaching page or use the form above to describe the question without selecting a package.