Life Coaches Tell You What to Do and Give Advice
A professional life coach does not tell you what to do or give advice. There are no magic formulas. A good life coach works with you to identify your goals and establish a plan to achieve them. Your coach will then help you develop strategies and techniques that improve your self-awareness, identify blockages and unlock innate creativity and resourcefulness.
Life Coaching Takes a Lot of Time and Is Expensive
Life coaching is not expensive or time consuming. Most clients can achieve positive outcomes with two to four sessions per month. The normal session being around one hour, so the cost and time investment is minimal in comparison to the positive outcomes.
There Is Something Wrong With You if You Need a Life Coach
Coaching was once viewed as a tool to help correct underperformance in jobs. It is now viewed as an approach to optimal performance in all aspects of life. A lot of modern companies and organisation use coaching on a regular basis to increase productivity and develop future leaders. A life coach isn’t here to “fix” someone, they’re here to help them understand and reach their potential.
Life Coaches Are Like Having a Good Friend
Your coach is not your friend. Friends generally won’t challenge you to achieve your goals, help you set a plan or monitor your progress. Friends want you to succeed, a good life coach will actually help you succeed. Your coach will challenge you to do more than you think you can.
Good Coaching Is About Personality
Sure, a good coach needs to be active, interested and confident. But coaching is about the client and not the coach. A lot of coaching has been hijacked by the “personality cult”. The good coach is a performer, an extrovert, a person who is “out there” and sells success. Actually, a good coach is the opposite: a person who is committed to deep listening, privacy, respectful silence, sincerity, building a trustful relationship. Coaching is about finding the uniqueness, creativity and resourcefulness of the client.
Life Coaching Is About Finding a Cure
Life coaching is not some mythical recipe for success or a cure for life’s problems. A life coach isn’t going to make you a billionaire or find you a happiness potion. It’s about understanding your own skills, limitations and where you can improve life satisfaction. It’s also not some fast track method to an unrealistic goal as promised by many motivational Books, DVDs and unqualified coaches. This requires a pragmatic approach and involves setting realistic goals. It’s about following a clear plan to achieve real outcomes and applying practical techniques to help reach those goals.
