What is a Life Coach?
Life coaching has been around for 20+ years, really gaining popularity within the last couple of years. The idea of a life coach is about moving you forward; defining goals and working out how you can achieve them. Whereas therapy analyses the past, where a life coach is focusing on the future and how the client can fulfil their potential.
A life coach will not judge their clients but work with them on issues causing difficulties in their life. They will help the client understand problems, see what may be holding them back, work out solutions, set goals and concentrate on ways to change for the better. Having a life coach will usually involve a series of regular sessions over several months and contact with your life coach can be by telephone, zoom or personal visit.
Each life coach may have different style and use a variety of methods in their work, depending on the needs of their client. Many will use experience gained in disciplines such as sociology, psychology, career or other forms of counselling. However, life coaching is not intended for those with psychological illness.
Individual clients come from all sorts of backgrounds and may be looking for anything from major life changes to a few small adjustments to put them back on track. Although clients are often individuals, many companies also use life coaches to work with their employees in-house. Improving motivation, developing leadership and teambuilding skills, or managing working relationships could be some of the areas covered.
How Can a Life Coach Help Me?
If you are at a transition point in your personal or professional life then a life coach can give you the confidence to set priorities, make decisions and changes which will ultimately help you achieve a happier life. It is all about taking charge of your life and getting the results you want, rather than drifting and allowing things to happen around you.
In your working life perhaps you would like to improve your career opportunities, achieve more or develop your skills, but you are not sure how. Alternatively perhaps you would like to become self-employed, or simply need a change. A new challenge can give you a sense of purpose but you may lack the confidence to proceed. A life coach will help you understand and accept your weaknesses, but also enable you to believe in yourself and make the most of your strengths and abilities.
In your personal life you may feel you need or want to change your lifestyle. Perhaps you would like to lose weight, improve your health and fitness, manage stress or gain a better work/life balance. While you may well know what you should be doing, actually keeping up lifestyle changes is difficult at times. A life coach can help you identify exactly why you want to change, why earlier attempts may have faltered, and to view the process in a more positive way. Crucially the targets you set will be realistic so that your motivation and the benefits of change can be maintained.
Good relationships with those around you are very important to your sense of well being and satisfaction with life, but relationships can be difficult both at home and at work. However, this can improve with the help of a life coach. Talking through the issues will enable you to see how you can change to help resolve problems.
