Technology has taken over the world,some were prepared for this and are making the best use of it , some are still in shock and most are consumed. Facebook, Whatsapp, tiktok, Twitter, dating applications are keeping people busy. Most people do not even notice that much of their productive time is spend on these applications just viewing. In this chaos some are benefiting from the applications, growing business networks, adding to skills and gaining in tremendously. Now people need the services of life coaches more than ever, so that all the advantages of technology can make sense to them.
Who is a Life Coach ?
A life coach is a trained and certified professional whose main goal in engagement is to get a person or a group to a desired destination.(In Zimbabwe certification can happen through ICMF- International Coaching and Mentoring Foundation). Life Coaching like sports coaching is about helping and pushing the player to their full potential,to score. A life coach is an accountability partner and for the relationship to work, there has to be honesty and willingness to be coached. In life coaching they say, ”we coach the coachable”, meaning if a person is willing to do the work, they are willing to help them by all means. Here are a few points to consider why one needs a life coach.
The complexity of life
Life is so complex, and gets even more confusing as people grow up, responsibilities increase and expectations from people increase too. Most people change their dreams to match reality. Giving excuses like, “ ..I realized I needed to face reality,” in most of the cases reality means ,the goals are unreachable, the resources are too few or the willingness to pursue has faded away as a result of pressure. Life is tough but so are you. A life coach will help a person to know and understand what life is. To look at it as a whole and see the possibility of moving each and every piece without burning out. All life aspects at the table and the life coach will help a person to build the life they desire.
Decision making
“Its in your moment of decision that your destiny is shaped” Tony Robbins. What decisions. With the majority of people , decisions are more emotional than they are logical, as a result, when the emotional moment has passed, most live to regret and work to start all over again before the emotion took over. Anger makes people burn bridges before crossing over, excitement makes people disrespect people they have to honor and respect. Decision making about, careers, family, personal development, finances and investments, parenting, personal development, will be easier with a life coach by the side. A life coach will ask all the relevant questions and use life Coaching tools that will build the blocks to good decisions… A life coach will not give advice, he/she helps direct a person through questions to the solutions they need.
Encouragement
Life can beat people down, people feeling stuck in careers and relationships, people feeling not-so-worthy or not so confident. A life coach , is the voice of encouragement and motivation. Please note that a life coach is not a mental health professional,a counselor or therapist, he does not help get over trauma or get someone through healing. A life coach is a motivator, focused on the possibility of the desired future and helping finding the steps to that desired future. Where the client needs a therapist, the life coach is expected to encourage that it happens. Exercises like vision board making are what life coaches can use to motivate their clients into positive transformation.
Some key guidelines in choosing a life coach
- How are the services they offer aligning to the goal that you want to meet
- What are your expectations from the coach and how willing are they to meet them
- Do you need a life coach or a mentor or both? If you need both, look beyond certification, have they walked the path that you want to walk?
- What’s your life coach’s story? Why them
- How far are you willing to go? An effective life coach will provoke, will push , will strain but not harm you, are you willing to answer the hard questions, do the hard things and to think outside the box? If yes then get you a life coach now!!!
“A life coach does for the rest of your life what a personal trainer does for your health and fitness”Elaine Macdonald, Canadian Activist.