As part of my training to become a Certified Life Coach I was encouraged to participate in life coaching sessions as a 'client'. At first, I thought this would be a fun experiment, something that my own self-confident 'Self' said it didn't really need because, heck, I'd figured out most of my life challenges already, right? What more was there to learn? Oh, how wrong I was!
During my first practice session I decided to ask my life coach for some clarity around my feelings of non-productive creativity. It seemed at the time that I was lacking a bit of my usual creative spark and I was curious to explore why that was.
Within the first few minutes and, with her expert life coaching skills, it became blatantly clear to me that, not only was I an ideal candidate for life coaching but, more importantly, I was already gaining valuable insight into the issue. I left that first session with practical steps that I could use going forward to support my creative efforts. It felt great and I was ready to book more sessions!
So why is my experience being a life coaching client important to you? Well, I honestly think that many people, especially busy, functioning, high achieving, do-it-all's often feel that life coaching is not for them. They've got this thing called life all figured out. Who needs to sit and talk about themselves and where they may be stuck when they can just get out there and get doing things? And if they are stuck in some way, can't they just talk it over and get advice from a friend, partner, co-worker or family member?
Let's face it, no one knows you better than you.
The answer lies in the difference between getting advice from a friend or confidant and being prompted by a skilled professional to seek the wisdom you long for within yourself - to find your own answers and your own unique motivations. Let's face it, no one knows you better than you.
Your Mom can tell you what you want to hear, your best friend may have some technique for your to try, your co-worker may provide some insight into how they would handle a challenge but it's YOU alone who will motivate yourself to make any real, lasting change. And that motivation comes from within you - not from the advice of others.
When deciding whether life coaching may be the journey you wish to embark on or not, you may want to begin with asking yourself these three simple questions. You can fill in the 'doing the things' with whatever it is that is tripping you up at this point in your life - the stumbling block, as it were. It could be 'my job', 'my relationships', 'my free time', 'my bucket list', etc.:
If your answer to any of these questions has a negative tone to it, you would be a perfect candidate for some life coaching sessions. Getting the answers to these questions, having the opportunity to obtain some clarity around what may be holding you back and turning the answers from negative to positive would be the ideal outcome of life coaching sessions.
In fact, I'll even go as far as to say that if your answers to these questions are positive, you're also a perfect life coaching candidate - one who may benefit from some positive reinforcement and the potential for new goal setting and an even more expanded point of view.
As an experienced life coach, I'm hear to share with you that I still continue to receive life coaching sessions myself. They allow me the golden opportunity to explore my limiting beliefs around personal and professional challenges.
And, in this way, not only do I get to live my best life but I also have the wonderful privilege of empathetically helping my own clients achieve their best lives as well.
Maybe life coaching is exactly what you've been looking for - you just didn't know it until now. If you're curious and you want to connect with me to discover whether life coaching is a good fit for you, I'd love to chat? I offer free consultations sessions
Let's get together soon and help you discover your own unique path forward in life: one that brings clarity, peace of mind, purpose and joy!