When people hear about life coaching, they instantly think it’s about giving advice. Maybe it’s you, and you’re thinking, isn’t it?
Nope, you’re wrong. Here’s why.
Different Coaches
When you hear the word coach, you may think of sports, fitness, diet, or even voice coaches. Those types of coaches are more like mentors or teachers. They’re experts, trained in particular areas, and are paid to guide you by telling you what to do and how to do it. They’ll correct you and adjust your actions so you do better according to their perspectives and expertise.
Basically, it’s you learning from your [insert activity] coach until you’ve mastered what they’re trying to teach you. That works for some things. A voice coach will give you vocal exercises to do to increase your range. A football coach teaches the team to work together. A diet coach tells you what to eat and when.
But a life coach is different.
Life Coaching
With most types of coaching, it’s about listening to advice and guidance from the coach. With life coaching, it’s you who decides what you do, when you do it, how you do it, and why you’re doing it.
You’re not listening to your coach; your coach is listening to you and listening intently.
Life coaching isn’t about giving advice; it’s about asking powerful questions, helping you explore deeper, and letting you discover the answers inside yourself. It’s about empowering you to realize that you are whole, healthy, and resourceful.
Life coaching is 20% asking questions and 80% listening. We are patient, curious, and supportive. So often a person will talk their own way through a problem just by answering a few questions. We challenge you to look at things differently, see from a new perspective, and find a path you’re willing to travel that will move you to a better position.
The Coach Approach
Mental health is a growing issue and, as a result, therapists and other resources are overwhelmed. Wait lists grow and too often people push off the need for mental health support due to costs, coverage, or access. Sometimes even when access is there, people may brush off the need for the notion that they feel they’re admitting something is wrong with them.
We don’t want you falling into that thought pattern. On the contrary, we believe you are so much more than your trials and tribulations. As earlier stated, you are whole, healthy, and resourceful.
The coach approach is about diving into the present, not the past. We don’t typically uncover past traumas or make you talk about your feelings and how you got them. We want to know where you are right now, if you’re living up to your values, and what direction you want for your life.
We ask questions, but you give your coach the answers and you decide what to do with it. We make you think more deeply, examine your here-and-now, analyze your own path options, and call your own shots.
The Winner is You
We are capable of so much when someone believes in us. Yet, we are capable of so much more once we believe in ourselves. Coaching unlocks something invaluable inside. It’s you that coaching unlocks. It’s you making the change in your own life. Your coach is simply there asking the right questions.
With life coaching, no one is giving you advice. You’re discovering the path for yourself.
We love it when that aha! moment happens to our coaching partners. That moment when they get it, when they see something that’s been there and now they know exactly what to do and how to do it. A new path opens and the light shines.
In the end, you win. It’s you every time. It’s not about the coach giving you answers, but it’s about you discovering them with the help of the coach’s questions. This is life coaching, and you win big when you see better.