What is a life coach?

Well I can tell you what a life coach isn’t   We are not therapists. We are not psychologist. We do not diagnose conditions, attempt to ‘fix you’ or doll our medication.

We are Also NOT paid friends!

SO you may ask, what exactly do we do?

Well this is a good question and with so many different life coaches out there all offering different niche services, it can be very hard to tell.  But this is how I see it!

A Life Coach is a trained listener.

That means we listen to not just your words but the way they are being said and the context in which they are said.  We even listen for the things you are NOT saying, the little clues you are giving up that help us to guide you.

We work WITH YOU not for you. 

Our goal is to form a partnership with you that has one purpose and that is to get you to where you want to go, to move you forward; not to delve back in search of reasons, excuses or blame but to look ahead and help you find a way to get there.  We do not tell you what to do but help you find your own answers by using our experience and training to ask the right questions.

A good Life Coach will help you by being honest with you and always let you know when you are slacking off or being unreasonable; our job is not to molly coddle you but to enable you to achieve what it is you set out to accomplish, whatever that may be.

Coaches work in many different areas claiming expertise in their Niche and they usually stick to working with clients within that particular area.  I however do not believe any Life Coach has only one particular Niche, as that is like saying we each have only ‘one string to our bow’ and I do not believe any human is that limited.  I personally work with anyone who comes to me ‘IF’ I feel I can help them.  Although as a Cancer Survivor I do find a lot of cancer patients cross my path and I do donate much time in this area.

I am by nature a problem solver! 

I have always been a problem solver and as a certified life coach, I continue to be a problem solver, only now I get to guide even more people to their own answers.  Some coaches work with their clients for years but I don’t feel that is what the profession should be.  I feel we should come and go in your life as and when needed, not as a permanent fixture.

Life today is very stressful and with so many people isolated from their families by distance, problems and life situations can become overwhelming very quickly.  Knowing that there is a trained professional you can turn to occasionally, is a good thing and what I believe a Life Coach should be.

Many Life coaches belong to various organisations like the International Coaches Federation which sets training & ethical standards and attempts to lend credence to the profession.   Indeed, I was once a member, however I choose to leave and now work independently of any organisation. 🙂

As a trained & certified professional, I believe my work, should speak for itself!