Feeling Stuck? What about hiring a coach?
Feeling Stuck? Life is ok. Not good, not bad - just there. Definitely not what you thought it would be at this age. The past two years have felt like limbo, but this feels more than limbo. It is like quicksand like stuck. I know that feeling myself, so I get it!
Are you going through the days where you feel like failing every day? Perhaps you are dealing with Imposter Syndrome? Do you feel that you can't find the light at the end of the tunnel even though you keep looking for it? Do you think you aren't organized enough to work on your goals or understand where to start?
Coaching can help you in all of these situations. It can help you in sorting out your lifestyle in a more systematic and intentional manner. A coach enables you to plan and create action plans, instills a sense of accountability in you, motivates you to keep moving, prepares you for future obstacles, and assists you in recognizing your passions and goals. A coach is your biggest cheerleader, empowers you to be the best version of you and calls you out when you do not follow through with what you have asked to be held accountable for.
“Part consultant, part motivational speaker, part therapist and part rent-a-friend, coaches work with managers, entrepreneurs, and just plain folks, helping them define and achieve their goals — career, personal, or most often, both.”
– Newsweek
However, there might be more questions dwelling in your mind regarding coaching and selecting a coach. So let’s dive in and answer them!
Life coaching sometimes gets a bad reputation. Feeling sad and not needing therapy? Hire a life coach and your life will be sunshine & roses. That is NOT what life coaching is about. Life Coaching is a profession that is profoundly different from consulting, mentoring, advice, therapy, or counseling. The coaching process addresses specific personal projects, business successes, general conditions and transitions in the client's personal life, relationships or profession by examining what is going on right now, discovering what your obstacles or challenges might be, and choosing a course of action to make your life be what you want it to be. Every day we make choices to do or not do many things. These choices may range from profound to trivial and each one has an effect that makes our lives more fulfilling or less fulfilling, more balanced or less balanced, that makes our process of living more effective or less effective. Life coaching helps you learn how to make choices that create an effective, balanced and fulfilling life.
Coaching can help you understand yourself better and then set achievable goals to make your life purposeful and successful.
An article in Public Management revealed a study where training alone was compared to life coaching combined with training. The study showed that training alone increased productivity by 22.4% while training combined with weekly life coaching increased productivity by 88%. Here is why:
1) Accountability. Most life coaches have three calls a month with their clients. This regularly scheduled call prompts clients to get more done than they would if left to their own devices. Think about it, if you work out with a personal trainer at the gym, you work much harder than on your own. Clients take bigger actions, set bigger goals and think bigger when they work with a professional coach.
2) Expertise. The trained life coach knows how to help you set the right goals, make more money, and structure your personal and professional life to achieve greater productivity with less effort. You’ll achieve more in less time with the input of an accredited Life Coach on your side.
3) Delivery. A well-trained coach knows how to use the right words so that you are naturally motivated. It doesn’t take brow-beating or nagging when you are working with a skilled life coach. Coaching typically works best with a weekly call so clients have time to integrate new ways of thinking and take action each week toward their goals. Most life coaching is done by phone and delivered in half hour to one hour coaching calls. The experience is challenging and uplifting. You’ll look forward to your weekly calls with your life coach.
4) Speed. Most people find that things start to happen very quickly after hiring a life coach.
How Does Coaching Help You Feel Unstuck?
An essential part of this discussion is 'how'. We do realize that professional help like coaches might assist us in feeling unstuck. But, how does that happen?
Coaches, first, help you explore your thoughts and actions. They aid you in analyzing what makes you feel stuck? Once you reflect on what aspects of your life negatively affect you, it gets easier to amend your lifestyle.
Next, the coaches guide you about your options. What are the possible solutions that make you feel unstuck? They help you understand how to make a good decision and how to weigh down your options smartly. It is essential that you learn how to choose between several options and which options are good for you.
After you have identified your options and made a wise decision with the support of your coach, you can start working on your action plan. The coach helps you create an efficient and practical action plan and then holds you accountable for it. This way, you not only feel unstuck but also productive, confident, and motivated. In addition, you learn how to fight your battles and how to overcome obstacles effectively.
How to Find the Best Coach?
You spend a lot of time with your coach. You trust them with your problems, you become vulnerable with them, and you believe that their intentions are very true when they hold you accountable. Therefore, you must choose the right person to build this relationship. They have BIG shoes to fill! But the shoes can be filled with an amazing partnership.
What to look for in your coach?
● Confidence
Your coach should be confident. By confidence, we do not mean that they have answers to everything you ask or are undoubtedly correct every time. By confidence, we suggest they own their actions. They are accountable for their deeds and take ownership of the
decision they make, whether the outcome is positive or negative. They communicate confidently, and they stand by what they think is right. Confidence isn’t being perfect, but rather acknowledging this!
● Experience
It's good to have your coach have relevant experience in the aspect you are looking for. This means the coach might have 15 years of tremendous experience in this field, but if he has worked with clients facing financial issues all these years. He might not be a good fit to coach you concerning your relationship issues or career issues.
● They are themselves!
When you open up to a coach, you expect them to be authentic. You trust them that they are equally a part of your relationship, and hence they should be pure and true with you.
Therefore, it is crucial that your coach is genuine and doesn't show themselves what they are not. Without trust, there is no relationship.
● Creativity
Coaches do not have strict guidelines to follow; they have the freedom to create something unique and specific according to you. They aren't a textbook that you need to follow. They should be able to amend and alter according to your needs. Your coach should be your voice.
● Passion
No individual can succeed if they do not like what they do. A passionless coach will never bring out the best in you. Your coach needs to love what he does, and he should be passionate about their craft and their position to help you.
All in all, coaching can be a life-changing experience for you. Therefore, choose your coach wisely!