When Choosing A Life Coach
Life Coaches have been around since the 1980’s. Why are so many people just now hearing about them? I have a few guesses. First, as a society, we are becoming more aware of how important our mental health is to our overall well-being. While you have to ultimately do the work in your own life to achieve it, a personal Life Coach can be a tool to help you along the way. Second, it now has decades of proven success . . . because it WORKS. Third, I think it’s more acceptable to admit that we don’t always have our shit together. Lastly, we’ve learned that it’s okay, and even applauded, when we reach out for support.
If you haven’t already noticed, a lot of people out there call themselves a “Coach”. Unfortunately, there isn’t anything that prevents them from doing so. ANYONE can slap it to the back of their name and let it ride. This means the quality of Coaches can vary drastically. I want you to know there are tons of programs out there that allow someone to become accredited. To be clear, there is a right and a wrong way to Coach. Unless you go with someone informed and experienced, you might end up paying them to tell you how you to live your life based on their opinion. Why in the hell would you do that? We’re talking about YOUR life that should be built by YOUR choices. If you make the brave decision to hire a Life Coach, I suggest you research what went into earning that title. I’d like to share with you how I acquired my accreditations.
Attended my first 6 month course with Goal Imagery in 2017
Committed Saturdays and Sundays to listening, reading, and studying materials
Acquired 100 hours of Coaching in 8 months (while taking the course and working a full time job)
Passed the 3 hour exam
Received mentoring on 3 recorded Coaching sessions (1 hour each). My instructor and I listened to each one of those sessions together while she dissected them and gave me constructive criticism. This was very painful but extremely helpful.
Acquired my first accreditation in 2018: ACC (Associate Certified Coach)
Attended my second 6 month course with Goal Imagery in 2018
Learned aspects of NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming)
Once again committed Saturdays and Sundays to course material
Acquired 400 additional Coaching hours in 2 years
Received second accreditation in 2020: PCC (Professional Certified Coach)
There’s a lot of hard work that goes into gaining a Coaching accreditation. And to be completely honest, not everyone has what it takes to be a good Coach. You must be willing to admit that you have no clue what you’re doing at first. You must go into it with a mindset of completely re-learning everyday behaviors. You must be consistent. Thinking back to when I first started, I remember being blown away by certain details that mattered so much. Prioritizing these details took me from amateur student to great Coach. But there’s one that stands above the rest that a Coach MUST have and should be really good at doing: listening.
I had to re-learn how to listen. Most people, including myself at times, listen to respond. They listen up until a certain word or phrase catches their attention. When they hear it, they think, “I can relate or respond to that!” Then they completely drown out the rest of what the other person is saying so they can conjure up, in their own head, what they are going to say next. When the other person stops talking, that’s their cue to relay what they’ve been thinking. Unfortunately, they end up missing the rest of what the other person said!
What I learned is if you tune in to every word the other person is saying and tune everything else out, you don’t have to think about what you’re going to say next . . . it just flows naturally. You are fully present, time stands still, interest and curiosity take over, and a REAL conversation starts to happen. It’s an authentic human connection. THIS is hard to do and takes lots of practice, but this one skill is the foundation that all the other ones build upon.
Coaching is rising in popularity. Just like any other attractive career, people want the recognition of the name without putting in the work. It takes a lot of courage to hire a Life Coach. Spend the extra time doing your homework to ensure you’re putting yourself in experienced hands. Then meet with them to see if you vibe. When you find one that’s qualified AND your personalities match . . . that’s the recipe for making magic together. By sharing some of the behind the scenes of my Coaching journey, I hope this inspires you to see it in a more significant light. Self improvement should be an ongoing aspiration. And it’s way more fun when you have someone to do it with you.
