Creating pathways to change your life in positive ways...
Life Coaching is a goal oriented partnership between me and you to create and affect change in your life. Questions a person that is looking for a life coach might ask themselves…
Am I confused in one or more areas of my life? Would I like more help sorting out my obstacles? Am I going through a transition? Would I like guidance that my friends and family cannot offer? Do I have all that I have ever dreamed? Are there dreams left unachieved? Do I need help getting through some of life's challenges? Am I searching for more clarity? Do I know why I am here, and what my life's purpose is? Where do I want to go in my life? What is important to me? Would I like to get my happy back? Coaching is the path to answering these questions. What is a Life Coach:
What a Life Coach is NOT:
Because life coaching is such a new profession, it is often confused with counseling or consulting. While there are some similarities, it is essential to understand the differences. In general, counseling tends to focus a lot on working through past traumatic experiences and healing emotional pain that affects you today. Counseling also works with mental illnesses and disorders. The therapist is the "expert" in the relationship. Life coaches, on the other hand, approach people from a very different angle. Coaching does not focus on examining the past, nor does it delve into diagnosing mental illness or dysfunctions. Instead coaching focuses on the present and future. During coaching, we focus on where you are today and where you want to be in the future. Coaches help you set goals and plan concrete action steps to take. You are the “expert” in the relationship. You bring your own agenda to each session. Your progress is completely up to you as you are accountable for your actions and successes. Consultants are experts that analyze a situation, recommend solutions, and advice on what the best course of action should be based on their experience and knowledge. They provide invaluable services for many organizations and individuals. Life Coaching is not consulting. The life coaching process is strictly a non-advisory one. To be clear: Life coaches do not give advice. The process is meant as a guidance and not as a "follow or else" method. If you are a client and are told what to do, then it is not life coaching. Coaches let you discover your own answers at your own pace. The answers are already inside you. Coaching just allows you the time and space to work and discover these answers. If as a client you want advice about what to do--do not see a coach. A mentor, a friend, a family member, a spiritual leader, a therapist or many types of counselors may give you what you want instead. All life coaches should:
Help you set and achieve realistic goals quickly and confidently
Listen deeply to what you do and do not say
Ask powerful, pointed, and thought provoking questions
Help you identify what is out of balance in your life
Help you overcome fears, stress, and anxiety
Help you overcome roadblocks--externally and internally--and take on new challenges
Help hold you accountable for achieving the visions and dreams you see for yourself
Help you discover those "Ah-ha!" moments and get your Happy back
Function as a nonjudgmental and agenda-free thinking partner
Operate with the belief that you are your own life expert
Who needs a life coach:
Life coaching can be an effective tool to achieve any personal or professional goal. These goals can be quite diverse from dropping bad habits to increasing creativity at work. Some common uses for a personal life coach are:
Improve the quality of a relationship or find and start a new relationship
Managing stress and anxiety
Quitting smoking or any other bad habit
Adopting a healthier lifestyle
Improving your time management
Improving financial management
Spiritual growth and addressing personal development needs
As your life coach, I am in no way tied to any particular outcome from you as a client. This means that there are no judgments passed on whatever you may choose to do or not do. I am there to assist you to move forward in whatever direction you choose. In addition, the focus is all on you, every session. I am just your coach and your guide, supporting you, listening to you, and empowering you to achieve whatever goals you want.
