When it comes to personal or professional development, life coaching can be a powerful tool to help you reach your goals. But it's not a miracle solution. Before investing in a life coach, it's important to understand what they can and cannot do for you. Desperation is often what drives people to life coaching.
It's an easy label to put on, but if you don't take the time to position yourself and educate yourself about what kind of coach you are, it won't be effective. A life coach will mainly focus on looking to your future, finding new ways of acting and thinking, rather than dealing too much with your past. If you are dealing with problems such as depression, anxiety, or mental illness, you need a trained therapist. Plus, even the best coach is only worth the amount of time and energy you're willing to invest.
If you're not ready to commit to doing the heavy lifting yourself, even the best coach can't help you. Your coach will help you set priorities and objectives, and guide you in how you can put your most important priorities first. Your coach will help you discover why this is the case and overcome any limiting beliefs or patterns that don't work. Before devoting time, money, and energy to a coaching relationship, do your homework and think carefully about your decision.
Make sure your coach is worth investing in. If done well, with the right professional, training can significantly impact your life for the better. While there can be several factors that drive successful people to training, there are also good reasons why certain people shouldn't hire a coach. Ask where they conducted their coach training program and how many hours of training they were required to complete.
Save yourself time and money. Book a facial, vacation, or dinner with a friend. With life coaching, I thought it was a way to earn enough, pay my bills, travel again and do whatever I wanted with my time and also help people. A masterful coach partners with you to discover what's happening beneath the surface, what it means and how it affects you, while always focusing on your ultimate goals.
A life coach doesn't make decisions on behalf of the client, but rather helps them find their own way forward. While life coaching is not regulated and anyone can choose to call themselves a coach, chances are that a good life coach is certified by an accredited organization or is in the process of training. Once your coach understands why this change is important to you, it can help you raise awareness of where you are in the process, if you want to make a move and what it will look like. An expert coach will lead the discovery process and support you in reorganizing around a larger sense of self as you prepare for a new step in your life. If done well with the right professional, life coaching can be an invaluable investment that significantly impacts your life for the better. But if you're not ready to commit to doing the heavy lifting yourself, even the best coach won't be able to help.
