What is Life Coaching?

Life Coaching is an outcome-focused change process for assisting you in moving yourself forward in accomplishing specific desired outcomes in your life.

Life coaching is an alternative to counseling or psychotherapy.

While there is some overlap between life coaching and counseling or psychotherapy, coaching clients tend, generally, to be coping and functioning well in most areas of their lives.

Counseling and psychotherapy clients tend to be struggling with issues or concerns in their lives that are causing them to feel conflicted, overwhelmed, anxious, depressed, hopeless, or to be in crisis, as well as, behave in ways that are problematic in some way.

In addition, they may have difficulty coping or functioning day-to-day at work or in their personal lives.

Some clients may feel there is less of a stigma associated with life coaching than counseling or psychotherapy and as a result feel more comfortable addressing issues, concerns or pursuing their goals through a life coaching process.

For some people, counseling or psychotherapy implies there is something wrong with you as a person, where as life coaching implies you are ok as a person, but are needing some specific help in moving some aspect of your life forward that is important to you.

Clients in life coaching or counseling sessions may feel stuck or that they are not making the kind of progress they would like in their lives.

Life coaching clients may be proactive and productive in many areas of their lives, but feel getting specific help or support in particular life areas may be beneficial.

Life coaching clients may have or want to identify meaningful aspirations they are striving for in their work and personal lives.

Often life coaching clients are coming in for consultation or help, because they have a special issue related to a personal problem, couple or family dilemma, work or job conflict, higher education or career challenges or business owner issues and concerns.

They may also have a creative idea, project or artistic pursuit related to personal or entrepreneurial aspirations.

Coaching clients may be feeling stuck or have difficulty overcoming personal and work obstacles that are intertwined and getting in the way of them moving forward.

Life coaching clients may have difficulty getting changes started in some aspects of their personal or work life, feel stuck or blocked, as well as, become distracted, overwhelmed or off track with other ideas or concerns in their lives.

Life coaching clients may find the changes they want to make are interconnected with other factors that may represent a complex matrix that is challenging to navigate alone.

There are a number of areas of focus that may bring lifecoaching clients in for consultations.

Individual Personal Development
Work/Job/Career/Continuing Education Issues and Development
Entrepreneur/Business Owner/Family Business/Self-Employment Issues/Dilemmas and development.
Couple/Marital/Family/Friend Relationship Issues and concerns
Creative Expression and Pursuits

Individual Development

Some people may be interested in individual personal development, in terms of the following:

-Identifying personal development goals and working toward desired outcomes

-Changing their lifestyle to reduce stressors or improve the quality of their life

-Improving their health or addressing medical problems

-Learning something new or engaging more novelty or adventure

-Engaging more in physical, recreational and social interests, activities and events

-Designating regular time for self-care or self-regulating interests and activities.

Individuals may have specific goals and priorities they want to work toward in a more systematic or consistent manner with the help and support of a life coach.

It could mean identifying tasks, situations, activities or projects in their lives that they have neglected, but if attended to might contribute to better feelings about themselves and their life.

Work/Job/Career/Continuing Education Issues and Development

Life coaching can help you navigate toxic work cultures, difficult work situations and dilemmas involving management, colleagues or coworkers, people who report to you, internal and external customers and other key stakeholders.

Assessing job fit in context of work stressors, workload, work culture and management styles and practices can position you to also consider other options that may better meet your job fit criteria.

As organizations grow, lose business, reorganize, are purchased or go out of business life coaching can help you consider options for coping and making any adjustments or transitions in your work life.

Life coaching can help you consider next steps in your career development and advancement, as well as, preparing for your retirement.

Managing work-life balance can be helped by the life coaching process.

Work-life balance is an ongoing dilemma for most people in finding ways to better adequately designate enough time for your work life and your personal life for the purpose of having greater meaning and wellbeing in your life.

Entrepreneurial/Small Business/Family Business/Self-Employment Dilemmas and Development

Life coaching can help you assess your challenges, issues, concerns and opportunities in developing your self-employment, small business, family business or entrepreneurial pursuits.

Often people who are self-employed, have a small business or are doing a start-up have to juggle multiple roles and responsibilities that may lead to being overwhelmed, working excessive hours, neglecting self care and the important relationships in life.

Couple/Marital/Family Relationship Issues and Concerns

Life coaching can also be a process for identifying couple, marital, family or friend issues and concerns to problem-solve or work toward resolving conflicts, as well as, improving the relationship.

It could mean working to improve your emotional connection and your sexual intimacy with a spouse or life partner in a monogamous or non-monogamous couple relationship.

Life coaching may help in improving communication, collaboration, relationship boundaries, conflict resolution and decision making in your significant relationships.

Life coaching may be an avenue for deciding how best to deal with difficult or contentious family members to maintain healthy boundaries and protect your self from psychological or emotional harm.

Relationship transitions related to aging, illness, separations, divorce, reconciliation, losses, crisis or death can also be helped through a life coaching process.

Creative Expression and Pursuits

Identifying compelling creative ideas, projects, products, services you want to pursue.

Assessing challenges, difficulties and opportunities related to your creative pursuits.

Identifying resources, information, technology and networks that may be helpful in developing your creative pursuits.

Understanding how your creative mediums and process works for you

Areas related to your focus may include: Any creative, innovative or artistic ideas and endeavors, writing, music, drawing, painting, pottery, photography, film, video, animation, comics, performance arts, dance and movement.

Creative Expression and Pursuits

Identifying compelling creative ideas, projects, products, services you want to pursue.

Assessing challenges, difficulties and opportunities related to your creative pursuits.

Identifying resources, information, technology and networks that may be helpful in developing your creative pursuits.

Understanding how your creative mediums and process works for you