Life Coaching: Definition
Life Coaching is about getting results and understanding that normally people have more resources than they are currently using. Everyone can use some help once in awhile. Life Coaches can be a valuable resource to anyone who wants to save years of training or struggling with a problem. One of the advantages of Life Coaching is it can be done over the phone or via the internet. A client can touch base with their coach from anywhere around the world and continue to work towards accomplishing their goals. Each Certified Life Coach has been trained to help a person get the results they want or should have the responsibility to refer the person to someone who can help them. There are Life Coaches for learning how to speak better in public, for understanding how to communicate better, for dealing with the loss of a job or loved one. For every situation in life, there is someone ready and willing to help.
Vocational Life Coaching is helping people understand there is more to life than just going to a job every day. A job is what we do while we discover what our true vocation is. A Vocation is when all of our gifts and talents are utilized and we can grow beyond our expectations. When someone starts working in their actual vocation, life becomes easier, simpler and more fulfilling. It is almost an instantaneous event. Has there ever been a time or event in your life when you had more energy after than you did before? Is there something you cannot stop thinking about, daydreaming about when you are at your job? All of these thoughts and insights can help you understand what it is that you are made to do, that God has placed deep within your heart and created you with specific skills and talents. When you start using these talents then you will actually have more energy afterward. You will feel better and live a more enjoyable life.
The goal of Vocational Life coaching is to use basic personality tests to determine where your strengths and weaknesses are. However, in order to live fully into who you are supposed to be, the goal is mainly to improve your strengths and accept your weaknesses, not fix them. Through a better understanding of what makes a person tick, or why a person reacts in certain ways at certain events, a vocation life coach can help you determine the best possible line of work out there for you. Your life can be better with a simple understanding of what you should be doing as opposed to what you are currently doing. After several sessions with a vocation life coach, you should be able to understand where you need to work on to improve your life and make your whole life experience more enjoyable and worthwhile.
Vocational Life Coaching is helping people understand there is more to life than just going to a job every day. A job is what we do while we discover what our true vocation is. A Vocation is when all of our gifts and talents are utilized and we can grow beyond our expectations. When someone starts working in their actual vocation, life becomes easier, simpler and more fulfilling. It is almost an instantaneous event. Has there ever been a time or event in your life when you had more energy after than you did before? Is there something you cannot stop thinking about, daydreaming about when you are at your job? All of these thoughts and insights can help you understand what it is that you are made to do, that God has placed deep within your heart and created you with specific skills and talents. When you start using these talents then you will actually have more energy afterward. You will feel better and live a more enjoyable life.
The goal of Vocational Life coaching is to use basic personality tests to determine where your strengths and weaknesses are. However, in order to live fully into who you are supposed to be, the goal is mainly to improve your strengths and accept your weaknesses, not fix them. Through a better understanding of what makes a person tick, or why a person reacts in certain ways at certain events, a vocation life coach can help you determine the best possible line of work out there for you. Your life can be better with a simple understanding of what you should be doing as opposed to what you are currently doing. After several sessions with a vocation life coach, you should be able to understand where you need to work on to improve your life and make your whole life experience more enjoyable and worthwhile.
What a Life Coach Session should include
A Life Coach will also help someone stay accountable for their actions. This will help get results in a shorter time frame. There are several key words to remember when determining what Vocational Life coach you should choose. Three of them are GROW, SMART and REAL. GROW means each session is focused on what the stated Goal is. Then the client and coach will discuss what the current Reality is, how it is affecting the goal and obtaining the results the client desires. If there are any Obstacles in the path, they are evaluated and both the client and coach will brainstorm different approaches to either reduce the affect of the obstacle or find a way to avoid the obstacle completely. Finally the session will include a Way forward, always looking to the future with the goal in place.
SMART goals should be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and have a realistic Time table.
Specific Broad far reaching goals are not as effective as simple easy to monitor goals. If someone wants to lose weight, then the goal needs to be how much weight or specifically how the weight loss is going to be achieved. The goals need to be set by the client, however, the coach is the one who will help focus in one the important and obtainable aspects of the goal so that the goal can be reached in less time and with less unwanted effort.
Measurable There needs to be a clear end in sight. If someone wants to learn a new language, then you need to build your vocabulary, learn grammar or practice basic conversation skills. If you do not have goals that can be clearly aligned to the final project, obtaining your true vocation in life and really enjoying what you do day in and day out, then there is no need to work on those goals. Having a clearly measured goal, with a clearly defined beginning and ending is essential to feeling success and achieving your goals.
Attainable If the goal is not attainable it only serves as a road block. There are too many challenges in life already, we do not need to add more by creating goals that no one can possibly reach. Learning every language in the world is not an attainable goal for most people, however learning one or two is quite possible. People have big dreams, and these dreams need to be supported by clearly marked attainable check points to help people continue on their path to obtaining their true vocation.
Relevant There is no reason to work on tasks if they do not help you obtain the goal in mind. A good life coach will stop people from just spinning their wheels and not going anywhere. By clearly understanding how the goals and the tasks are related a life coach can help someone continually move forward, getting results much faster than if someone were to try and accomplish the change by themselves.
Time Table Knowing a clear deadline is one of the more effective ways that a person can reach their goals. If the client knows a project or paper is due at a specific time it will be done, if they want to move up the success ladder. The client and the coach will have a clearly defined time table with accountability on both sides to make sure the steps towards the goal are going on schedule and are still helping to achieve the success both want. The sooner a person can start working in their vocation the better their life will be. Everyone wants to work in a job that makes us happy, energized and excited to go to work each day. Everyone has a job like that, and it is the goal of a Vocational Life Coach to help people obtain that goal.
Specific Broad far reaching goals are not as effective as simple easy to monitor goals. If someone wants to lose weight, then the goal needs to be how much weight or specifically how the weight loss is going to be achieved. The goals need to be set by the client, however, the coach is the one who will help focus in one the important and obtainable aspects of the goal so that the goal can be reached in less time and with less unwanted effort.
Measurable There needs to be a clear end in sight. If someone wants to learn a new language, then you need to build your vocabulary, learn grammar or practice basic conversation skills. If you do not have goals that can be clearly aligned to the final project, obtaining your true vocation in life and really enjoying what you do day in and day out, then there is no need to work on those goals. Having a clearly measured goal, with a clearly defined beginning and ending is essential to feeling success and achieving your goals.
Attainable If the goal is not attainable it only serves as a road block. There are too many challenges in life already, we do not need to add more by creating goals that no one can possibly reach. Learning every language in the world is not an attainable goal for most people, however learning one or two is quite possible. People have big dreams, and these dreams need to be supported by clearly marked attainable check points to help people continue on their path to obtaining their true vocation.
Relevant There is no reason to work on tasks if they do not help you obtain the goal in mind. A good life coach will stop people from just spinning their wheels and not going anywhere. By clearly understanding how the goals and the tasks are related a life coach can help someone continually move forward, getting results much faster than if someone were to try and accomplish the change by themselves.
Time Table Knowing a clear deadline is one of the more effective ways that a person can reach their goals. If the client knows a project or paper is due at a specific time it will be done, if they want to move up the success ladder. The client and the coach will have a clearly defined time table with accountability on both sides to make sure the steps towards the goal are going on schedule and are still helping to achieve the success both want. The sooner a person can start working in their vocation the better their life will be. Everyone wants to work in a job that makes us happy, energized and excited to go to work each day. Everyone has a job like that, and it is the goal of a Vocational Life Coach to help people obtain that goal.
Make Sure the Life Coach is REAL
It is important the life coach you decide to hire is REAL, and here each letter can mean more than one attribute. R can mean Reliable, Relational or Results. Make sure the Life Coach is going to be there when they say they are and going to do what they say they are going to do. A REAL Life Coach walks the walk and actually does what they say. It is important to have that kind of model when searching for the right vocation in your life. Also if the Life Coach is not relational, if you do not get along with them, then the whole process will fail. You need to be able to trust in the coach, and allow them to help you through difficult times, speed bumps, minor set backs and other problems.
R is for Relational. If they are not relational, then you will get more frustrated than you need to and the whole process could break down and you would lose the time spent with the coach and achieve nothing. The goal of every Life Coach is Results, you should be able to see results with every session and each session should build on the last and lead to the next.
E can be Ethical or Effective. If the coach is not ethical, end the relationship immediately. There is no reason you should spend time with someone who might use the information you share against you later. The sessions are meant to be helpful and reflective and you should do most of the talking and goal setting. If the coach seems to just be digging up information that you are embarrassed or ashamed about, find another coach, do not give up on Life Coaching. They should also be Effective. The Life Coach should have enough tools in their tool box to help you through any challenge or be able to work with you to understand what is going on. The goal is always to find the right occupation for you, to allow you to find the job that will make you feel better and be happier each and every day. If the coaching sessions do not seem to be helping or leading anywhere, find another coach.
A can be Adviser, Accountable or Advocate. The best Life Coaches out there are going to walk with you through the challenges and help you identify the landmines that might be in the way. It is a great skill to learn from your own mistakes, but a even greater gift to learn from other people's mistakes. A Life Coach can help you identify and understand other mistakes that people have made so you can quickly and effectively begin your vocation in earnest. No session will be complete without the coach keeping you accountable to your goals. If you are not held accountable, then very little will get done. The coach is going to push and help you obtain everything you need to start your vocation, but they will also be there to make sure you toe the line and do what you say you are going to do. Everything you do to become more accountable is going to help you in achieving your goal and obtaining your perfect vocation. They should also be your advocate. Your life coach should be your greatest cheerleader and supporter. They need to be there at the good and bad times, and if they are not the first person to say how wonderful your success is and how much more you need to work when you fail, then they are the wrong coach for you.
L can be Liberating or Licensed. The coaching sessions should help you feel free to be the person you were created to be. Allowing you to make sure you are serving others in the perfect fit, a vocation, and helping you to be the person you want to be the most. The change can be challenging, but when everything is done you should feel more free to live your life the way you know you can live your life. The coach should also have some proof of being certified or licensed. They need to have proof of being educated and have a backing from a recognized institution. Do not trust them at first, do some research about where they received their education and make sure they are who they say they are.
A Little About Me
It is important the life coach you decide to hire is REAL, and here each letter can mean more than one attribute. R can mean Reliable, Relational or Results. Make sure the Life Coach is going to be there when they say they are and going to do what they say they are going to do. A REAL Life Coach walks the walk and actually does what they say. It is important to have that kind of model when searching for the right vocation in your life. Also if the Life Coach is not relational, if you do not get along with them, then the whole process will fail. You need to be able to trust in the coach, and allow them to help you through difficult times, speed bumps, minor set backs and other problems.
R is for Relational. If they are not relational, then you will get more frustrated than you need to and the whole process could break down and you would lose the time spent with the coach and achieve nothing. The goal of every Life Coach is Results, you should be able to see results with every session and each session should build on the last and lead to the next.
E can be Ethical or Effective. If the coach is not ethical, end the relationship immediately. There is no reason you should spend time with someone who might use the information you share against you later. The sessions are meant to be helpful and reflective and you should do most of the talking and goal setting. If the coach seems to just be digging up information that you are embarrassed or ashamed about, find another coach, do not give up on Life Coaching. They should also be Effective. The Life Coach should have enough tools in their tool box to help you through any challenge or be able to work with you to understand what is going on. The goal is always to find the right occupation for you, to allow you to find the job that will make you feel better and be happier each and every day. If the coaching sessions do not seem to be helping or leading anywhere, find another coach.
A can be Adviser, Accountable or Advocate. The best Life Coaches out there are going to walk with you through the challenges and help you identify the landmines that might be in the way. It is a great skill to learn from your own mistakes, but a even greater gift to learn from other people's mistakes. A Life Coach can help you identify and understand other mistakes that people have made so you can quickly and effectively begin your vocation in earnest. No session will be complete without the coach keeping you accountable to your goals. If you are not held accountable, then very little will get done. The coach is going to push and help you obtain everything you need to start your vocation, but they will also be there to make sure you toe the line and do what you say you are going to do. Everything you do to become more accountable is going to help you in achieving your goal and obtaining your perfect vocation. They should also be your advocate. Your life coach should be your greatest cheerleader and supporter. They need to be there at the good and bad times, and if they are not the first person to say how wonderful your success is and how much more you need to work when you fail, then they are the wrong coach for you.
L can be Liberating or Licensed. The coaching sessions should help you feel free to be the person you were created to be. Allowing you to make sure you are serving others in the perfect fit, a vocation, and helping you to be the person you want to be the most. The change can be challenging, but when everything is done you should feel more free to live your life the way you know you can live your life. The coach should also have some proof of being certified or licensed. They need to have proof of being educated and have a backing from a recognized institution. Do not trust them at first, do some research about where they received their education and make sure they are who they say they are.
A Little About Me
I am a minister of the Presbyterian Church (PCUSA). I am currently taking classes to become a Biblical Counselor and also a Life Coach through Light University (http://www.lightuonline.com) and the the American Association of Christian Counselors (http://www.aacc.net). I have been helping people solve and work through their problems for many years and would like to help others. I have lived in several parts of the United States and have been employed by many different companies before I found my true calling as a minister. I understand many of the frustrations of being unhappy in your current state of life, either by the job you show up to for work, where you live, or how you view life in general. If you would like to contact me about Life Coaching or Biblical Counseling feel free to email me (revakins23@gmail.com). If you want to read more articles I have published about life coaching in general, feel free to visit these websites:
http://rev-akins.hubpages.com/hub/What-is-a-Life-Coach-anyway
http://rev-akins.hubpages.com/hub/Creating-a-personal-mission-statement
Blessings on your journey of life.
http://rev-akins.hubpages.com/hub/What-is-a-Life-Coach-anyway
http://rev-akins.hubpages.com/hub/Creating-a-personal-mission-statement
Blessings on your journey of life.
