I work as a Life Coach and even though I know all the "tools" of coaching, it is not always easy to employ them for your own use. As susanc mentioned, a Life Coach may not do any more than an intelligent friend - however one of the benefits of a coach is that they are not personally involved in our lives and therefore have no vested interest in the outcome of any given scenario. Often when we ask family and friends for advice, the advice they give us is based on their experiences of us - what we have done in the past, what they think we're capable of, how our decisions will impact on them or others in the family or circle of friends. Friends and family can also just be sympathetic to our situation rather than offering assistance or they can even go so far as to belittle our goals and dreams. The other difference is that life coaching is not about giving advice, it is about asking the right questions to lead the coachee to make their own decisions and set their own path for the future. Empowering clients to work out who they want to be and where they want to go is just one of the roles of a Life Coach.
Another role is to challenge the coachee's limiting behaviours or characteristics, again something that a close friend or family member may be unable to do. I love my non coach friends dearly, but cannot think of one of them who would challenge why I hadn't made it to the gym this week as they are all in similar situations themselves - hard working, raising a family, etc and can therefore relate to all the excuses I come up with as to why I haven't been!
I have met many coaches who would not dream of selling themselves in the same way as a magic spot remover and who work with their clients (often in a pro bono set up) to create a future of possibility and direction.
All I would say is that it's a case of different strokes for different folks - life coaching works for some and not for others. If you're interested, give it a try, you'll soon find out if it's for you or not.
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Hi Diane
I work as a Life Coach and even though I know all the "tools" of coaching, it is not always easy to employ them for your own use. As susanc mentioned, a Life Coach may not do any more than an intelligent friend - however one of the benefits of a coach is that they are not personally involved in our lives and therefore have no vested interest in the outcome of any given scenario. Often when we ask family and friends for advice, the advice they give us is based on their experiences of us - what we have done in the past, what they think we're capable of, how our decisions will impact on them or others in the family or circle of friends. Friends and family can also just be sympathetic to our situation rather than offering assistance or they can even go so far as to belittle our goals and dreams. The other difference is that life coaching is not about giving advice, it is about asking the right questions to lead the coachee to make their own decisions and set their own path for the future. Empowering clients to work out who they want to be and where they want to go is just one of the roles of a Life Coach.
Another role is to challenge the coachee's limiting behaviours or characteristics, again something that a close friend or family member may be unable to do. I love my non coach friends dearly, but cannot think of one of them who would challenge why I hadn't made it to the gym this week as they are all in similar situations themselves - hard working, raising a family, etc and can therefore relate to all the excuses I come up with as to why I haven't been!
I have met many coaches who would not dream of selling themselves in the same way as a magic spot remover and who work with their clients (often in a pro bono set up) to create a future of possibility and direction.
All I would say is that it's a case of different strokes for different folks - life coaching works for some and not for others. If you're interested, give it a try, you'll soon find out if it's for you or not.
Best of luck.
March 29, 2009 - 8:02pmSharon
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