What is a Life Coach & how could they add value to your life?

Life Coaching in the UK is still a relatively unknown thing and as a result, many people don't understand fully the role of a Life Coach. So I wanted to write this blog today to explain what a Life Coach is and how they can add value to your life. 

So, as we all know, life can be tough. Like real tough. We grow up with these pre-conceived ideas in our heads that we must get a good job, find someone to settle down with, buy a house, maybe have children, and live the 'perfect' life. In reality, most of us know that's not how it goes! 

Life can throw all sorts of things at you, often when you least expect it. There can almost be a sense of pressure to 'settle down', find that dream job, etc. This can cause us to get anxious, confused, stressed and can give us a sense of underachieving. Then you throw in things such as depression, anxiety, OCD, and various other mental health challenges. Throw in money worries, bereavements, and international pandemics! Now you've got a real challenge!

Quickly, you can find yourself becoming overwhelmed and lacking in confidence. Your motivation starts to decrease, your mood is affected and you lose the spark in you. Now ok, I know not everything above will relate to you, I am just using a few examples. 

This is where a Life Coach can add real value. I will have a look at a couple of examples above and explain where a Life Coach can help: 

Finding the dream job - Well here's the thing. Most people don't know what their dream job actually is! Did you know what you wanted to do when you left school? I didn't! So a Life Coach (also known as a Career Coach in this example) will start by asking you questions about yourself. Interests, likes, dislikes, working environment, salary expectations, transferable skills, etc. They will help you draw up a plan of what your ideal job looks like, what sector it's in, and crucially, how you get there. The coach is not the person that actively looks to find you a job, that's on you. The coach's job is to give you the confidence and empowerment to create your vision and ultimately grab that opportunity that's out there. The Coach will challenge you, they will set your goals relevant to the subject. For example, if you wanted to be an accountant, your goal could be to find out the qualifications needed to be one. The goals can be anything, as long as it's relevant to the subject. 

Lacking Motivation & Confidence - Often, these two things can happen as a result of things not going right in people's lives. Equally some people are naturally more confident and motivated than others. My belief is that ANYONE  is capable of being highly motivated and confident. It's always there somewhere but it's down to you and your coach to uncover it. Now lack of confidence is relatable to people in many different ways.

Here's one example: 

I recently worked with a client who was in their late teens/early twenties. They came to me for help as they felt lost in life and didn't know what they wanted to do job-wise. Their confidence was rock bottom, especially socially. They would often avoid social situations for fear of saying the wrong thing and making themselves look silly. Now some may argue that the best place would be to address the job concern. I don't agree. I started off with social confidence. Why? Because quite simply, if you struggle and actively avoid speaking to people, what happens when you get into a new job? New people, introductions. The stuff of nightmares for someone with low confidence in social settings! So we started to address this first. I won't go into detail about what we did because it involved a lot of work!

Ultimately people are interested in the results and wow did this guy get results! He was able to confidently hold conversations with others, without the self-doubt afterwards. He got to the stage where he would strike up conversations with people he didn't know in various different settings. The cherry on the top was he then passed 2 separate job interviews and got both jobs! 

Confidence plays a huge part in our lives. Motivation is closely related to confidence. Take going out for a run in the morning as an example. If you struggle and end up not getting out of bed in the morning to go for a run, you feel demotivated. This in turn will fuel a low confidence belief.  Now flip it. If you get up early and go for a run, you feel good about yourself. You feel like you have achieved something and you feel motivated to do it again. Thus improving your confidence. Now not all of us are runners but a good coach will find out your interests and tailor this approach to you. 

So to summarise a couple of key points in regards to what it is a Life Coach does: 

• Helps you identify why you feel stuck.
• Helps and encourages you to achieve your goals in the quickest and most effective way possible. 
• Finds unique ways to motivate you.
• Works with you to increase your confidence and motivation levels.
• Helps you map out your future vision, in a manageable and achievable way. 
• Challenges your thought process in order to gain different perspectives. 

Hiring a coach is an investment in yourself. With the right coach, you can excel in ways you never thought were possible. You just have to be committed and want to change. 

There are many coaches out there. An internet search can bring up many results. The most important thing is finding the right coach for you. You have to feel comfortable with that person in order to open up and be receptive to change. Always take a discovery call. Most coaches don't charge for these and this is your opportunity to explain what you want to achieve. Equally as important though, this is your chance to see if you gel with that particular coach. The cheapest option isn't always the best option. Yes, money can be a big deciding factor when finding a coach but don't hire someone because they're cheap. Hire them because that's the person you gel with the most. It's a bonus if they are the most cost-effective option. Lastly ALWAYS look at client reviews. It can be a great way of seeing the work of a particular coach. 

If you feel that you could benefit from coaching, I am currently taking on clients and I would love the opportunity to help you. To book a free discovery call with me, simply click on the button below, fill in your details and I will call you back. 

Whatever you choose, I hope this article has helped you understand what a Life coach does.