I can hear my Father now. “You need a coach? You want somebody to tell you what to do? I got your coach! Take those clippers and go coach the hedge!” That is what my union man of a father thought about paying someone to do your thinking for you.
A coach does not do your thinking for you. A coach is someone who has played the game and learned some lessons along the way. For example, I consider Suze Orman to be one of my money coaches. She worked as a waitress, then came up through the ranks and learned how to make a lot of money and then invest it or hang on to it. Had it not been for her, I never would have looked at my own money situation through the eyes of an interest payer and receiver. I was shocked when I learned how much interest that I was paying when I first started organizing my money.
A life coach works the same way. Because a life coach has specific training, but no specific undergraduate requirements, you will find many what I call posers lurking in the bushes, so you need to choose a coach carefully. You might find one that is recommended by a friend that is like you, or seeking similar results in life. There are many reputable training programs for life coaches which can help in strategically organizing your goals.
As individuals, we generally do not take the necessary time to lay all of our cards on the table like a money coach would do with our bills. A trained coach can help a person to take a look at several areas of life and evaluate each one. In a few simple sessions, a person can see if it is one area that is causing distress in other areas. For instance, if a person shows 5% satisfaction in their work life, they may see that their emotional, spiritual, and family life are scoring lower, as well. If they can target one area of dissatisfaction that is deteriorating other areas, they can work to strengthen that area which will put their wheel of life back on track.
Coaching is not therapy. A coach will not try to pull emotions out of you. A coach will open the play book, ask you specific questions about your goals, then encourage you to find the answers one step at a time. Coaches often encourage a person to get past their own fear of decision making where a family member or loved one might instill fear in order to maintain the status quo.
Everyone deserves to accomplish their dreams. For a person faced with major job, relocation, or other personal decisions, coaching has been shown to bring rationale to the decision making process. Some choose to meet with a coach by telephone which has become a popular way to check in with yourself and your accomplishments or struggles for the week. With a coach, it is all about you.
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