BY SARAH EYKYN
Could a coach help you to be healthier, happier and more successful?
If you’re like most people, at some point you’re going to spend some time trying to figure out how to achieve those things. Not just today, or tomorrow, but for the rest of your life. Most of us arrive at this point when we realize that something is missing. You’re not sure what it is, or how to find it, but you know that ‘it’ is out there somewhere. If you could just find ‘it’ – happiness, self-confidence, self-esteem, motivation, better relationship/communication/speaking skills – everything would be better….
Sometimes searching for what is missing is like not being able to see the wood for all the trees…‘it’ could be standing right in front of you, but you can’t identify it. The good news is that a coach can shine a light on it for you, and show you how to find it.
Who needs a coach?
If you’re just starting out in life, you have a unique opportunity to do what most people don’t: choose to live a happy life and make a plan to achieve it.
Instead of just watching life unfold, as a young professional you can work with a coach early on in your career to determine your personal and professional aspirations. Then, instead of following the herd, you can create a plan that helps you to achieve specific goals that pave the way to a truly meaningful life.
If you’re further down the path, perhaps at a crossroads at work, or in your mind, it’s possible that you feel as though you’ve lost your way. You may have a good life, but you can’t quite figure out how to make it GREAT. Perhaps you feel in your heart that there should be more, but you can’t quite figure out how to find the happy, meaningful life you dreamed of?
Whether you are climbing the career ladder, starting or running a company, or raising a family, the barriers to your happiness and success are often ingrained habits and beliefs. A coach can help you to identify these limiting factors, get you unstuck, and help you create a plan to take you from where you are to where you’d like to be.
All too often, we rely on friends and family to provide feedback and offer suggestions when issues and challenges present themselves. Unfortunately, as well meaning as this advice may be, it is not always objective. By contrast, when you work with a coach to find solutions, the focus is entirely objective and each session aims to get you closer to what you most desire.
How to choose a coach
There are a few criteria to consider when choosing a coach:
- Are they certified? Certification ensures that your coach has received hours of accredited professional training that includes not just study, but hands-on experience that has been documented and examined.
- Are they a good fit for you? Just as every client is different, every coach has a different personality that may or may not resonate with you. It’s important to take up potential coaches on their offer of a ‘free consultation’ if they offer one, so you can evaluate their style. An experienced coach will use this session to help you get clarity on something you’d like to focus on, giving you an opportunity to see if their particular style is right for you before you commit to working with them.
- Is your coach specifically interested in your area of challenge? Coaching is a learned skill that can be applied to many situations, but it helps to choose a professional who can guide you through specific situations with confidence. Take a good look at their ‘about’ page, and see if their personal and professional experience feels like a fit.
People from all walks of life become coaches. More often than not, they are driven by a desire to ‘pay it forward’ by sharing their knowledge, experience and skills for the benefit of others. Many are driven by a firm belief in the transformative power of coaching because they have experienced the benefits first-hand.
For my own part, I became a coach because I have always had an insatiable appetite for personal development. I was reading books like Tony Robbins’, “Awaken the Giant Within“, when I was in my early twenties living in London and I never looked back. In the 30 years since I’ve devoured everything from Leo Babauta’s, “The Power of Less“, to Don Miguel Ruiz’, “The Four Agreements” and everything in between. My own experience of life has been truly enriched by the wisdom of others and I hope that through coaching I can make positive changes possible for others.
While the growth of the coaching industry is enormous, working with a coach is still foreign to many people – particularly in England, where I’m from – because many of us grew up with the idea that we must learn to solve our own problems. Coaching can be seen as somehow indulgent or self-absorbed.
However, Forbes magazine1. offers some compelling reasons for personal coaching, noting the competitive edge it gives professionals and companies in terms of clarity, happiness and increased success. Coaching is productive because it offers individuals and groups a safe environment in which to explore limitations, identify desires, and create realistic goals within a structure of accountability.
For me, the real magic of coaching is the transformation that happens when someone who has been struggling discovers the realm of their own possibilities. That moment of clarity – the ‘ah-ha’ moment when they truly see the wood for the trees, and a light shines on the path to ‘it’ so brightly they can see hope, happiness and success – is absolutely priceless.
Which makes me wonder, what could coaching do for you?
Until next time,
Sarah