Everyone has a life coach these days, but do they really work? Here are essential ways a life coach can change your life if you find the right one.
Life coaching has seen a huge boom in the last decade or so.
Thousands of people are getting into this profession, and the biggest reason for that is because there is a massive demand for life coaches.
A life coach is an expert in self-development that motivates you to improve yourself. This often includes helping with…
- Changing habits (such as exercise, diet and sleep).
- Improving relationships (including family, friends, and dating experts).
- Advancing your career and professional goals.
- Managing stress and mental health.
- Living a happier and more fulfilling life.
One of the best parts about hiring a “life coach” is that you can find one who is an expert in almost anything.
Have a problem dating? There’s a “dating coach.” Have a problem with your marriage? There’s a “marriage coach.” Have a problem with public speaking? There’s a “public speaking coach.”
Theoretically, anyone can become a life coach because everyone has some knowledge or expertise about some area in life that they could teach to others.
You may have seen friends or family hire a life coach, and wondered “Can a life coach really change your life?”
The answer is “Yes” a life coach can really change your life, especially if you find a good one who is experienced in the areas of your life you want to improve.
Here are key ways a life coach can help you.
1. A life coach sparks change
Humans are creatures of habit.
Often once we reach a certain age in life, we typically follow the same patterns and routines without ever second-guessing them. We become automatic, just making the same choices everyday without thinking about them.
While this can be a comfortable state to be in, it doesn’t often spark much self-change or self-growth.
A life coach can help you to analyze your current patterns and find ways of changing them.
Life coaches will often gives you tips and suggestions you can “try out” and see how they work for you. These small changes can help you break out of your current patterns and start building new ones.
2. A life coach motivates and holds you accountable
It’s one thing to learn helpful advice, but it’s another thing to actually apply it to your life.
Many people interested in self-improvement become information junkies. They consume a lot of books, articles, and videos about how to improve themselves, but they rarely if ever put it into action.
A life coach can snap you out of this lazy funk. They will keep you motivated and hold you accountable by challenging you to try new things and asking you to report back to them.
This extra level of positive peer pressure can often push people to go the extra mile and actually make a positive change in their lives.
3. A life coach teaches you what works
An experienced life coach has encountered the same problems many, many times.
So when someone reaches out to a life coach to help with “weight loss,” or “improving their communication,” or “starting a blog,” a life coach already has a really clear plan for how they can help that person. Because they’ve already helped that type of person multiple times before.
A good life coach is an expert in their field. Based on their research and experience, they should already have a clear idea of what types of advice work best vs. what doesn’t work.
In fact, if you want to test to see if someone is a good life coach, ask them, “What is a common myth people believe when they come to you for help?”
Often a life coach needs to debunk false perceptions and false beliefs to spark true change in their clients.
4. A life coach is a role model
Role models play an essential role in any type of self-improvement.
No one becomes a great guitarist by never listening to other people play guitar, or becomes a great novelist by never reading other people’s books, or becomes a great athlete by never watching other players when they were young.
Successful people always have others they look up to, to learn from and be inspired by. This is one of the 5 attitudes wired in all happy and successful people.
A life coach can serve as one of many positive role models to help you improve your life.
5. A life coach is a loyal friend
A life coach recognizes that one of the most important needs is for someone to be heard and listened to.
People need loyal friends in their lives that they can open up to and not worry about being judged or ridiculed. All good life coaches know how to shut up and be a good listener sometimes, because that’s a fundamental human need.
Life coaching is a balancing act between giving helpful advice and nudges, while also knowing how to take a step back and just be a good friend.
In this way, a life coach can sometimes become one of the most important types of relationships in your life.
How I ultimately know life coaching works
As someone who has been interested in self-improvement for many years now, I’ve experienced first-hand the benefits of having a life coach.
Throughout my life, I’ve hired multiple life coaches. One of them was early on to help me build confidence and improve my dating skills (this was one of the first reasons I really got into self-improvement). The next coach I hired to help me become a better blogger and start building my own business (such as the website you’re reading here!).
In the future, I will continue to hire new coaches when I need them. Because anyone who is too afraid to ask for help when they need it is ultimately limiting themselves and their full potential.
Not only have I experienced the benefits of life coaching as a receiver of it, but also a giver of it.
I’ve been practicing self-improvement coaching for many years now and I’m continuously amazed at how much my clients benefit from it.
Of course I know what I teach works, because it’s worked for me and I’ve seen it work for many others.
As a life coach myself, there’s always something deeply satisfying about seeing people make positive changes in their lives.
And I have some pretty awesome testimonials to prove it.
Here is one of my favorite testimonials…
“When I first came across The Emotion Machine website pretty much every aspect of my life was in disarray. I was 70+ lbs overweight, I was addicted to some seriously hard drugs, I was jobless, living in an RV, in a horrible relationship and still dealing with trauma that happened to me over a decade ago.
Every morning, for years, I woke up into the nightmare I was living. For months I read Steven’s articles. One by one I started implementing his suggestions. I started believing in myself again and wanting more from my life.
One day, after about a year of working through articles on The Emotion Machine, I received an invitation to work with Steven one-on-one. It was exactly what I needed, and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to get to know the person who had helped me through so much.
It was immediately apparent that Steven was genuinely concerned and knew what he was talking about. I was presented daily with links to professional articles and challenged many times with tasks to help change my thinking and eventually my actions. The quality and quantity of individual attention I received was far beyond anything I expected.
As of today I’ve lost over 50 lbs, I’m sober, I have an amazing job, I live in a nice house, I am in a healthy relationship, but most importantly I’m happy.
What Steven and his coaching offers isn’t some magical, feel better fast, quick fix to all your problems. What it is, is scientifically researched and proven methods that when consistently applied, over time will change you into a happier, more successful, and a more emotionally centered better version of yourself.”
Candice B.
And I still keep in touch with her! That’s just one example of the power of life coaching. You can read a bunch of other testimonials I’ve received here.
Would you like to experience it for yourself? Reach out to me for self-improvement coaching and we can schedule a session soon. I’d love to help you in anyway I can!
Enter your email to stay updated on new articles in self improvement: