10 Reasons Why You Need A Life Coach
No matter how you look at it, life is hard. With so much pressure and so many obligations, it’s clear to see why we often feel overwhelmed and anxious. As the weeks, months and years pass, that pressure mounts. It piles on top of us, adding more weight to the shoulders that can’t seem to bear another ounce of it.
Yet, we carry on. We move forward, facing everything that life throws at us. As a result, we suffer. Our personal lives decline, our good habits falter and fail, and we retreat into the comforts and confines of the status quo that we’re so used to. It’s easy to allow life to pass us by when we’re so consumed by meaningless tasks and time-wasters.
That’s the reason why a good life coach is so important. We often get so ingrained and set in our ways that it’s hard to see things from a fresh perspective. It’s difficult to fathom and digest the possibilities that exist out there in the world when we’re so used to operating within what we’ve deemed “safe” for so long.
Two decades ago, when I was kid living on Long Island, I had this piano teacher. My mom sought him out because he was so highly acclaimed. He had taught once-famed musical stars like Billie Joel and Debbie Gibson, how to play the piano. Okay, so you might not know who they are, and no I’m not that old, but back then they were a pretty big deal.
My point? He used to sit there in the room, 10 feet away or so in this old brown leather armchair, and he would just know when I struck the wrong cord. He didn’t even need to sit by me. He was coaching me from across the room, eyes closed, because he was that good. Because of him, I became an amazing piano player. He simply knew how to teach me the right way.
His perspective on chords and how to unlearn bad behavior along with how to institute good habits when playing the piano have stuck with me all these years. As a piano teacher, he was second to none. I can still hear his voice in my mind as I sit down in front of the piano. As my fingers hover above the keys, I hear him speaking.
It sounds a little bit far-fetched, doesn’t it? But that’s what a good coach can bring to the table. And for anyone that’s serious about excelling in this world, a good life coach is instrumental to that. I can think of dozens of reasons why they can quite literally transform the state and quality of both your behavior and your ability to reach your goals, but there are 10 core reasons why I think they’re so important.
What Is A Life Coach?
In sports, we often hear about coaches to the world’s most elite athletes. They sculpt and shape those individuals into who they are. When we’re talking about playing a sport at the highest levels, we often know that there’s a coach embedded in there somewhere. But it’s not just in sports.
In business or in life, we might refer to some of these people as mentors. They help to guide us through some of the most tumultuous times and steer us in the right direction to achieve our goals and our dreams. It’s difficult to see things from a fresh perspective and realize what you’re capable of without them.
But not all of us have access to mentors. Not all of us are proficient in networking or in touch with people playing life at its highest levels. That’s the beauty of having a life coach. You don’t need to know someone who’s rich or famous or who has the proverbial keys to success. All you need to do is to enlist the help of a professional who can help to guide you through things.
So, what is a life coach? It’s not just a mentor. It’s not just a friend. It’s not just a coach in the most basic sense. A life coach is a partner, someone who’s there for you through life’s most difficult and challenging times, able to guide you through and help you to see things differently, refine your approach and achieve your loftiest dreams.
Most of us are so set in our ways, that unless we have an objective third-party actually point things out to us, we often fail to notice the things that are setting us back. It’s a monumental undertaking to do this by yourself. With that being said, here are the 10 reasons why you absolutely must have a life coach if you’re serious about succeeding at whatever it is that you’re aiming for.
#1 — You Have Trouble Following Through With Goals
For most people, achieving goals is hard. It’s not just the art of goal setting that they find difficult, but actually following through. However, a life coach can help you not only define your goals, but also to help you find powerful enough reasons for why you must achieve them in the first place.
Beyond than that? A life coach can offer you a fresh perspective on why you maybe haven’t been able to achieve the big goals you’ve wanted in the past, and just how you can reorganize your life to empower you rather than to continue holding you back. They also act as an acｃountability partner, there right by your side, step by step, to ensure you see things through.
#2 — Limiting Beliefs Have Been Holding You Back
Most of the time, we find it difficult to follow through with things in life because, in our subconscious minds, we have limiting beliefs that are holding us back. A life coach is instrumental in helping you to identify those limiting beliefs so that you can push forward rather than feeling left behind.
For example, if you’ve heard your entire life that you’re big boned and you’ve been telling people the same thing for years, how can you possibly believe, wholeheartedly, that you can lose a significant amount of weight? The story you’ve been telling yourself for years will override your ability to follow through. A life coach can help you recognize and overcome these types of limiting beliefs.
#3 — You Simply Don’t Know Where To Begin
Sometimes we just don’t know where to begin. We get sucked into the notion of success and know that we want to achieve something, but we feel so helpless that we just fail to start. Maybe it’s because we don’t feel like we deserve it or maybe it’s some other reason, but we just don’t know how or where to even begin.
The enormity of big goals can often overwhelm us. It’s hard to get clear on things when you can’t even get past that feeling of helplessness and not knowing where to start. Life coaches can assess your personal situation and help you get on the path towards taking action towards your dreams.
#4 — Anxiety And Stress Are Recurring Themes
Life can get stressful. Plain and simple. I know that when I failed repeatedly in the past, I went through some of the most anxious and stressful times in my life. I was depressed beyond belief. Even though I learned a lot through failure, having those constant emotions become a recurring theme in your life isn’t fun whatsoever.
When you combine all of our responsibilities, from work to family and social lives, it’s easy to see why we get so stressed out. It’s not a good feeling, especially when it feels like the walls are caving in on you. Getting the perspective and outside help that life coaching affords is integral in helping you move past those disheartening emotions.
#5 — You’re Unable To Define A Clear Vision
Sometimes we feel like we’re living our lives according to someone else’s rules or wishes. We have goals, but they’re not what we really want. Because of that, we lack a clear vision. We’re so confused, being pushed and pulled in every direction, that we’re unable to create that clear vision for what we want out of life.
Life coaches can help you cut through all the noise and get clear on what you want. It isn’t the easiest thing to understand, especially when trying to see it from a perspective that we’ve been looking at it from for years or decades even. This is one of the best parts of having a coach on your side, giving you the extra
#6 — Your Finances, Health, Relationships, Career Or Business Is In Complete Disarray
If your life is in a state of complete disarray, you might be in drastic need of a coach that will help you get through some of the most difficult times. Whether it’s your finances, your health, your relationships, your career or your business, oftentimes it’s hard to focus and see the forest through the trees when we’re struggling to move through the fog of today’s complexities.
When your marriage fails, your health is shot, and your career, finances or your business is completely shattered, it’s hard to make it through those tough times. But a life coach will help you wade through the seas of sorrow to emerge on the shores of hope as your guide.
#7 — The Passion You Once Had For Life Is Gone
I once lost passion in my life and in my work. It happened after I had an earth-shattering failure. I didn’t even want to go on. I sincerely think that those were some of the worst times in my life and I never want to revisit that place mentally or emotionally. But there’s also some good to be said about it. In fact, I wouldn’t take them back even if I could.
But when you lose that passion or that spark for life or for business, you need someone there to help move you along. You need someone to help identify the issues that you’ve faced and the upshots in your past that have led you to where you are today. Without that, it’s hard to get that passion and the juice back for your life that you once had.
#8 — You Get Easily Sidetracked By Time-Wasters
It’s easy to get sidetracked in life. We have bad habits that are hard to quit and it’s difficult to manage our time to make progress. Often, we’re stuck spinning our wheels. I know I feel that way sometimes. But, those time-wasters can completely debilitate us from achieving anything in life.
Life coaches aren’t just there to help you achieve your goals, but they’re also there to help you improve your life on so many levels. This includes things like your habits. Considering that habits make up 45% of our behavior, good habits offer a pathway to both discipline and achievement.
#9 — Your Friends And Family Aren’t Supporting Your Dreams
It’s hard to stay focused on your goals when you don’t have the support of people around you. When your friends and your family members aren’t supporting your dreams, it’s easy to lose sight of the bigger picture. When we’re so busy dealing with negativity from all around us, how are we supposed to make progress and move forward?
However, your life coach is there for you no matter what. They act as your support system. Even if friends and family aren’t sticking by you, you have them. Although it’s not free, it is well worth it. The experience and knowledge of some life coaches are invaluable instruments in helping us achieve our goals.
#10 — You’re Completely Lost And Feel Like All Hope Is Gone
There was a time when I lost hope in life. It was so bad that I didn’t want to go on. I was lost, drowning in a sea of despair. When you feel like that, you can’t even focus on getting through the day, let alone moving closer to your goals. If you feel lost or like all hope is gone, you absolutely need a life coach.
This becomes, not just an option, but a necessity. If you feel hopeless or like a failure or unable to accomplish anything, you need to do more than read a blog post or watch an empowering video. You need someone there by your side. You need a trainer to help you regain the confidence that you once had and push closer towards your dreams.
Article Source: https://www.wanderlustworker.com/10-reasons-why-you-need-a-life-coach/
Image Source: http://naturaldads.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/life-coaching11-300x222.jpg
VOCABULARY WORDS:
1. Falter (v.) ~ start to lose strength or momentum
2. Ingrain (v.) ~ firmly fix or establish (a habit, belief, or attitude) in a person
3. Far-fetched (adj.) ~ unlikely and unconvincing implausible
4. Override (v.) ~ use one's authority to reject or cancel (a decision, view, etc.)
5. Recurring (adj.) ~ occur again, periodically, or repeatedly
6. Disheartening (adj.) ~ to depress the hope, courage, or spirits of
7. Wade through (idiom) ~ to struggle through something with difficulty
8. Sidetrack (v.) ~ cause (someone) to be distracted from an immediate or important issue
9. Debilitate (v.) ~ make (someone) weak and infirm
10. Invaluable (adj.) ~ extremely useful indispensable
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION:
1. What is a life coach?
2. According to the article, what are the different ways a life coach can be helpful to a person?
3. Would you consider having a life coach? On what situation would you do?
4. What skill do you think would be necessary to be a good life coach? Do you think this career is suitable for you? Explain your answer.
