What is life coaching?
Life coaching is a transformative and reflective process that helps you learn more about yourself, gain confidence in your abilities and decisions, and achieve your goals faster. This article explores the essence of life coaching, the unique role of coaches, and what to expect from the coaching process.
A Brief Definition of Life Coaching
Let’s begin with a brief definition of life coaching. We discuss your situation using proven coaching strategies to help you become more aware of yourself and your situation so that you can take action to move closer to your goal.
Jennifer Britton summed it up best: “Coaching is a conversation with intent that leads to insight and action.”
Let’s break this down a little more.
The Role of Life Coaches
Many people think of sports coaches when they hear the term “coach,” associating it with direction and exercises to help you excel in a specific field. Professional life coaches differ significantly. Life coaches don't solve problems or offer fixes; instead, they empower clients to identify their own solutions and paths forward through a reflective process.
Young children are comfortable making their own decisions. Consider how often you hear toddlers or preschoolers utter “self.” As we age, we tend to lose confidence and seek direction from others. Life coaches help you regain that self-trust. They won't tell you how to solve your problems or what steps to take next. Instead, their primary goal is to help you build confidence and make the best decisions for you.
Coaches Create A Safe And Supportive Environment
You must feel comfortable with our coaching relationship so you can explore your thoughts and feelings honestly. Many clients discuss things they haven’t felt comfortable telling anyone else, including their spouse. And often, it may be the first time they admit it to themselves. To help you feel at ease, I commit to upholding several principles.
- Confidentiality – First and foremost, everything said during a coaching session is held in confidence. I respect your privacy and do not share what we discuss with others.
- Understanding – I won’t assume I know what you mean by the words and phrases you use. Your frame of reference differs from mine because of your values, beliefs, and prior experiences.
- Judgement-free – What works for you and aligns with your values and beliefs may not be the same as mine. I respect your decisions and will not judge them based on my beliefs and values.
- Support and empathy – Coaching uncovers many thoughts and feelings. I’ll provide space and support for you to explore them in whatever way is comfortable for you.
Coaches Engage In Active Listening
During our coaching sessions, I will listen to what is said and not said. Because 90% of communication is nonverbal, I’ll pay attention to your tone of voice, body language, and energy shifts.
I will reflect back what I heard to ensure accuracy and allow you to hear what you just said. Sometimes, simply hearing our own words can unlock doors of understanding. I might also provide an observation, such as a shift in tone or energy, so you can decide if that shift is important to pay attention to.
As we continue the conversation, I’ll ask reflective and thought-provoking questions to help you navigate your thoughts and feelings about the situation. I might challenge you to consider new perspectives or examine your beliefs about the situation.
I’ll provide space for you to think and process throughout the session. There might be times of silence, and I might toss a question back to you that you raise so you can examine your belief about it.
The Coaching Process
Coaching is similar to prospecting for gold. Gold prospectors sift through a lot of dirt and rocks before finding one small gold nugget. Even though it takes a lot of time and effort to find that small nugget, they consider it time and effort well spent and prize their discovery.
During each coaching session, we will begin by defining your goal for the session and what is important about that goal. We will then explore your topic using deep listening skills and thought-provoking questions. Throughout the session, you will gain awareness of your thought patterns, values, strengths, and motivations. You can then evaluate what is important and what insights you want to carry forward.
Finally, we’ll circle back to what you identified as your goal for the session and use the awareness and insight you gained to determine what action steps you want to take next.
Coaching is effective in many situations. Some of the topics I’ve explored with clients include the following.
- Deciding if they should go back to school
- Finding the motivation to bring a big project to completion
- Determining how to grow their business
- Accepting their next stage of life
- Defining strategies for handling a stressful situation
- Determining what to do in their empty nest years
- Regaining a calm home atmosphere after a major illness
- Deciding on a curriculum for the next school year
- Identifying their niche for their business
- Finding a routine and rhythm that works for them
Ready to begin your coaching journey?
Take your first step and schedule a free, no-pressure Discovery Call so we can get to know each other and explore the possibility of working together.