What is Life Coaching?
What is Life Coaching?
Often when I introduce myself as a Life Coach, people either look at me blankly or they nod in some form of vague recognition, as though they remember hearing about a Life Coach on some “Lifestyle Documentary” or in a Magazine.
But often people just ask me “So What is Life Coaching?”
I hope this will answer your question and you’ll know exactly what Life Coaching is about.
Life Coaching originated almost by accident as a by-product of athletic coaching somewhere back in the early 1990′s in Austraila and the United States.
The main technique used by the Athletic Coach, which became the backbone of the Life Coaching model, is to ask the Athlete:
Where do you want to be in 5 years time?
Together with the coach, the athlete would be encouraged to think about what their best sporting event might be. Could they imagine themselves winning? Getting a medal? Hearing their National Anthem Blaring as they stood on the stadium?
The point of these types of questions are to get the Athlete to think, imagine and feel what it might be like to fulfill their personal and professional goals.
Once they know what they are and how they feel, the Coach and Athlete can plan backwards from their goal to the present day and make the changes required to move the Athlete towards achieving their goals.
The same model was then applied to Businesses, asking the CEO “Where do you want your Business to be in 5 years time?” And the more detail, the better.
But moving the whole business forwards required key people within the organisation to be coached towards their own goals as well.
The idea eventually moved downwards into Personal Life Coaching.
Your Life Coach will ask you “Where do you want to be in 5 years time?” and even if you don’t have the answers, they are there to help you discover them.
In the process of moving forwards with your life, there may be lots of inner psychological hurdles, your Life Coach, just as an Athletic Coach is their to help you achieve those goals, to support you and encourage you to fulfill your own Life Goals.
The discipline shares similarities to Counselling and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Often a Life Coach is also use Neuro Linguistic Programming as well.
Benefits of using a Life Coach can include
Dramatic increase in self confidence
Reduction in stress and anxiety
Greater control of your life
Have clearer vision of your where you’re headed
Better and more fulfilling relationships
Increased sense of happiness and wellbeing
Being more creative and productive
More friends and an improved social life
Greater passion and motivation for life
Knowledge that you are fulfilling your life’s potential
Key Features & Characteristics of Life Coaching
1. Space to share and talk without judgement
2. Friendly and professional
3. Supporting you to move forward in your life and celebrating your success
4. Insightful, inspirational, practical and conceptual tools
5. Impartial expert advice from a fully trained Life Coach
I hope this has answered your question: What is Life Coaching?
If you’d like to know more or experience it for yourself, please get in touch with one of our coaches!
