One of the biggest mistakes that many people make about life coaching is confusing it with psychotherapy. Life coaching isn’t about lying on a couch and talking about your life story while the psychotherapist interrupts your ramblings with “So how does that make you feel?”
Life coaching is so much more than that says life coach Amber Rosenberg:
“As a life coach, I empower you to set goals and establish accountability for personal and professional success. I guide you as you articulate your aspirations, clarify the choices before you and create action plans to achieve your goals.
“You set the agenda, and I serve as an objective sounding board to help keep you focused and on track. I help you break through old barriers and develop new practices so you can reach your desired goals.”
So to help you in your decision about if life coaching is right for you, we’ve decided to provide you with an insight into what to expect during your first life coaching session.
Come with buckets of motivation
When starting on your life coaching journey, you need to have an idea of what you want to achieve in your life. More importantly, you need to have the desire to achieve it. Your life coach can’t tell you what to achieve. He or she will help you get on the path to achieving these goals:
“At your life coaching session you should already have the motivation to work with the coach and be truthful concerning your aspirations for your life,” says life coach Mariano Jauco.
Getting to know you
During your first session, your life coach will focus on finding out what makes you tick. He or she will also look at what your ambitions in life are and why you want to achieve these. Bear in mind that this is much more than just a pleasant chat over a cup of tea. Your life coach may question you as to what is keeping you stuck so preventing you from achieving your ultimate purpose in life. It’s going to be tough but don’t worry: they will be there with you, helping you along the way and trying to get to the bottom of things.
Make sure that you have the right fit
The relationship that you have with your life coach is very personal. You’ll be bearing your innermost secrets to them. They will be offering their opinions on these. So if you don’t click after the first session, don’t worry. However, don’t be put off the life coaching process. Take a leap and try out another life coach. Life coaching is a rich and rewarding process. It is one that will benefit everyone. But sometimes, it takes a bit of time to find the right fit.
Our Three Favourite Life Coaching Models
The Wheel of Life
• Step 1: Draw a circle and divide it into 7 pies.
• Step 2: Label each section of the pie using the following labels:
– Business and career
– Finances
– Health
– Family and friends
– Romance
– Fun and recreation
– Physical environment
• Step 3: Ask your client to give themselves a 1 – 10 rating in each of these categories, with 1 being dissatisfied and 10 being extremely happy.
• Step 4: Put a dot in each of the pieces that corresponds to the rating that the client gives themselves. (A one will be close to the centre with a ten being almost at the outside of the circle.
• Step 5: Join the dots to that your client if their lives are a ‘wonky’ circle and which areas they need to work on.
How to reinforce your client’s sense of self
Many of your clients will come to you suffering from very low self-esteem. It will be your job to help them increase this. Here’s a practical way of how you can help them develop and grow:
- Ask your client who the significant groups of people are in their lives and how they would perceive a younger version of him or her. This is to reinforce to them what type of person they are, value wise.
- Then ask your client how these same people would see him or her today. This exercise will show them what they have learned and achieved since their younger days and so reinforce their sense of self-worth.
How to use the G.R.O.W. model
The G.R.O.W model is made up of a number of questions. You will need to pose these to your client to help them start to think positively and begin to realise their goals.
The acronym G.R.O.W stands for:
- G – Goals
- R – Reality
- O – Option
- W – Will
If you find an accredited life coach, who is highly skilled and trained, this ‘fit’ will be easier to find. Trifocus Fitness Academy’s Life Coaching Certification produces just this type of graduates. So if you want to become a life coach, follow this link.