What exactly is a Life Coach?
Let’s examine these scenarios;
You will call the plumber when you need to fix a water leak in the kitchen.
Toothache, regular checks, and dental procedures are taken care of during dental visits.
When you have an issue with the AC, the HVAC guy will be your next point of call.
So, all of these people are experts in their chosen fields. But who do you call when you’re having personal issues with life? Who do you look to for help when it seems like you’re stuck in the middle of nowhere and certain areas of your life look bleak, bleary and uninspiring?
Well, my friend, you need a life coach, a professional in this field as well.
Did I hear you say ‘what about family and friends’?
Of course, this makes much sense.
You see, we all need someone to lean on and people in our inner circles may offer help when we need it. But because they are not experts in this area, there’s a limit to how much they really can help.
A life coach, on the other hand, is trained, experienced, and fully dedicated to this cause.
They are specially trained to help you identify your life’s personal goals. Furthermore, they’ll also help you devise practical strategies to help you realize these goals as well. Before we discuss more on what a life coach can do for you, let’s briefly discuss what a life coach won’t do.
A life coach won’t tell you what to do!
I won’t go about telling you what you should or should not do. Because that’s not what we are about as coaches. You have the creativity, the resourcefulness, and the wholeness to achieve everything you set out to achieve.
Rather than boss around, I’m going to help you believe in your intuition, question your perspectives on different issues, and then challenge you to go for your goals so you can live the best life you really should.
But make no mistake, great value comes with great coaches.
While I won’t necessarily be telling you what to do, I’ll provide valuable insights, tools, and resources you can add to your own tool belt so you can be more strengthened and better positioned to take on the challenges of your personal life.
What then will a life coach do for you?
Why hire a life coach when they won’t be telling you what to do?
Well, what a life coach really does is to counsel and encourage you on a diverse range of personal and professional issues. We give you the much-needed boost and reawakening you need to tap into and maximize your inner potentials.
Among other things, a life coach will;
- Help you identify and clarify your goals and vision
- Leverage his/her expertise to help you modify your goals
- Help you evoke strategies to help you achieve the goals
- Help you achieve personal growth and self-discovery
- Promote accountability on the side of the client for a productivity boost
All of these and other things are combined in life coaching in a way that helps clients tap into their potential to surmount challenges and surpass perceived limits and limitations.
Life coaching is different from therapy
It’s common to see people think of life coaches the same way they think of therapists, counselors, etc.
Although coaching appears to be somehow closely related, there is undoubtedly a thin line between life coaching and other practices such as administering therapy, counseling, giving advice, mentoring, etc.
Good life coaches would assess your current situation to identify current challenges and obstacles. They’ll then help you devise strategic and customized plans so as to help you realize the best outcomes you want.
Coaching is a big and diverse umbrella
Again, coaching is a big umbrella.
Coaching itself is diverse and there are coaches who are specialized in different areas. That’s why you can always hire different types of coaches to help with a diverse range of things from personal goals, to career goals, specific professional projects, transitions, relationships, etc.
Another area of coaching that has also become quite popular and equally important is career coaching.
Let’s discuss what exactly career coaching is too!
What is career coaching?
While life coaching basically deals with issues that relate to personal goals, a career coach operates in a different area –your professional career.
Career coaching is all about helping professionals find career fulfillment, establish career goals, and then devise actionable plans that will help you overcome obstacles that may show up on your way.
Who needs a career coach?
You need a career coach if;
- You feel stuck at a dead-end job that does not reflect your life’s purpose and meaning
- You’re struggling to find a balance between your work and personal life
- You can’t determine where exactly to begin your career now that you’re out of school
- You loathe your current job and want something more enjoyable
- You’re at your current job by accident and want to find something you’re passionate about
- You’ve had enough of corporate life but can’t figure out what next you should do
- You’re applying for college but can’t figure out what you want to do in life
- You’re immersed in any career crisis
How valuable is career coaching?
A career coach is professionally trained and well experienced in helping you through a diverse range of career issues.
They can help with
- career exploration,
- career personality,
- personal marketing and branding,
- confidence building,
- interviewing skills building,
- salary negotiations,
- creative and strategic job searching,
- and the evaluation of prospective employers, among other things.
A career coach will offer you great career support, help you become more focused on things that matter. All of these will go into helping build a successful career or helping you improve on current achievements.
All coaching, whether life coaching or career coaching is about change and learning.
If you’re lucky enough to find a really good life/career coach, you’ll be able to unlock your potential so you can maximize growth in every area of your personal or professional life.
Bijan Kholghi is a life coach with a special psychological education in hypno-systemic coaching. His teacher Dr. Gunther Schmidt is the founder of Milton Erickson Institute in Heidelberg (Germany), a direct student of Milton H. Erickson, and a leading figure in psychotherapy education in Europe. His highly effective coaching and therapy method helps people getting aware of their unconscious pattern and gaining control over them. This leads to a more fulfilled and happier life.
August 8th-9th 2019
