Not to be confused with mental health professionals, life coaches help people focus on the future and get their lives on the right track.
We could all use guidance when life sometimes becomes overwhelming. While some people seek support from family and friends, others may find it beneficial to hire a life coach to help get their lives back on track. A life coach is someone who counsels and encourages clients on career or personal life challenges. “We get compared a lot to therapists,” says Kacie Steinmetz, a personal life coach with KS Coaching in Virginia Beach, Virginia. “A therapist helps someone look back on things, while a life coach helps someone look forward. We help people by asking them where it is they want to go and what they need to do to get there. We help them set goals. We don’t have the answers or set the goals for them, but we help them find the answers to their own questions.”
Here are just a few reasons to consider a life coach:
Accountability
A life coach helps you set realistic goals, whether in business, lifestyle, or relationships, and helps you map out a plan and stay focused on those goals. “We check in and help keep you on track,” says Steinmetz. “We are a partner in the process.
Motivation
A life coach will cheer you on, even on your down days. “A good life coach will remind you to keep on swimming when the current is trying to pull you under, and that attaining your goal is worth every stroke and dog paddle,” says Angela Weight, a life coach with the Family Institute of Virginia in Richmond, Virginia.
Organization and Time Management
Life coaches teach you how to prioritize and use your time more productively in order to achieve your goals. Rebecca Reimers Cristol is a life and business coach in Williamsburg, Virginia, who works primarily with business women on finding a good work/life balance. “I help them figure out a balance that works for them in order to help them reduce their stress,” she says. “I help them to understand themselves better, make decisions that are more aligned with their values, and help them make decisions that will make them happier and feel more in control of their lives.”
Life skills
Depending on your needs, life coaches can assist you with paying your bills or managing your bank account, leasing an apartment, applying for a job, or attending a doctor’s appointment. “Many people who work with a life coach just need help ‘adulting,’”
says Weight.
Mediation
Life coaches are also there to listen and assist you with issues you may have with family or friends. “While life coaches are traditionally different from therapists, there are areas where a good life coach will help their client process and approach difficult situations with family members, co-workers, or even friends, reminding them to approach things from a rational rather than an emotional perspective,” says Weight.
Well-being
Life coaches can guide you to be more successful based on your strengths, helping you live the life you want to live in a more positive way based on your values, or they can assist you in finding what it is exactly that you want out of life. “We all have a purpose in life,” says Frank Traczyk, a life and business coach in Williamsburg. “I think people know what to do, but they just don’t know they know it or don’t know how to get there.”
With a life coach by your side, you are more likely to reach your goals in a healthier way, more quickly, and with fewer mistakes. You may even find yourself happier as a result.
“By recognizing the victories with a personal coach, you build self-confidence and momentum in order to continue to gain amazing results in more than just one area of focus,” says Steinmetz.