However, others are hesitant to hire a life coach because they aren’t sure exactly what a coach can do and how coaching can help them accomplish big, bold things. If you haven’t considered working with a life coach, right now is a great time to learn how coaching can make a positive difference in your life and accelerate your dreams and goals.
The coaching industry is booming with thousands of talented coaches worldwide. According to John LaRosa writing for MarketResearch.com, “The U.S. estimated market value for personal coaching was $955 million in 2015 and $1.02 billion in 2016, compared to $707 million in 2011. I expect this market’s value to reach $1.34 billion by 2022 — or a 6.7% average yearly growth rate from 2016 to 2022.”
What is a life coach?
A life coach is a professional who can help you clarify your goals, overcome roadblocks, and take the actions necessary to achieve them. Whether you want to find your life passion, make a big decision, find the love of your life, having the support of an experienced professional who keeps you accountable and accelerates your success is a great investment for your future. If you have never met with a life coach, you may have some questions regarding the possible benefits. Let’s review some of those benefits so you’ll better understand what a coach can do for you.
Benefits of a Life Coach
Gain Clarity
A life coach can help you find clarity about what you want out of life. Your coach will ask you probing questions to help you zero in on exactly what you want to achieve and why. Once you know the direction in which you want to move, you have made the first step to getting there.
Create Accountability
A life coach can keep you accountable for taking the necessary steps to achieve your goals. He or she can also help you work out a plan of action that will help you get where you want to be in the long run. If you are not making progress with your plan, your life coach can help you explore your lack of motivation and whether or not you should switch gears.
Receive Realistic Feedback
A life coach can also give you their unbiased opinion about your choices in life that your friends and family may not be able to provide. Friends and family can often hold back from being completely truthful because they don’t want to hurt your feelings or give you bad advice. However, because life coaches have an outside perspective, they can make a big difference in their clients’ lives when they make observations that are unfiltered.
Enjoy Undivided Attention
You can also benefit from having a life coach because they can put their entire focus on you and your life when you are meeting with them. You may often feel like your wants and needs are pushed to the side during your busy everyday routine, but a life coach will allow you to have the time and space to think about yourself and the things that are important to you.
Find a Life Coach
As you are looking for the right life coach for your needs, try to find someone who has exceptional listening skills, but can also formulate meaningful questions to make sure you think about your future and your steps to get there in the best ways. While a life coach will not give you all of the answers, they will help you come up with the solutions yourself. Identify your own communication style when looking for a life coach to be sure that you connect with a coach who can complement your communication strengths. For example, if you learn the best by listening, make sure to find a coach who is great with verbal communication. Alternatively, if you learn best by actually doing something, try to find a coach who encourages you to get out there with you and try new things. Also, find a coach who makes you feel at ease but not bored or unchallenged. You want your life coach to be able to dig deep into your thoughts and ideas and challenge your current way of thinking so you can make a change. Related Post: How to Become A Life Coach and 56 Coaching Niches If you pair up with someone and you don’t feel positive about the match, it is best to pursue your goals with someone else. If your initial coach isn’t a good fit, you can find someone with whom you are more compatible. Having the right life coach for you will make all the difference. Life coaching is not a licensed profession, but many coaches do receive certification through an accredited coaching school that has been accredited by the International Coach Federation (ICF). This is a great place to begin your search for a coach as hundreds of ICF certified coaches are listed on the site. Since most coaching is conducted by phone or Skype (or other similar software), you can choose any coach around the world that best suits you and your needs.
Difference Between a Life Coach and a Therapist
A life coach is a professional who can help clients produce extraordinary results in their personal and professional lives. Life coaching is different from therapy in that it looks toward the future rather than seeking to heal or understand the past. It is about attaining positive results in one’s life. A life coach shows their clients techniques and simple strategies to help close the gap between where the client is and where the client wants to be. Therapy focuses on past events and aids clients in moving on from or coping with trauma that has occurred. Therapy assists people in uncovering and healing issues from their past which is important for being able to move forward. Life coaches typically don’t need to know what has happened in your past because they are more interested in where you are now and the places you want to go. They usually coach people who are mentally and emotionally healthy. Now that you are familiar with what a life coach is and if you think you might benefit from having one, here are 15 reasons why you might want to work with one.
What Does a Life Coach Do For You?
15 Reasons You Might Need Life Coaching:
1. Help you when you feel lost.
Life coaches are very helpful in assisting their clients with finding their correct path in life. If you are having a hard time defining who you are or what you want, working with a life coach can help you on your journey to a more meaningful life. Whether you are no longer excited about your job, or you feel like you are on auto-pilot and your life is unfulfilling, a life coach will help you explore your values and get a clear idea of what is important to you. This will help you decide how you want to live in alignment with your values so you can lead a fulfilling life. Related Post: The Ultimate List of Values
2. Overcome self-doubt.
A life coach can help eliminate doubt from your life and help you find clarity. Oftentimes, people know deep down what they want out of life, but they become distracted or confused by outside influences and their surrounding world. For example, you may just assume you are going to go to college and become a lawyer because that is what everyone in your family has done and they expect you to do the same. But what if being a lawyer is not your passion and you want to break out of that mold? A life coach can help you push aside influential factors and help you stop doubting yourself so you can discover what you want.
3. Come up with a plan.
You may have a vision, but not a plan to execute it. If you don’t know how to achieve your goals, a life coach will help guide you through creating a plan of action to get you where you want to be. Many great ideas do not come to fruition because of a lack of organization and clarity, and a life coach can help push these ideas through to execution.
4. Help you make a specific change.
If you want to change your routine completely and start a new career, having the expert guidance that a life coach can provide will give you the direction you need to make the change. It may be time to make a change if you are too comfortable in life — even if it doesn’t have to do with your career. If your routine is redundant and nothing new or exciting ever happens, it may be time to switch things up a bit. We’ve all been there. And while life should be comfortable, if you are not having any fun, what’s the point? Coaching will push you to get out of your comfort zone and create some excitement in your life.
5. Help you to be healthier.
If you think you could make some positive lifestyle changes that could benefit your health, it may be a good idea to get a life coach. Life coaches can help you with meal planning and figuring out some healthy foods you can eat that can fit into your busy lifestyle. They can also help you develop an exercise plan that you will actually stick to. If you are ready to get into shape, it’s best to have a strong support guiding you. Your life coach will keep you accountable through your journey and make sure that you stick to your plans. Many life coaches specialize in health and wellness, so you may want to research wellness coaches to find a perfect fit for your health goals.
6. Focus and follow through.
If you tend to forget to do things or often fail to follow through with obligations, having a life coach will help you stay accountable and responsible so you can remain on track with your goals. This may be especially helpful if you tend to give up or downplay the importance of your obligations because you will have someone in your corner encouraging you to complete the things that you have started and keep you motivated.
7. Stop procrastinating.
If you are a procrastinator, you are likely never going to get exactly where you want to be in life. A life coach will provide you with the discipline you need to get things done on time and help you change your behaviors and break your bad habit of procrastinating.
8. Show you how to find more time and balance.
Time management is a huge issue for a lot of people. Life is hectic and we live in a busy society where things are expected to be done immediately. If you don’t have very good time management skills, you are likely wasting your days trying to reach your goals doing things that aren’t helping you make progress. A life coach can help you save time by figuring out solutions to your problems faster and by keeping you on track to get where you’re going as fast as possible. Related Post: 3 Things A Day: A Minimalist Journal for More Focus with Less Stress
9. Increase your income.
It is common for people to live paycheck to paycheck and want to be able to make some more money to have financial freedom. However, it can be hard to achieve your long-term goals and seek out a higher paying career when you have to rely on the steady, but low, income of your current job. A life coach can provide you with resources and give you the insight to help you find a rewarding and profitable career or another side gig. They can also help you with money management so you can stretch your money further from your current job in the meantime.
10. Identify and remove the source of stress.
If you feel stressed out often or easily become frustrated, a life coach can help support you through your struggles to get to a better place. A life coach will help you clear your path and show you relaxation strategies and techniques to help you manage your stress. Just having a supportive coach in your corner does a lot to reduce stress because you will have a plan of action.
11. Overcome low confidence.
Working with a life coach can help you develop self-confidence by working with you on your self-assertion and supporting you to take risks that will improve your life. A life coach can show you that you are worthy of success and happiness and remain by your side as you gain the required experience to believe in yourself and build your confidence. Coaches help you see the reality of your abilities and offer strategies for reinforcing your strengths rather than dwelling on your weaknesses.
12. Help you get unstuck with a big decision.
Maybe you are wondering if you should get married, leave your unhealthy relationship, make a career change, move across the country, or go after a big dream. No matter what the decision is, if you feel confused by your plethora of thoughts, a life coach can help you sort through them. A life coach will help you get past the what-ifs to figure out your priorities and explore the voices in your head. Your coach won’t make the decision for you, but he or she can help you find clarity.
13. Find more happiness.
If you are not happy with your life, you need to change something. A life coach can help you pinpoint the reasons why you’re unhappy and help you make any necessary changes to improve your situation. Often, people who are not happy aren’t living according to their values, and a life coach can help you get in line with the values that are true to you.
14. Overcoming loss of a relationship.
This is one of those times in life where you are starting over, and it’s an exciting place to be because you are beginning again on your own terms. You may be experiencing some heartbreak from a relationship, but you will soon see that you can work through it. However, you might not know exactly what your next move is. Working with a life coach will help you figure out what you want your next steps to be and how you can start them. A coach will help you brainstorm, create strategies, and explore your future. Related Post: Is The Life Coaching Business For You?
15. You’re afraid of something.
We are all intimidated by something, whether it is being afraid of looking stupid, afraid of failing, afraid of what other people think about you, afraid of what people will say, afraid of leaving a relationship, or afraid of something else that may be inevitable in life. A life coach will allow you to name your fears, provide you with the tools to move forward despite them, and alter your perspective about your fears. This will help you stand up to them with more confidence and overcome them.
Final Thoughts
If any of these situations sound like they apply to you, it is probably a good time to find a life coach. Many extremely successful people have worked with life coaches and even continue to receive support from their coach after they have achieved their goals. You can only benefit from consulting with a life coach, and you will achieve your goals quickly when you have someone in your corner to lean on for support and guidance while also holding you accountable.
