You might have heard about life coaches before, maybe on tv or a podcast, but you aren’t exactly sure what life coaching is? As we dive into a post-pandemic world where we focus more on our mental and physical health and well-being, Life Coaching is needed now more than ever, with more people reaching out and needing support in all aspects of their lives.
But what actually is a life coach and how do they help people?
Simply put, a Life Coach is someone who supports others work through problems in their life, and achieve their goals. But life coaching can be so much more than that.
Life Coaching is all about utilising human behaviour and understanding codes and patterns of what makes us do what we do. It explores how we can manage our thinking, and how we can get our mind working for us instead of against us. It involves discovering what our values are as a person, and really getting clear on what drives us so that we can achieve our goals consistently.
Life coaches utilize a large toolkit of research-proven methodologies including positive psychology, neurolinguistic programming (NLP), and transformational work to name a few to support their clients to achieve what they want to achieve.
What Life Coaching Isn’t
Now you know a bit about what life coaching is, this is what life coaching isn’t. Many people get confused between a life coach and a psychologist or psychiatrist because they both work with the mind.
However, coaching isn’t about telling someone what to do. It is about helping a client come to their own realisations, answers and solutions. It’s about creating a space where the person you’re working with feels safe and not judged. No one should feel broken. There’s nothing to fix!
What Does a Life Coach Do?
Coaching can support people in all parts of their life, from personal coaching, relationship coaching, business coaching, leadership coaching, and everything in between.
A life coach's job is to help clients overcome fear and self-doubt. They help clients set meaningful goals so they can create a life on their terms. The ultimate goal, as a life coach, is to help your client get from where they are to where they need to be.
What Makes a Good Life Coach? There are a variety of skills and qualities every good life coach has.
These include…
• Being open to change
• Being a good listener– not just that, but also genuinely curious
• Wants to constantly learn and improve and use all the resources available
• Is ready to take risks and stretch outside the comfort zone
• Deeply cares about others
Coaching is about providing a safe space for your client where you listen to them fully. It is about creating an experience of being seen, heard, and understood. Coaches need to have these qualities to really connect with their clients and create transformational change.
How Do You Become a Life Coach?
If you have made it this far you might be thinking, that sounds like me! I could become a life coach!
As of yet, there is no specific degree to become a life coach, so you do not need a long stint at university to gain a master’s or a PhD to become a great life coach.
At the International Coaching Institute, we offer four core coaching programs that have recognition under the International Coach Guild that support you in learning how to coach, speak and successfully run your own life coaching business!
If you would love to learn which course is right for you, Click Here to take the free 'Is life Coaching Right for Me' quiz!
