What is life coaching?
The role of a life coach is to facilitate positive change through empowerment, and a good coach will recognize the links between people’s language patterns, thought patterns and behaviour. They will challenge your beliefs about who you really are and what you are capable of. The coaching process is based on the understanding that the client already has within them the required (sometimes dormant) resources to create positive change, and you will receive guidance in accessing these resources.
How will coaching help me?
Anyone who wants to improve their life can benefit from life coaching. Just like a personal trainer can help you achieve your fitness goals, a life coach can help you achieve goals in just about any area. The expertise of a life coach is the mindset, which is the driving force behind human behaviour. They are trained to identify the root cause of unresourceful behaviour. Many people feel a sense that something is holding them back, but are unable to pinpoint where the problem lies. Coaching will eliminate the confusion around what you want and provide clarity, by identifying and breaking down blockages within the mindset.
Is life coaching like counseling?
Life coaching is quite different to counseling. Whilst counseling tends to be more focused on the past, life coaching is solution-focused and coaches work with people who do not have a mental health diagnosis (clients rather than patients). Counseling is generally conducted on the assumption that healing is required, whereas life coaching works with the assumption that the client is already whole and complete.
What is the difference between life coaching and psychology?
Touted “the science of human achievement”, life coaching is similar to psychology, but once again tends to have less of an emphasis on the past, and is widely considered to be faster-paced. The duration that a psychologist spends with their patient can be a number of years, and the period that a client spends with their coach is relatively short, as the resulting goal for the client is to be able to self-coach.
Do life coaches tell people how to live their lives?
Not at all. Coaching sessions are centered on the client’s agenda, and are 100% judgement free. This is the beauty of coaching, in that you are provided with a space to identify your own thoughts in a safe environment. You decide the destination or path you’d like to take, and the coach acts as a vehicle to help you get there.