What can life coaching do for me?
There are a variety of benefits that can come from coaching, and they tend to be individualized. Life coaches can provide support, teach certain skills, and help individuals discover new coping strategies for symptoms like anxiety, depression, stress, or even creative blocks. Many people find it beneficial to work with a coach. In fact, if you’re simply looking for personal growth in any aspect of your life, you can typically find the skills and resources through coaching to help with family issues, relationship concerns, and more. Essentially, a coach offers a different way of looking at things – perhaps a perspective you haven’t yet considered, which makes it easier to point you in the right direction and find the solutions you’re looking for in life.
Of course, life coaches can’t just ‘fix’ everything on their own. The real work is done through collaboration and the use of resources learned in your everyday life. This makes things really begin to turn around. Still unsure about what coaching could do for you? Let’s take a look at a few examples of some common benefits:
– Grasping a deeper understanding of who you are
– Identifying your goals and dreams
– Obtaining the right skills for bettering your life’s relationships
– Learning resources to put an end to the issues that brought you to your coach
– Managing problem areas in your personal life such as anger, stress, depression, addiction, etc.
– Creating new patterns of behavior for yourself
– Changing your problem-solving perspective
– Boosting your self-esteem and confidence
If I feel as though I can handle my issues on my own, is coaching really necessary?
There isn’t a person alive who doesn’t experience challenges of some kind throughout their life. Some people can simply get through them better than others, and even then, it’s never a bad idea to have additional support and understanding when it comes to the obstacles you may be facing. In all actuality, coaching is ideal for people who understand themselves enough to realize they actually could use some help, instead of denying it. Noticing that your life isn’t necessarily where you want it to be shows acceptance and allows you to take the steps to change for the better, making changes you will be incredibly proud of. You’re taking the first step down an incredible path that can lead to long-lasting benefits for the rest of your life, even when challenges come up again.
What makes people seek a life coach in the first place? How do I know if it’s the right decision?
Everyone’s reasons for seeking a coach are different, whether they’re going through a big life change, a specific event, or just aren’t dealing with stressful situations ideally. Sometimes, the assistance of coaching can not only help with specific situations, but personal issues as well. Depression, anxiety, relationship issues, and even low-self esteem are often common reasons to seek out help. You may start out looking for one thing and find on your journey that you can gain so much more through learning the right skills and having the right kind of encouragement.
In terms of making the ‘right decision’ for yourself, of course life coaching is a personal decision, but if you take a look at your life and your desire is to make a change that starts from within, it’s likely that some form of coaching could be a great benefit.
What can I expect from coaching?
Most people can expect different experiences. It is completely individually-focused, which is why everyone can get something different out of it. Generally, your life, your history, and any relevant insights will be important to the specific discussions, but in a very personal and individualized manner. Sometimes coaching can be focused on a specific need, in which case it’s a ‘short term’ solution, while in other cases, many people meet with their coaches regularly to simply look for more personal growth.
Again, life coaching isn’t meant to be a ‘quick fix’ where you sit back and listen. It is a participatory experience. The more you involve yourself in the process, the better results you’re bound to see. It’s a practice in everyday living in which you take what you learn from the session and apply it to your life. Therefore, it’s important to be mentally prepared to make those changes in your life and desire new perspectives on things.
Are there practices that combine well with coaching?
People are turning more and more to holistic and natural alternatives to modern medicine to treat mental, physical and spiritual issues. I fully support alternative options as such essential oils, chiropractic and massage care, yoga, diet/exercise and nutrition options, and other means you might explore to improve your well-being in addition to coaching.
Do the topics in each coaching session remain private?
There is practically nothing more important in coaching than confidentiality. As with any doctor/patient agreement, your privacy is of the utmost importance. A good life coach understands the vulnerability and openness that must come from each patient in order to really get through, so the process itself can take a lot of trust and that needs to be developed over time. Make sure your coach offers a confidentiality agreement before you begin your sessions, typically called ‘informed consent.’ It is your choice if you’d like to have your coach share anything significant with your other healthcare providers, but this can only be done with your written consent. Nothing you share in your sessions is to be told to anyone else, with the rare exceptions of suspected abuse of any kind (including child protection) or if the coach has any reason to believe their client may hurt themselves or others. These situations are a matter of ethical procedures, and sometimes, even the law.