Life coach/ self coach

[as5tx]

Friends,

I would like to initiate a discussion on the concept of life coaching. I would like to know what you guys think about it. What does one make of a life coach. Is he a necessacity for every high profile executive or can one make do without a life coach but instead engage in self coaching. And what is self coaching, is it better than having a life coach ? How do you teach yourself, is it better/ easier than having someone to teach you ?

I had a look at some of the discussions that went on in this forum. What are the reasons for someone going for a life coach. Why can't someone coach himself/herself?

[silicon toad2000]

I have found in most things i work at that it helps to have a sounding board at the very least.
I guess it comes down to vocalising your own knowledge or help to look at things from a different perspective.
Some people use life coaches because they believe they don't know how to achieve what they want or have run out of ideas.
I'm not sure how much it is people needing someone to tell them it's ok to spend this time to work on themselves, a lot of people tend to put their family, work, close freinds needs before their own.
Personally I can't forsee myself using one. If I ever start feeling that I don't know what to do I give myself a stern talking to along the lines 'stop being lazy, you do know now just do it'

[Alchemiss]

I think it depends upon your personality. I hired a life coach briefly and found it was not for me. I am highly self-motivated and didn't like feeling additional pressure from her to do what I was already doing. Plus the questions she asked me never seemed to resonate with what I was seeking.

Having said that, a life coach can be great as a cheering squad to encourage you forward, to help you define clear goals and related action items and track your progress, and to help you get unstuck.

[Catlover]

I also tried a life coach for awhile, but decided to move on. The questions I was asked did not resonate for me either. I am highly motivated to action and I found the coach telling me to take smaller steps and not "push" myself so hard. This did not resonate with me either. She didn't seem to "get" some things about me. As time went on, a list of subjects that I didn't want to discuss with her became longer. I believe that the coach used a lot of boiler-plate materials from Coach's U or something like that. Some of these had limited use for me, but others were not all that useful except as an assessment of the present status of things in my life.

I have found that the best info for personal growth for me is coming from this site, Oprah's XM Radio and the personal growth materials I receive from my MLM company, augmented with selected books that I learn about in those places.

[C33]

I think that, because life coaches do not require any kind of training, it might be difficult to find the right one.

For a while, I was part of a group of six women meeting once a week with 2 life coaches. I was new to the all concept of life coaching and visualization, so it all seemed new, for about a minute... than my cynical mind kicked in and I realized I could do the work with a book. It is great to have some support, but it seemed contrived and not genuine,the group setting was not the greatest thing for me, as there were women who were whiny and attention whores who would come to the meetings late and constantly talk about their kids and the challenges of being a mom, when most of the other girls were there for career development.

I have to say that for the price of twenty five dollars per week, it was not worth it, but with a different group of people, it might have been a great social event with positive results.

My advice would be to find a life coach who specializes in your field, for example, if you are an artist, it might be good to find a life coach whose clientele is mostly composed of artists.
Best of luck.

[babuji]

Well I suppose it depends on what one is looking for in a life coach. It should be communicated on the first meeting. If the coach gives you a weird look, then he/she may not be the right person for you.

For example, being a Yoga Instructor, the first question I ask people is what are you looking to gain from Yoga. This way, the expectations are clear from the start.

With anything, if someone is using a cookie-cutter approach to solving your problems, then obviously it won't add much value to you.

[Shamou]

I believe that the best life coach is a “Personal Planner” that you work on every work day…

You use that Personal Planner the same way any corporation would… the difference being that “you” are the corporation… and you are also the Director/Manager… The Director in you points the way… and the Manager manages the resources and effectives…

Seem complicated… but once you have the ball rolling… ten minutes a day will do just fine…

No respectable corporation would be without written objectives, strategies, inventory etc… why should you…???

.

[as5tx]

What i think is that its easier for someone outside to see you and point out a few things that you might not notice. Besides, by having a life coach, you do not sacrifice your own gut feelings and views. In fact, i believe, both go together. This is where good communication helps. My point is this: You can refer books, visit forums etc, but its tough to administer exercise and drills for yourself and track your own progress. How do you do that. How do you point out your own mistakes to yourself ? It is for this reason alone that i think someone from outside would help. However on the flipside, you got to be able to communicate well and the coach needs to understand you well. Besides you must get a genuine person. The key then lies to either getting the right person or somehow trying to mentor yourselves well i.e perform and yet be able to stand apart and analyse yourself. Which of the two alternatives, do you think, is better/ easier ?

[Love]

Well, as for me, I would like to get one. I think it would be just really nice to have. I remember talking with this one lady, not a coach, just a person in my life at the time, who asked the questions a coach would ask and reflected my own thoughts back to me and was the best listener in the world. She never judged, she just yes, I can see x is important to you. And then I think back to what I had been saying, and realize that yes, she had summed it up for me. But if you're super meta-cognitive and always understand what you're about, then probably won't need or want one. I, myself, would appreciate one, and would also like to learn these skills so that I can help young people figure out their own lives!