There may come a time that you want to hire a Life Coach to “break-through” some barriers in your life or to help you gain clarity on an issue. You may want to become more empowered and understand why you are attracting bad acting people into your life, for example.
Hiring a Life Coach can be very beneficial in your personal life and business. There are many coaches out there—some with lots of training and some who have taken a weekend course. Some have had no training at all. There are coaches out there that you would not want to spend even five minutes with because they are not truly a coach.
Coaching has many potential benefits if you find the right Life Coach. Here are some:
- Achievement of your personal and professional goals.
- Breaking through blocks or perceived limitations you may have.
- Organization, focus, and progress of goals.
- Improved personal empowerment and personal power.
- Increased self-awareness.
- Healthier boundaries with others in your life.
- More confidence and self-esteem.
- Higher energy and well-being.
- Realization of your gifts and talents and how to use them.
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How do you differentiate all the coaches out there? There are many coaches out there, and they are not equal regarding results. Life Coaching is a transformative process, where your results are driven by your efforts, relating to your personal goals. Working with a Life Coach may require regularly scheduled meetings with a coach while providing self-awareness and accountability.
So, how do you find the right coach for yourself?
First, be sure you know what you want to achieve in hiring a Life Coach.
For example, you may want to overcome fears of moving forward in your life, so you will want to hire a coach that can help you with transformation. Many coaches have niches, which help to define their ideal client and the type of work that they do as a coach. Some coaches have dealt with abuse or bullying, and they want to help clients break-through their feelings of being a victim or feeling small in their lives.
Second, be sure to research the coach you are thinking of hiring.
Not all Life Coaches are equal. Some are well-trained, and some are just calling themselves a Life Coach. Unfortunately, there are no mandated laws on Life Coaching.
Fancy marketing and a great website do not equate to a reputable Life Coach. Ask them if you can contact one of their former clients and be sure to trust your feelings when researching Life Coaches. If you have a consultation with a Life Coach, be sure that you are not being coerced to work with them. Some Life Coaches are well-trained in the art of closing the sale with a potential client. Life Coaches should never manipulate or bully someone to work with them.
Again—trust your gut and think twice about working with them if you feel pushed to work with someone. Also, just because they are successful, does not mean they can make you successful if they are not the right coach for you.
Third, a Life Coach is supposed to help you with your transformation or achieving your goals.
It’s about your agenda—not theirs. While they may see things differently than you do, they should allow the natural developing of your self-awareness and personal growth to unfold. They should never tell you what your next step is or control the coaching process with their agenda. Your agenda or goals should always come first.
Fourth, a Life Coach may ask you to sign a contract to work with them.
This agreement is a professional contract between you and the Life Coach. They may also want to sell you a month or three-month package too. Don’t be afraid to ask if you can pay for one session and see if this Life Coach is a good fit for you. In some cases, it will take more than one session to help you to achieve your goal(s). You want to be mindful of your investment in yourself and finding the right Life Coach for your needs.
Fifth, keep in mind when hiring a Life Coach that you should be able to stop the services between you and the Life Coach if it does not work out.
Be prepared that the Life Coach may not want to let you out of the contract, but an ethical Life Coach will want what is best for you and most likely will allow you to break the contract.
The bottom line is that you want positive results when working with a Life Coach. There is nothing worse than paying a Life Coach and feeling resentful for less than desirable results. Be sure to ask a Life Coach what ethics they operate by if you are thinking of hiring them. For example, a Life Coach is not qualified to handle matters that should be addressed by a Mental Health professional.
Empower yourself and make wise decisions–it’s your right to have a wonderful life.
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This post was originally published on workplacebullyingsupport.com and is republished on Medium.
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