Life Coaching - How Can You Benefit?

Life coaching has become one of the buzzwords of career and business these days and life in general. It is a fairly recent addition to normal conversation although it has been in practice for many, many years. It is expected and accepted to hear about a coach for a sports team. In fact, much credit for a winning team is given to the coach. However, there are coaches in many other areas of life. Less common that sports coaches are personal coaches, business coaches and relationship coaches.

Although each of these coaching areas have much in common, they also have some differences. A sports coach, will often act as a mentor, too, sharing expertise and specific information about the skills required to advance in a certain area or game. A life coach may or may not have expertise in specific skills that would apply to a person's field. However, in business, as in sports, it is common to work with someone with the skills you want to incorporate in your own life. A coach may offer some suggestions, but he or she doesn't tell you how to play the game of life.

It makes one wonder-just what is coaching and what does a coach do? Do coaches tell you how to live your life? How to run your business or what kind of wife or husband to be?

A coach does not dictate anyone's life.

A coach listens compassionately, trusting people to make good decisions. A coach is not a psychologist or psychotherapist, delving into your past to find your problems and telling you how to do get over them. A coach is not a counselor or minister-nor a parent. Not someone to tell you how to "do" life.

A coach can act as a facilitator, helping to get things moving. Point out blind spots. Sometimes a coach could be a cheerleader, a fun-maker, someone to celebrate your wins or a navigator pointing out various turns in the road. A coach might help a person recognize personal stumbling blocks and maybe suggest techniques to change their state of mind in order to move ahead.

Coaches have a variety of techniques for assessing values and behaviors and creating a plan for building the type of life wanted. A coach will use various techniques to help their clients determine their options and find the ones that will most benefit them. A good coach may ask questions to give a person a chance to explore his or her thoughts and reflect on their goals or plans. Coaching is always based on the clients interests and goals.

A good coach only works in agreement with a client and the client's chosen goals. This doesn't mean that the coach is a yes man and never asks difficult questions. One of the great values of a coach is in holding a client accountable for the actions they have decided to take in achieving their goals. The coach can monitor the client's progress in their action plans. They can offer a realistic view of what the client is really committed to based on actions. Then they can help evolve and modify the plan to be of the most value t the client.

Can you benefit from coaching?

You may wonder how a coach might benefit your life. Well, is there any area in your life that you would like to see some growth or expansion and you don't quite seem to be making it happen? You might benefit from working with a coach.

Let's do a simple exercise to see where your life might benefit from some support. Take a piece of paper and draw a large circle on it. Next, divide that circle into eight pie shaped pieces. Label each pie section: Relationships/Significant other; Finances; Career; Health and Well being; Spirituality/Personal Development; Fun & Recreation; Community, Family, Friends; Physical Enviormment.

Now contemplate each area of your life and rate it from 0 to 10. 0 being awful, horrible, non-existent, not satisfying at all and 10 being wonderful, wouldn't want it any better, love it. Mark each pie segment corresponding to your level of satisfaction, starting at the center of the circle as 0 and the outside edge as a 10. When you have evaluated each area of your life, draw a line across the pie piece where you put your mark.

For example, if your relationship is great, fun, exciting and satisfying, you might give it a 9 or 10. Mark that down. You may make all the money you want and have an 8 -9-or 10 there. But you may hate what you are doing so Career gets a 4 and you can't keep up physically like you used to or your memory is fuzzy sometimes so your Health area needs some work at a 7. After you get all areas marked, look over your circle.

As you can see when you connect the lines, there might be some bumps you could work out. Balance is one of the hallmarks of truly happy and successful people. Once you find the area most out of balance you will have an area to start working with. Just doing this exercise will give you a focus for where to start to improve your life.

Whatever area you determine is out of balance, it is up to you to work on it. You, as a client are responsible for your own success and accomplishments. You make the plan with the focusing ideas and techniques provided by the coach. You take the action. You achieve the goals.

Your coach is there to help you choose action steps to move you forward and hold you accountable for what you say you are going to do. Your coach will encourage you to stay the course and make revisions a needed. The coach provides insights and can give an outside perspective on observations of their client. A good coach will empower the client to reach beyond themselves and launch into unknown areas of their potential. And a coach will celebrate their client as each new objective is reached and their goals achieved.

Are you where you want to be?

So I guess the question is, are you playing the game of life the way you want to? Is it as fun and exciting, stable and comfortable as you want it to be. Do you have areas where you could benefit from an outside, objective view? Would having someone to check on the things you have committed to doing be of benefit to you? Only you can decide. But winning teams and successful individuals have been using the assistance of a coach for a long time.

Claire Covington coaches individuals and business owners to gain the knowledge, skills and training needed to achieve their goals and build a strong, balanced life and business organization. She coaches to success by supporting them to find their direction and utilize personal and business strategies to attract business partners to themselves and create positive cash flow.

Are you ready to move your life and business to a new level? Click ClaireCovingtonOnline to meet Claire and e-mail Claire@RenegadeU.com for a free consultation and to see if you might be ready to benefit from some one on one coaching.

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