What Is Life Coaching?
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You may have heard the term “life coach” before, and wondered what it actually means. Is it a therapist? Is it a scam? Can a life coach help me? Can life coaches really help people more than they can help themselves? What do they do with their time?
With so many coaching programs, niches, and styles out there, it can be hard to know exactly what life coaches do and why. But, while coaching styles and structures may differ, the goal of life coaching remains the same. So, let’s talk about it.
Here are the basics, along with a few of the most common questions that come up about life coaching.
What is life coaching?
According to the International Coaching Federation (ICF) life coaching is defined as:
“Partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential.”
And they also go on to say:
“The process of coaching often unlocks previously untapped sources of imagination, productivity and leadership.
We all have goals we want to reach, challenges we’re striving to overcome and times when we feel stuck. Partnering with a coach can change your life, setting you on a path to greater personal and professional fulfillment.”
This means that by using techniques such as active listening, empowered questioning, collaboration, goal setting, visualization, mirroring, and more, coaches can help their clients work through problems, come up with solutions, and create action steps and plans to move forward in one or more aspects of their lives.
Often, they help bring awareness to mental blocks you didn’t realize you had, and help you shift your mindset and overcome those limiting beliefs in order to approach your problems and life in a new way.
What kinds of things can you work on with your coach?
Anything! There are so many niches out there that really you could bring a variety of things to your coach to work on. Some coaches don’t necessarily “niche down” and aren’t specific with the types of people or issues that they work with, and some do.
In terms of niche, you can find anything from general health or weight loss coaching, to intuition or self-connection coaching, to coaches who specifically help overwhelmed mothers.
Depending on your requests and your coach, you could work on:
Health goals
Increasing your confidence or self-worth
Starting or working on your business
Improving your relationships and communication with others
Finding your life purpose
Figuring out what’s been holding you back in your life
Improving your organizational skills in your personal and professional life
Learning to set boundaries and priorities
…and much more.
What does a life coach actually do?
It depends on the coach, your agreement, and the things you want to work on. Your coach is there to listen, ask thought-provoking questions, provide support, help you create steps and take action toward your goals, and provide accountability.
Coaches meet with their clients on a regular basis, often for extended periods of time (anywhere from 3 months to 18 months), and some will provide support and be available for “spot coaching” between sessions as well.
How the session is structured varies by coach as well. Typically, sessions will last anywhere from 30 to 90 minutes, depending on your agreement, during which time you might discuss your goal, your progress, any beliefs, blocks, or issues that come up, solutions or mindset shifts, how to move forward and break your desires down into achievable steps, and a plan for holding yourself accountable to the action steps. Your coach will probably have a set structure for their sessions that you can discuss.
But the bottom line is that they are there to help you transform your life.
Is life coaching the same as therapy?
No! There can be a bit of overlap, but life coaches are not therapists. They are future-focused, meaning that while sometimes events or issues of the past may come up, they help guide you to move forward from them. Whereas, your therapist would be the one who would dive deeper into your feelings and the underlying issues from your past, helping you to process them in depth.
Sometimes, people who have seen or are seeing a therapist will also meet with a coach.
For example, in my case, I have previously experienced depression and anxiety, and I have seen both a therapist and later on, a coach. (Yes, many life coaches also have their own personal coach as well!). The therapist helped me to prioritize my mental health and take care of myself by processing underlying issues that were coming up, and my coach helps me to move forward with my goals.
If you have mental health conditions that deeply affect your everyday life, it’s encouraged for you to see a mental health professional.
But understand that despite occasional similarities, life coaches and therapists are by no means the same thing.
Myths about life coaching
Life coaches all have perfect lives and nothing to work on themselves
Coaches are human beings too, and every single person has something they’re working on in their life. Becoming a life coach means you learn a set of skills to help people transform their lives, and are committed to doing just that. It doesn’t mean that to become a coach you have to be completely flawless and have every aspect of life figured out.
Life coaches have all the answers and will just tell you what to do
Actually, it’s a common misconception that life coaches just go around giving people life advice. According to the ICF, coaches should aim to spend 80% of the session listening and only 20% talking. They acknowledge that the client is the expert of their own life, and may need some guidance and powerful questions to help them see it and figure out exactly what they need or want, and how to achieve it.
Life coaching is the same as therapy, but less qualified
Nope, not therapy! See the section above to refresh. Some similarities, but not the same.
Life coaching is just a scam
It is absolutely legitimate profession. Many people believe life coaching is getting a bad reputation in some cases because the industry is currently unregulated. So, technically, anyone could call themselves a coach and charge for it. And yes, there are some people out there who unfortunately don’t have the training or experience that would make them a good coach.
But there are plenty of schools and organizations out there that offer training and certification. One of the biggest and most reputable organizations is the ICF (International Coaching Federation), which offers intensive training, testing, certification, and credentialing in order to ensure that coaches who go through their accredited programs are truly ready to provide great coaching to their clients.
Life coaches will judge you for the problems you’re trying to work through
This is absolutely false. While we all have biases (in fact, it is the human condition to unconsciously judge others), good coaches are trained and have worked hard to leave their biases and judgment at the door and approach their clients from a place of empathy, curiosity, and compassion.
Benefits of hiring a life coach
Why hire a life coach? Depending on the specific type of coaching, the list of benefits could be endless. But it can often include:
Clarity in your life purpose
Increased confidence and self-esteem
Improved relationships, both romantic and not
Implementation of new healthy habits
Shifts in your mentality and how you approach problems
Having someone in your corner to cheer you on and celebrate your accomplishments, big and small
Having someone who can help you stay on track with your goals and hold you accountable to the steps you set for yourself
Having someone who will listen to your biggest goals and dreams without judgment
Having someone who will take the time to co-create a plan with you to set yourself up for success in whatever goals you decide to pursue
…And so much more! If you’re thinking about working with a life coach, go for it. Find someone who you connect with and advertises what you’re looking for, and reach out. They can truly help you transform your life.
Thank you for reading, and if you’re interested in knowing more about me and my online coaching services, head over to my coaching page to learn more.
