Have you ever heard of life coaching?
I’m gonna go out on a limb here and assume that, unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve at least heard of it.
But, what I find to be true is that, while a lot of people have heard of life coaching, they don’t necessarily know what it is.
And, even less people are sure of whether they should have a life coach or not.
So, that’s what this post is all about.
We’re going to dive into what exactly a coach is and what key roles they play, and also talk about who should get a coach.
To learn more about that, keep reading.
What a coach is NOT!
Before we jump into talking about what a life coach is, I want to chat real quick about some myths about life coaching.
> Life coaching is just like therapy
A lot of people assume that coaching and therapy are one and the same. But that is actually incorrect.
There are numerous differences, but the key difference between the two, is that therapy focuses primarily on helping people resolve and work through issues from their past, while coaching is much more forward focused.
While there are some coaching specialties that examine the past (i.e. relationship coaching), that time spent in the past is to help the person achieve some new result in the future.
Coaching is very goal focused, and is centered on helping your clients achieve some specific result that they desire.
> Life coaches are just uncertified therapists
Alright, I’m going to be honest here, and say that this one really used to piss me off!
As someone who takes my craft very seriously, and has invested thousands of hours and dollars into my education and growth, when someone would degrade what I do, I didn’t take it too kindly.
But, then I started to realize, the reason a lot of people had this incorrect thought, was because they didn’t know any better.
Hence, this amazing article! 😉
Like I just talked about above in terms of how therapists help their clients compared to coaches, these two professions serve two different purposes.
Are there some rogue coaches who cross the line and unethically try to do the highly specialized work of a therapist? Absolutely!
But, we all know that there are the few idiots who ruin it for the majority in every profession.
And no, coaching is not regulated – meaning you don’t need a certification or license to do it.
But, imagine if someone like Tony Robbins, arguably the most impactful life coach ever, who has impacted millions of lives but is NOT certified, decided to let that hold him back.
Or, what if Bill Belichick, Head Coach of the prolific New England Patriots football team and often regarded as the greatest coach of all time, who never played a down of professional football, saw that as a lack of qualification and didn’t go for it?
The great thing about coaching is that it is your experiences and knowledge that qualify you. So anyone can do it!
Does that mean, unfortunately, that some people are going to get prayed upon by those who slap “coach” in their bio, throw up a quick website, and start praying on people?
Yea, sadly it does. But, again, that’s not something that’s unique to the coaching space.
I’ve fallen victim to a few of those people myself. But, being the eternal optimist I am, I view that as my need to be a smarter consumer.
And, the longer I’ve been around this game, the more I realize the old saying is true – the cream always rises to the top!
The people who are in this space and treat it as a craft, are just as highly skilled and qualified as anyone else in their respective profession.
> Life coaching is for “weak” or “screwed up” people
Yes, those are comments from real people. And they’re also things that really used to piss me off!
But, again, I realized most of those come from lack of understanding.
Let me just start by saying, that we are all screwed up in our own ways. So, if you’re one of the people who have this belief, as incorrect as it is, I think it says more about you, and your screwed upedness (<— A real word? Should be! Ha), and need for a life coach! BOOM!
Life coaching is for the exact opposite of weak and screwed up people.
Life coaching is for driven, ambitious people, who are willing to invest their hard earned money in order to grow so that they can accomplish something amazing, and create a better life for themselves.
Alright, now that we’ve talked about some of the common myths about life coaching, let’s talk about what it is.
What is a Life Coach?
If you want to get a good, but pretty generic definition of what a life coach is, there’s no one better to get it from than Tony Robbins.
However, I’m all about helping people as much as possible, and making stuff understandable.
So, I want to dive deeper into explaining what a life coach is, by talking about the prominent roles they play.
> Private Investigator
One of the realities of life is that we tend to be guarded.
Although we don’t start out that way (cue any little kid who will tell you about anything anywhere… Lol), for most, somewhere along the way, life created some insecurities and stories inside of us that have caused us to put up some walls.
Once that happens, a lot of people intentionally hide what’s behind the wall in order to protect themselves from some perceived dangers like people judging them or getting their hearts broken.
And, if those walls get left up long enough, we sometimes forget what we’re protecting on the other side.
When this happens, we get disconnected from our “truth” – who we really are/desire to be and what we really want in our lives.
We exchange that for what society tells us is the “right” or “acceptable” ways of going about life.
So, as a life coach, a big part of the job is getting beyond people’s walls.
It’s pulling those truths out that people have been hiding, whether intentionally or unintentionally, and finding out why they’ve been hiding them in the first place.
Effective coaching is about figuring out those truths, and working through them to help clients get their desired results.
> Cheerleader
Life coaches are also like cheerleaders.
Not in the sense that we’re jumping up and down, hootin’ and hollerin’ all the time (although I may or may not do that sometimes), but that we are a source of inspiration throughout the process.
Think back to when you were in school, or went to a sporting event. Regardless of whether your team was winning or losing, the cheerleaders were there providing inspiration.
No matter whether you wanted to tell them to “shut the hell up” because your team was getting destroyed, or you were cheering along with them because y’all were winning, they knew their job was to be that consistent light.
That’s a lot like how it is when you work with a life coach.
When you’re working with a coach, it’s because you’re seeking to accomplish some goal that you have.
Well, when it comes to achieving goals (big stretch goals that is), there are always going to be highs and lows.
For life coaches, we understand that, and are there, just like the cheerleaders, being that source of inspiration – whether times are good or it’s a bit of a struggle.
> Accountability partner
One of the biggest roles of a coach is accountability.
People usually reach out to coaches because they’re either going after a goal they have no clue how to achieve, or they’ve tried multiple times to achieve something on their own, but keep failing.
Regardless of which one is the case, the coach’s responsibility is to hold people accountable to the goal they set.
Like I mentioned earlier, pursuing a big goal is going to have ups and downs.
Life coaching is about helping your clients through those highs and lows, and holding them accountable, throughout the entire process, to their goal.
> Blindspot monitor
Because we live in our lives everyday, we develop blindspots. And, even worse, we’re not usually aware that they’re there.
Having a blindspot in your vehicle can prevent you from moving to where you want to go (Unless you’re like some of the crazy ass drivers here in Texas who just go anyways).
Well, when it comes to your life, regardless in what area, blindspots can keep you stuck in place also.
Coaches are just like those little life saving circular mirrors that go on your side mirrors and allow you to see what you couldn’t before.
By having this newfound vision or perspective, you can know with more certainty, what your next move should be.
Now that we’ve talked about a few of the high level roles of a life coach, let’s discuss who should be working with a coach.
Do I need life coaching?
I would say that that is a question everyone should ask themselves, but I already know the answer – YES!
Now, you may be thinking, “Well, Justin, you’re a coach. Of course you’re going to say everyone should have a coach.”
I clearly won’t disagree that everyone needs a coach, but it’s not because I’m a coach.
I have several coaches myself.
The reason I think everyone should have a coach is because I believe that life is about continuous growth.
I believe that we create the most joy and fulfillment in our lives when we are continuously growing and evolving.
Well, the reality is, there’s only so much space in these noggins of ours to be able to grow on our own.
Having a coach allows you to tap into the brain power of another person to continue that growth process.
I also believe in coaching because it saves us our most valuable resource – TIME!
Don’t get me wrong, I’m all about putting my head down, doing the work, and producing a result.
I’m not in any way saying that doing things on your own is a bad thing. But the older I get, the more I understand the value of time.
And I know firsthand that one of the greatest values of coaching is speed.
Having a coach allows you to produce your desired result in a shorter amount of time, which gives you more time to enjoy said result.
If you’re still not convinced, just consider the fact that the top athletes or entertainers in the world all work with coaches.
Why? Because these highly qualified men and women want someone who will be their private investigator, cheerleader, accountability partner and blindspot monitor.
They want to grow to their maximum capability, but understand that they can’t do that on their own, or aren’t willing to wait to figure it out on their own.
Hopefully this gives you some good insights into what a coach is, and why you should consider working with one.
Comment below with which role of a coach most appeals to you.
Be UNCOMMON!
P.S. If you’re interested in learning more about what I do as a coach, click here to check it out.
P.P.S. If you’re ready to stop settling and start really living a life you love, then I’d love to have a chat with you about how I can help. You can click here to schedule a complimentary coaching call.
P.P.P.S If you’re yourself are interested in doing this amazing work as a life coach, you need to check out my friends at the iNLP Center. You can click here to learn more: https://inlpcenter.org/life-coach-certification-online/
