FINDING A LIFE COACH PERFECT FOR YOU…

We’re at that time of year when our thoughts are drawn towards the year ahead and what we would like see happen in our lives. Often this is a time for reflection, leading us to start considering our life as a whole. What would we like to achieve this year? What habits or behaviours are not working for us anymore? What changes would we like to make?

With so many questions to answer it can become over whelming and somewhat frustrating as we try to prioritise our thoughts and gain clarity as to what would be our best next steps. This is often a time when people turn to a life coach.

So how do you go about finding the life coach perfect for you? A very interesting question and important to get right as you will be investing your own personal time, energy and money into coaching.

Here are some steps that will help to clarify the process…

The first piece of advice that I would give, is to get in touch with several coaches before you make your decision.

Have a clear idea of what you would like to achieve from coaching.

Take your time to study a coach’s website and read what a coach has to say. Make a list of the pros and also a list of the cons. This is a good way to clarify your thoughts.

Make a shortlist of the coaches that you liked.

A phone call would be a good next step. This is a good way of judging connection with a coach, deciding whether you like what they have to say, and if you would like take the next step and move on to having a consultation session with them.

A consultation is a very good way of learning about a coach, how they work and what they believe they can do for you. In my opinion a consultation is best when it’s complementary, as a coach should want to find out as much as possible about you and to decide if they can be of assistance to you. In return, you should be comfortable with your decision that this coach is the right one for you. Entering into a coaching relationship is a mutual undertaking from both parties and the fit has to work.

Ask yourself the following questions. How did the coach make you feel? Were you comfortable? Did you feel supported? Did they convince you that they would be of assistance to you?

If you felt a good connection with the coach and the answer to the previous questions is yes then it sounds like a good fit.

At the consultation ask the coach about their pricing structure. This can be the moment to get nervous and apprehensive about the financial commitment. At this point however, it is really important to ask yourself the following questions …What will my life be like in say a year’s time, if I haven’t moved forward and made the changes I want in my life? What is the personal price I will pay for deciding not do the coaching? A decision needs to be made that embraces and honours what is best for you, not only in the present time but for your future too.

Once you have decided on a coach the most important thing to do is to actually commit to the coaching, make a decision to prioritise this in your life. It may sound an obvious thing to say, however this part is crucial to the success of the coaching. A heartfelt commitment to yourself and the coaching process will offer the best opportunity to achieve success.

Coaching is both powerful and effective, an obvious choice for anyone who wants to reach their full potential in both their personal relationships and professional life. An opportunity to gain clarity, so the decisions that you make for your future are informed and grounded in the knowledge that you know what is truly best for you.

As I say “ The investment we make in ourselves will last us a life time.” It’s time to put yourself first.