Why work with a life coach?
When you need to resolve an issue in life, consider the possibilities of engaging a life coach for help.
The purpose of a life coach is to help people overcome problems ranging from how to make a career change, achieve work-life balance, improve health and wellness, manage personal finances, cope with parenting and other family issues, or even address a vague sense of needing to create a more satisfying, rewarding life.
What is a life coach?
The life coach is a fairly new role that has emerged over the past couple of decades.
Life coaches are forward-looking support resources who focus on actionable ways to help you enhance your life. They may be generalists, or specialize in a particular area.
Think of a life coach as a variation on a personal trainer. Instead of helping you achieve physical fitness goals, however, the life trainer helps you achieve life goals.
What a coach does
Your coach will help you identify what you want to work on. You may be encouraged to set down your goals in writing, and your coach will work with you to determine the steps required to meet them.
The coach will provide encouragement, help you overcome obstacles - and assign homework to help you along.
A coach may also work with you over the phone, which can be helpful if you have transportation or mobility issues or if you can't find a professional within your own community.
Finding the right life coach
Because coaching is not a regulated profession in Canada, practitioners do not need to meet licensing or certification requirements in order to use the title Life Coach. However, many will hold independent certification from a coaching organization.
Try to get referrals from people who have successfully worked with a life coach. Interview a few different people and inquire about qualifications and referrals from past clients. Ask about meeting frequency, how long the sessions will last, where meetings will be held, the length of the commitment that is expected and the cost of the person's services. If the coach offers an initial complementary session, that's an ideal way to decide if the person is a good fit.
Once you find a coach you'd like to work with, plan to give the relationship at least a few months in order to give yourself a reasonable amount of time to begin to see meaningful changes.