What is life coaching and how can it help you ?
There are a lot of coaches out there, all with different areas of knowledge and expertise. There are many types of coaching out there, all with different focusses. So how do you know what type of coaching is best for you ? And what is life coaching ?
It all depends on what area of your life you want to / need to focus on. Where you feel you need the most support to get you to where you desire to be.
Many people choose to go it alone, without the use of a coach and it works for the few that are extremely driven and self-motivated. However, many of us need some form of accountability, some form of structure, some form of support to help keep up momentum, motivation and positivity. Many of us need help to see our situations in black and white, to put things in perspective and to help us work out why we are not achieving what we want to.
And this is where a coach can provide a fantastic service and be of extreme value, whether it be business coaching, life coaching, relationship coaching, financial coaching, performance coaching, leadership coaching, mindset coaching, behavioural coaching….
Life Coaching
A life coach will help you gain awareness of and clarify your personal goals and priorities. With the support of a life coach you will achieve a better understanding of your thoughts and feelings and how these are impacting on your actions (or lack of). You will become more self-aware and be able to recognise what could be holding you back from fulfilling your potential. In short life coaching can change your life, it can help you to work out and accomplish your goals and feel more fulfilled.
Coaching is primarily concerned with the present and future, you will sometimes refer to the past in order to better understand the origin of your beliefs, thoughts and feelings but you will concentrate on how to move forward. If you feel that you need to look into your past in more detail, counselling may be a better fit for you.
Life coaches use a practical set of techniques and strategies that support you to achieve your potential, facilitate your personal growth, learning and development. They provide positivity, motivation and support to help you to feel capable of achieving your goals and aspirations by building your self-confidence to the point where you feel able to start taking action.
A life coach will support you to solve your own problems, equipping you with coping mechanisms, goal setting strategies and personal development tools that you can use for life. They will help you to maintain focus, to uncover key issues that are affecting your ability to move forwards and untangle any confusion about where you want to be and what you want to do.
To sum up life coaching is a practical, forward looking, way to gain clarity on what you want in life and what you can do about getting it.
Is life coaching for me ?
Life coaching could be for you if you ;
Are unsure of what you want from life.
Feel stuck in your current situation and want to change it.
Feel that there is something holding you back from fulfilling your potential.
Have put everyone else first for a long time and now feel that you have lost “you”.
Have found yourself with more time on your hands (children gone to high school / left etc.) but have no idea of what you want to do.
Struggle to stick to plans of self-improvement such as losing weight, starting a new career or hobby.
Have a low opinion of yourself and continually put yourself down and berate yourself.
This list is not exhaustive, there are many reasons whilst someone will use a life coach in order to move forwards with your life and most coaches have some sort of niche, depending on their areas of expertise and what they are passionate about. My niche is survivors of past domestic abuse (however long ago) / women who have low self-esteem and I use a healthy lifestyle as the foundation of my work.
Why I became a life coach :
I am a certified life coach that runs group programmes, 1:1 coaching and an online healthy lifestyle club. I have always had an interest in personal development / self help and am a healthy lifestyle fanatic !
I am a survivor of domestic abuse so have experienced first-hand how the emotional scars of a toxic relationship have an extremely negative impact on the relationship you have with yourself. I therefore have a lot of personal experience in feelings of low self-worth, low self-esteem and feelings of not being good enough.
I also have personal experience of then saying “enough is enough, this is my time now and I want more” and embarking on my own healthy lifestyle and personal development, both self-led and through being coached. And I have achieved so very much !
When I hear women talk about themselves in a detrimental way, put themselves down, that they think they are less important than everyone else, that they do not like themselves and / or their bodies, that they cannot be themselves or do not know themselves, it literally makes my heart ache – because I know exactly how awful it feels.
I want to help women, particularly those that have suffered within an abusive relationship, feel great about themselves, to learn to appreciate, respect and value themselves, to recognise what beautiful, wonderful people they truly are. I want to help women who are feeling stuck and / or uncertain of their future, work out what THEY want from THEIR life and support them to build up their self-confidence so that they feel able to achieve their goals – so confident that they start taking action and reaching those dreams that were once unknown, then became “far-fetched”, then became “maybe”, then became a possibility to become their new reality.
We all deserve to be living a life of fulfilment, contentment, love and success and I can help women do that – through the lessons learnt from my past, my ongoing development, my training and my ever-increasing knowledge.
And that is why I became a life coach !
If you do decide that a life coach could be exactly what you need, take advantage of the free discovery calls most coaches offer and try a few out. In order for the life coaching to work you must feel able to open up to your coach and be honest with them. You must feel comfortable showing vulnerability when with them. A trusting, mutually respectful relationship between a coach and their client is crucial. The discovery calls are therefore a chance for you to get to know each other a bit better, ascertain whether you are a good fit and whether or not the coach can help with your specific requirements.
Please note : the results of your life coaching sessions are dictated by the actions that you take after each session. You could use the services of a fantastic coach, that you really trust and like and not see any results if you do not follow through with actions agreed. A coach supports you to make the changes and improvements you desire – they cannot do it for you.
Most life coaches offer sessions on a face to face, online or telephone basis so they are accessible world-wide. I would suggest a minimum of 3 sessions, ideally 6 sessions, in order to build a great relationship with your coach and to get results. Other coaches may disagree, as may you ! So as previously mentioned do have a look around for someone that fits you and your requirements.
If you feel that you would like to book a discovery call with myself to find out how I can help you put the past behind you for good, move forwards and fulfil your potential, then please do so by completing this form.
Now, make the most of the time you have just spent reading this and take an action today that will move you forwards to the wonderful life that you deserve !
Thank you for reading.
Lisa x