Are you thinking about investing in your personal growth but are uncertain how to get started? Are you considering a life coach but don’t know what to expect? As this is my first post, I thought it would be beneficial to introduce what a life coach is and what it is we do.
- A life coach is an objective professional. Sure it’s great to have friends with whom to share but taking advice from family or friends is not always a good idea. Sometimes friends do not tell us the truth because they don’t want to hurt our feelings, risk losing our friendship or just don’t know what the best advice is to offer. When emotions get involved, we often make poor decisions.
- Certified coaches work in the present toward future objectives, whereas psychologists or psychotherapists deal with past issues and traumas. Unresolved traumas often stop us from getting what we want in life. A good coach knows how to help clients resolve past issues as they come up, as well as when to refer clients to a therapist if issues are too difficult to resolve.
- A life coach is a ‘life specialist’, an expert in helping you develop all areas of your business and personal life. People usually hire consultants to help with a specific problem and expect the consultant to have expertise in that particular area. Most consultants propose a solution and leave it to the client to put into practice. Coaching is effective because the coach remains with the client to help integrate the changes and to make sure the goal really happens.
- Coaches have the ability to see things from afar. Like a tennis pro watching your swing, we can point out what you can’t see – and what’s not working. There are all types of coaches and many coaches offer various services. I, for example, offer creative and sales coaching along with life coaching.
- A life coach is in partnership with the client. The added insight and support of a coach help many of today’s most successful executives and entrepreneurs take their lives and businesses to the next level. Most coaching clients are healthy, successful people, who might want to make a change and require the support of a personal coach to do so.
- Coaches can shed light on tough situations. We help people move forward, set personal and professional goals, help sharpen skills, motivate, increase self-awareness, and can be a sounding board for difficult decisions. If you have an idea to start a small business but don’t know how, if you feel there is a something missing or don’t know how to get to where you want to be, a coach will help break through limiting beliefs and challenge you to think bigger.
- Most coaches require regular schedules so that clients remain accountable. Life coaching is delivered one-on-way in person, by phone or online, and delivered in half hour to one and half hour sessions; typically weekly so that clients have time to integrate new ways of thinking while taking action toward their goals. Clients get more done than they would on their own. Like working out with a trainer at the gym, you work much harder than you would on your own.
- Experienced coaches know how to help set the right goals so that clients take bigger actions. You may start with the best intentions but then hit a snag, which can stop you completely or cause a long delay, whereas coaches can work through blocks quickly to help you achieve greater productivity with less effort and in less time.
- A well-trained coach tailors the approach to your needs and quickly learns what method and even which words will best motivate you. Life coaches use many of the same mantras as sports coaches. Such as ‘do your best’, ‘achieve more than you think you can’, ‘dedicate to a goal’ and ‘positivity’. Unlike sports coaches, however, most professional coaches are not in competition with each other, but instead, help you win in your own life.
Many are ready to do something meaningful but believe they must sacrifice their health, relationships and time, as they toil on their own to attain what they want. None of this is necessary. Although a coach is not a miracle worker, we do have a large toolbox to help your dreams become reality.
