Are you going through a life transition? Do you feel lost and in need of direction? Do you feel like you’re not living to your fullest potential and keep looking for the “more”? If so, you may benefit from working with a life coach.

A life coach is a great resource to help you lead a better life. Life coaches differ from therapists in many ways. An important one is focus. Therapists focus on “why” certain behavioral patterns occur, and coaches work on “how” to move beyond these patterns.

Life coaches, in short, provide expert companionship for those wanting to move out of their comfort zones and habitual ways (both may actually feel uncomfortable) and explore a different view of the world and their place in it.

If you're considering working with a life coach, you may be wondering what the benefits are. In this article, we will be discussing the benefits of working with a life coach, and how to decide if working with a coach is right for you.

What is a Life Coach?

First, let's define what a life coach is.

A life coach is someone who believes in you. They help you create awareness, take action, and sustain progress towards the change you desire. Life coaches are not counselors or therapists, but rather companions who actively listen, and pointedly inquire.

The relationship is a co-creation of trust and intimacy that builds the scaffolding and accountability for transformational change.

The benefits of working with a life coach can be significant

“{Working with a life coach} has helped me sort through a new life chapter that I am entering and make a concrete plan for an idea that I have been holding for five years. It remained completely in my mind until I began working with Kathy. She helped me solidify my purpose and develop a plan with clear steps to take. This has launched me into action, and I have just begun working with my first client.” Elise P., One of my clients. 🙂

As far as describing what a life coach is, I love the description from growingself.com: a good coach “helps you figure out and fine-tune your way of thinking, feeling, and behaving in order to get more of the outcomes you want.” When your next move is unclear, or you desire more _________ or wish to change ___________ (you fill in the blanks), hiring a life coach may be the best decision you will ever make.

So how do you know if working with a life coach is right for you?

Take some time to reflect on what you want out of life coaching before making any decisions.

The Benefits Of Life Coaching

A life coach can help you in many ways. They can help you tap into and grow personal strengths. They can guide you to focus on what matters most. And they can champion your progress as you become the change you desire.

There are lots of benefits to having a life coach, but ultimately it comes down to what you want out of life coaching. If you’re feeling frustrated with the status quo, ready for more joy and meaning-filled days, if you’re not sure what your next steps should be, or if you just need someone to talk things through with, then working with a life coach could be a great option for you!

Here is a list of 16 benefits of having a life coach. As you go through them I invite you to notice which ones leap off the page and spark something in you. Make a note of those benefits on a separate piece of paper.

Benefit #1: Stay Motivated

One of the number one reasons people seek out life coaching is to help them devote time, energy, and effort to achieve life goals. Incremental progress is celebrated, and setbacks are overcome quickly by way of frequent checkpoints that avoid derailing.

Throughout your life coaching relationship, you’ll likely discover pockets of inspiration in the wins and inner strength in getting through the challenges. Motivation is what gets you moving.

Benefit #2: Improve Self-Confidence

Life coaching helps you increase trust and self-belief. After all, belief in yourself comes from within. All too often, it is worn down by unkind words or what others think of us. A good coaching relationship will help you move past external perceptions.

A study by the International Coaching Federation (IFC) discovered that 80% of people who hired life coaches reported an improvement in self-confidence. Increased confidence often occurs as a result of:

gaining a different perspective
letting go of negative habits and negative thoughts
overcoming mental blocks
finding more life meaning
finding self compassion

In a commencement speech Steve Jobs gave to Stamford University in 2005, he invited the new graduates to step forward with confidence. “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma—which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

Benefit #3: Foster Healthy Relationships

Life coaching helps foster healthy relationships, which are the glue that connects us with the world around us and imparts shared fulfillment in life. Strong relationships are a critical contributor to happiness.

Life coaches introduce and invite experiential learning in the areas of communication techniques, problem-solving, setting boundaries, and ways to improve conflict resolution—all crucial tools for healthy relationships.

The study by the International Coaching Federation (IFC) mentioned previously discovered 73% of people who hired a life coach improved their relationships.

Benefit #4: Cultivate the Positive

Positive Psychology Coaching uses evidence-based concepts and methods to help clients tap into and grow their personal strengths, skills, resources, and knowledge. Life coaching increases awareness of what is innately good and right within you creates an opening for you to develop clarity, hope and self-efficacy. This leads you to experiencing more positive emotions and overall greater happiness.

Benefit #5: Cope Effectively with the Negative

Again, those coaches trained in Positive Psychology Coaching employ the most recent research to help clients work through:

painful emotions
painful experiences
past and present challenges
emerging issues
stress.

Research from leading psychologists in areas such as Mindset, Self-compassion, Habits and Happiness invite clients to shift towards more productive, positive and healthier ways of being.

Benefit #6: Commit to Desired Goals

Life coaching helps you create goals for positive change.

Life coaches's support and accountability inspire action, which leads to sustainable progress. They help you with the life planning process by looking at your life values and identifying gaps. This requires attention and intention during and after each life coaching session.

“It is not enough to love something. You have to take care of it.” From the movie, The Fabelmans.

Benefit #7: Create New Stories

The stories we tell ourselves define who we are; they make up the core of our identity. Dr. David Drake says, “Transformation begins when a client becomes aware of the story holding them back and creates space to formulate a new one. With a renewed sense of awareness, all of life’s puzzle pieces start to fall into place.”

The life coaching relationship is a safe space to begin reframing old stories and authoring new ones. The best life coaches, in fact, are masters at helping you create these new stories. Often, their personal lives demonstrate that in very real ways.

Benefit #8: Explore Purpose In Life

Life coaching helps you explore what your purpose in life is. As we grow through life it makes sense to reassess and tap into our desire and passion from the inside. So often we discover we are living someone else's dream.

Your purpose is your direction in life. Holly Woods, Ph.D., from the Emergence Institute tells us “Clarity of purpose is the antidote of feeling lost and alone.” Clarity inspires, making the path to your goals and dreams much more enjoyable.

Benefit #9: Increase Self-Awareness

Self-awareness requires a strong capacity for introspection and reflection, something which a life coach can help you work towards. It helps you show up authentically in the world. One study found that 67.6% of coaching clients experience a higher level of self-awareness.

Being fully aware of your impact on others and recognizing your flaws, strengths, and unique personality attributes is an extremely rewarding discovery. Self-awareness is a process, one that life coaching is particularly well-suited for.

Benefit #10: Give Life Perspective

Being open-minded, self-aware, and more positive about the future offers us a new perspective on life. As an added bonus, when this happens, we are also open to others perspectives.

Benefit #11: Step Outside of Your Comfort Zones

Life coaches are unbiased companions who can assist you in getting beyond comfort zones. They provide support and safety for you to begin edge walking into new ways of being. They are extremely helpful

Benefit #12: Take Accountability For Actions

Learning about ourselves and our values, purpose, stories brings a heightened level of awareness that allows us the ability to respond to life not react to it. This leads to new levels of responsibility (respond ability) and accountability for the way we act and interact with the world.

Benefit #13: Align With Your Values

A simple yet often unasked question can help you make small steps toward personal growth: Are you living a life that is aligned with your core values? Core values are principles in which you believe deeply and that can help clarify what matters most. Life coaches can help you recognize your values and shape your personal and professional life around them.

Benefit #14: A Greater Sense of Ownership of Self

A core component of positive psychology coaching is the focus on ‘building what’s strong’ rather than ‘fixing what’s wrong’ (Seligman, 2006). This can be a very empowering approach for individuals who get stuck in unhelpful thought patterns, gravitate to negative experiences or emotions, or find it challenging to cultivate more positive ways of approaching challenges.

Focusing on what is strong builds a sense of authenticity that gives us confidence and acceptance to our reality and circumstances.

Benefit #15: Boost Your Emotional Resilience

Life Coaches use different techniques to help clients deal with and process painful emotions, work through emotional blocks and shift limiting beliefs. The focus may be on expressing, understanding and validating emotions. Or the focus may be on shifting a person’s painful, non-productive beliefs and emotions to more pleasurable and productive ones. Either direction encourages emotional awareness, giving clients permission to feel.

Benefit #16: Free Yourself From Fear

Doubts, stress, and fear can hold us back from going after what we want. Working with a life coach can help you meet fears head-on and make those dreams happen. In her popular Ted Talk How To Make Stress Your Friend, psychologist Kelly McGonigal tells us, “Chasing meaning is better for your health than trying to avoid discomfort. Go after what creates meaning in your life. Trust yourself to handle the stress that follows.”

How To Decide If You Need A Life Coach

To work with a life coach, you’ll need to invest in yourself. Is that investment in time and money worth it? It is ultimately up to you to decide.

Here is how you can decide if you need a life coach:

First, review your list of the benefits that spoke to you. Take some time to reflect. Imagine what life could be like if you had more of that thing in your life?

So often we are inspired to do something and then we let it go. If your list revealed specific feelings that you are after then your effort in searching for and reading this article were inspired by something inside of you that wants to change.

Second, expand your interest. Interest is a knowledge emotion. That means that it motivates exploration and learning. It is one of the most common emotions in everyday life.

Another benefit of interest is that it can act as a counterweight to feelings of uncertainty and anxiety as we explore something new. Embrace this interest and move to The third step.

Lastly, take action. If the idea of working with a life coach feels uncomfortable but you are interested, don’t wait. Take one small action to keep your interest alive.

Spend a little more time reading the links in this article. Reach out to a friend to talk about what sparked your interest. Curiosity motivates exploration, risk, and allows us to face the new or unfamiliar challenges that lead to change.

Finding The Right Life Coach For You

By now, you may know that working with a life coach is the right move for you. If that’s the case, your question is now, which life coach should you work with?

Today you can work with a life coach online, and there are thousands of them ready to help you. However, it is important that you take the time to do your research and find the life coach that is right for you.

Criteria #1: Aligns With Your Area of Need (Specialty? Or Focus?)

Life coaches have specific experience that lends itself to helping others.

Whether it be professional or life experience, academic education or certifications, they have acquired a specific skill set to offer. Some examples might help. Leadership, relationship, business, transition, communication, health, career, and even spirituality. The list is endless.

What is the particular forest you find yourself walking in? The invitation is to look for a coach that has already been there and can show you the way.

Criteria #2: Fit

Look for a coach who offers a free initial consultation. This meeting is an opportunity to decide if you want to go on this journey together. An opportunity to ask questions.

There must be a connection. Connection is what builds rapport that leads to trust, and trust is what opens us up to the possibility of change.

Criteria #3: Style

Similar to their areas of expertise, each coach coaches differently based on their personality and training. One style could be very organized and structured sessions while others are more open and free-flowing. Some coaches tend to be warmhearted and supportive while others can be more confronting and direct.

Knowing that their style aligns with your needs will help you find the right life coach for you. Ask your prospective coach how they would describe their style. Take some time to reflect: is that style the type of support you need at this point in your life to achieve your goals?

Criteria #4: Commitment

Entering into a coaching relationship requires attention and intention. Coaching is not a quick fix or silver bullet. Nothing will happen without a desire to truly discover yourself, accept feedback from others, and work hard.

Many coaches require a dedicated time commitment. Know beforehand your willingness and ability to make this type of commitment.

Criteria #5: Investment

Determining your budget is of course an important factor in selecting your coach. Based on their target demographic and their experience level you can expect to see fees anywhere from $50 to $500 per an hour. Remember price is not always an indication of quality.

There is often a reluctance to invest in self. At the end of the day, having the ability to live freely with ease is priceless. You are worth the investment in yourself and your future.

Criteria #5: Credentials

You do not need any specific degree or education to become a life coach. However, it is important to look for a background in psychology, education, wellness, or even business. Additionally coaching certifications from accredited training programs will enhance their credibility.

LinkedIn is a fabulous resource to explore the resumes and life experience of life coaches. Do your research before your free consultation so you are equipped to ask questions. Your preparation will stoke your interest as well as give you peace of mind.

Working With Me as Your Life Coach

If you are looking for a life coach who will inspire hope and sustainable change, I may be the right person to help you. I am a certified life coach who specializes in positive psychology, narrative healing, post traumatic wholeness and the ability to change (positive neuroplasticity). I work with people who are ready for transformation.

When working with clients, I help them grow the strengths they need, experience new ways of being and build the confidence to be different in the world. If you would like to learn more about my life coaching, please book a free call using this link.

“You are under no obligation to be the person you were 5 minutes ago.” Alan Watts

Life Coach Benefits and How to Decide if You Need One