Coaching is one of today’s youngest disciplines; it is one of the newer professions that have come about over the past decades. Thus, several people have a vague concept and understanding of what coaches do and can do. Moreover, there is a problem that I have found with the word coach; a lot of people assume that they exactly know what a coach does but in reality, most of their concepts and ideas are wrong.
Nevertheless, what matters the most is what we, coaches can do to help you and how we can impact and change your life.
What is a coach?
The word coach can of course, mean different things to different people;
There is a kind of a coach who supports, trains, and teaches sports to young and adults, but that is not the kind of coach I am talking about in this article. On the other hand, there is another place where the word coach is used; it is to describe someone who uses their experience, knowledge, and wisdom to successfully support and encourage people to keep moving and striving in order to live the life they have always wanted.
Can anyone become a life coach?
A life coach is someone who is an expert in self-awareness and self-development that motivates and encourages you to continuously work on unleashing your limitless potentials.
Theoretically, anyone can become a life coach because everyone has some experience, knowledge, and wisdom about some area or aspect in life that they could share and teach to others who might need it.
It is apparent that thousands of people are getting into this profession, and the significant reason behind that is the massive demand for life coaches nowadays. One of reasons for this is the fact that there are various aspects and ways as to which life coaches could help you with, this often includes changing and improving your habits, managing stress and burnouts, taking care of your mental health, cultivating healthy relationships, advancing your career and professional goals, and finally, living a happier and more meaningful life.
General or specific?
Coaching is really about helping people to identify the obstacles that keep holding people back from what they want to do, assisting people to find motivation that will fuel them up to reach their full potentials, and pinpointing any resistance to change they see in people as they go on with their journey.
A life coach is such a wide-ranging term as there are a lot and different kinds of coaches; business coaches, executive coaches, leadership coaches, and the list goes on. But a life coach is typically most helpful when you are thinking about your overall future.
Several life coaches are capable of giving people general guidance for whatever stage of life they are dealing with and this would perfectly work for people who are looking for an overall personal development. However, there are also people who need support on something more specific than just having a general guidance support.
And one of the best things about looking for a life coach is that you can actually find someone who could be the best fit for you, based on the aspect of life you specifically need help with.
You can go to LinkedIn and you will probably see thousands of people having a title of a coach.
Do you have a problem in restoring harmonious relationships with your partner and family? There is a relationship and family coach.
Do you have a problem with deciding for your career – career change or retirement? There is a career coach.
Do you have a problem with managing your money, investments, savings and expenditures? There is a finance coach.
Do you have a problem dealing with stress and other negative emotions? There is a mental health coach.
Do you have a problem getting enough motivation to achieve your body and weight goals? There is a health and wellness coach.
Do you have a problem with finding deeper meaning in life? There is a spiritual coach.
And lastly, do you have a problem with telling the world about your life story? There is a brand storytelling coach.
Is life coaching a superpower?
Life coaching is indeed, transformational; it can help people move towards the path where they want to be headed and even way beyond that. Life coaches can help you become a whole new version of yourself – that certain version you have always wanted to become. And this leads you to the path of living authentically, where you can be the real you – no masks at all.
Most of the time when people begin to work with life coaches, they tend to get surprised and overwhelmed when they discover that they are not the person who they initially thought they were. And as they go further with their journey, they will eventually realize that they really don’t want what they have previously envisioned for themselves. Once people realize who they truly are, what they really want to achieve in life, and where they really want to be headed, they can go on living a happier, more fulfilling, and more meaningful life.
Let us look at the five ways to prove that coaches are superheroes who can save you:
1. Where do you want to be headed?
If you do not know or you cannot map out yet where you want to be headed, a life coach will definitely be a big help to you. However, even if you can already envision where you want to be headed, a life coach can still be an asset to you; and the very reason for this, is that life coaches are brilliant at giving their clients clarity as to what they want to achieve, where they want to be headed, and who they want to become.
Life coaches are trained to ask you important questions that will help you discover what you are good at and what you are here for. Life coaches can help you find your hidden skills and talents, as well as hone your existing ones; through these, you can then figure out what you want to do with the rest of your life and how you are exactly going to do it.
2. When do you want to get there?
Having a target date for something you want to achieve, to become, and to go to is excellent; failing to achieve that target date is common among people but, that should not be your excuse.
A coach is someone who will challenge you when or if you make excuses as to why you were not able to work on the time table you have given yourself. Having someone in your life who can honestly hold you accountable for your actions and decisions will definitely turn you into someone who is more productive, more efficient, and more effective.
3. What stops you?
Do you believe that your beliefs are one of the things that stop you from achieving your goals? If you believe that you cannot do something, then you live your life according to that certain belief.
A coach can absolutely spot these limiting beliefs you have for yourself and challenge you on them; they can also help you identify your strengths and weaknesses which will enable you to conquer the limiting beliefs that are holding you back from achieving your goals.
4. How can you keep going?
Once you have a clear understanding of where you want to be headed, when do you want to get there, and what stops you, your map becomes clearer; and this enables you to know exactly where your ultimate destination is. But the question is, how can you keep yourself going? A life coach can help you find your intrinsic motivation, learn how to become an optimistic person, and develop a determined attitude.
Remember, a positive mindset and a determined attitude will really go a long way in keeping you fueled to go on with your path to living your dreams.
5. Having a loyal friend is powerful
Finding people who are very supportive of you is a must when you are out on a mission to achieve your dreams and live the life you want. It is not advisable to go through it all alone. A life coach can be that someone who will constantly support, cheer, and motivate you.
Yes, a life coach can be that someone, but you should as well keep in mind that NOT everything will be coming from them.
Coaches are not superheroes who will save you.
It is not the coaches’ role to impart wisdom and do all the work for you, but rather to just be there to facilitate your own process of connecting to your inner wisdom, and making choices about your actions and next steps from that place of connection.
You are still the one who will do all the heavy lifting.
You are your own superhero.
You are your own savior.
You are your own storyteller.
Go, write your own story.