Life Coaching: How It Works
Although life coaching can be a helpful tool when tackling goals and/or transitions of various kinds, not everyone is familiar with what such coaching entails. If you’re somewhat uncertain yourself, perhaps this page can provide some clarification.
Gaining a Thinking/Planning Partner
Sometimes, such a person might be pretty handy, right? In fact, I can think of some times I'd have welcomed that kind of ally myself...if I'd had the wits to seek one out! ;-) But we're talking about your needs/wants now, and here are some things your coach might support you in doing:
• Assessing your present circumstances and/or position
• Clarifying how you want your life to look instead (if you do want to make some changes)
• Creating and then working through your plans to make those things happen
• Celebrating when they do(!)
S/he does this through careful listening and focused questions that help you arrive at your own answers and solutions. Your coach also holds you accountable for the commitments you make to yourself. In short, you receive support in becoming not only the architect of the future you envision, but also the “contractor.”
During that process and to the extent you choose, you and your coach focus upon specific actions you will take to reach whatever goals/outcomes you have in mind. Meanwhile you (as the "active partner" in this enterprise) are pressing ahead step by step and even—now and then—leap by leap.
Life Coaching Is Not Therapy
Please bear in mind that coaching and therapy differ significantly: a coach, for example, will not help you work through mental/emotional issues or heal wounds from the past (or present). S/he will, however, assist you with defining goals, with planning and carrying out actions to achieve those goals, and with working through certain kinds of transitions.
Example?
So, let’s say that procrastination keeps blocking your progress or messing with you in other ways. In such a case and one all too common, your coach can support you as you devise very specific actions to keep pushing forward instead of letting things slide. Perhaps, for example, you begin focusing only upon the next small step, rather than continuing to obsess over the gulf between where you now find yourself and where you actually want to be. Or you work out some other fiendishly clever way to subvert the procrastination urge...
What you and your coach would be unlikely to do is begin a profound exploration of the origins of your procrastinating behavior. If you think that and other explorations could be helpful, do consider working with a counseling professional. But if you simply need help with defining and then tackling a particular goal or process—focusing upon actions rather than emotions—you may find a coach useful.
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If you choose to explore this site, please
understand three things: (a) I am neither therapist nor professional coach; (b) my focus here is primarily aging women; (c) no comments are intended to disparage any women (or men) whose immediate choices may range from
limited to nonexistent. To them (or anyone, really), I mean no
offense with my remarks.
