What is life coaching?

Life coaching is about understanding people and helping them to solve their life issues. A good life coach can help you transform your life and lead you in a positive direction. Whether it’s relationships, work pressure, social issues, or fears, a life coach can guide you to overcome them All about life coaching.

Life is said to be, what you believe it to be. A simple fact that completely transformed my life.

I have always been curious to understand people and their emotions better, to help people grow and that has been the fundamental reason for me to be a life coach.

So far my journey as a life coach has been enlightening, empowering, and above all, it’s been helpful. Life coaching sessions have made me understand not just my client’s better but people around me also in a more visionary way. 

Today I want to share with you some basics that I learned on my journey of being a life coach.

The mind and body affect each other,

A happy person will always be appreciative of whatever he/she wears, does and looks like. It doesn’t matter what curve ball life throws on, if they are white or black, tall or short,  a happy person will always feel content in life and that reflects on their mind and body too. 

However, some people have everything in life but still are unhappy because they are not content about where they stand in life. Such people are not happy with themselves. It can be their job or a failed relationship or the way they look.

Have you heard about the saying, “think of the devil and the devil appears!” 

The more you think about your problems, the bigger they become. I have learned this lesson not just by reading or hearing but by practicing it also. The more you think of your happy days, the closer they come to you. (Your actions are obviously necessary)

Happy people are not gifted by God by all the goodness in life, they just choose to look at everything in life from a positive mindset.

To keep your calm read My Happy rule Book

Every behavior has a  positive intention. 

We humans find it very easy to take out mistakes but find it difficult to look at the positive intention behind them.

For example, when someone breaks the glass or the food is extra salty or if the official file is mailed to the wrong person, if not at the receiving end, we choose to react rudely. We rarely look at the bright side. It’s seldom that we realise that the mistake was not on purpose. 

I am not talking about murderers or rapists here. But 9/10 people don’t make the mistakes intentionally.

Before reacting to a situation try and understand the situation from the other person’s point of view too.

How can we understand people better?

Respect the other person’s model of the world

In life, we don’t need to understand our clients or the people around us. But it is essential as a human to respect other people’s point of view.  It doesn’t have to make sense to you.

 For example, A person can be scared of dogs or heights or relationships. Their fear doesn’t have to make sense to you. But all you need to do is to respect their fear, say it’s okay. Try to help them to overcome it. 

 Sometimes hearing, “it’s okay.” And a big tight hug can do wonders.

How to deal with bad people?

There are no bad people in this world,just different opinions coexist. 

There are no bad people in this world but there are 6.7 billion different people. People have different mindsets, beliefs, behaviors, and attitudes.

You can come across people who have bad habits, but that certainly doesn’t make them bad humans. For example, an alcoholic person can be a good human. 

People can behave rudely but the small incident of rudeness doesn’t make them imperfect human.

Behavior, attitude and beliefs can change. We can’t judge a book by it’s cover.

Can we fix a rigid mindset?

A life coach or a layman, in life we often come across people we clearly can see, makes mistakes, but they choose to stand firm and make the mistake. No one is responsible for such people and their decisions.

Say for example, your friend is investing in a company that you know is a fraud. What do you do? You obviously try to explain to your friend. And if your friend still chooses to stand by his decision and loses his money you can’t blame yourself for his loss. Some people have rigid attitudes. They don’t want any suggestions. They are not looking for any change. 

Remember, you can not fix a rigid mind. 

Like they say even God helps those who help themselves.

The above mentioned were some things that can help you understand people better. 

I would like to answer a few of the most commonly asked questions about life coaching.

What does a life coach do?

Life coaching is not about advice giving, counseling, lecturing. It’s not therapy. Life coaching is about understanding your client’s goals, looking for options to solve their issue from a different mindset, and helping them achieve what they want. 

What do life coaches charge per hour? 

Though there is not an authentic answer to this question, life coaches in India can charge from something between 2k to 5k per hour for individual sessions. Executive coaches charge more. 

How much money do life coaches make?

In the U.S it’s about 30,000 -40,000$. Very few life coaches have a six figure income. However, in India the trend has just started.

Is there a demand for life coaches?

With development and success all around us, people often need some guidance to cope up with changes in their life. A life coach can help one overcome his/her biggest problem in life.

Is a life coach with the money?

Yes, definitely! A good life coach can help you transform your life. You can feel peace at heart and can overcome your biggest fear by just following simple steps that seemed impossible earlier.

Do you need a degree to be a life coach?

Not a degree but certification can be helpful to understand people better. Some people even start with some social work initially to just get a clear picture of whether they are willing to take the responsibility of being called a life coach or not. 

How do I know if I need a life coach or not? 

No particular incident or feeling can make one realize that they need to take help from a life coach but I would personally suggest that if you feel stuck or if you feel that can’t handle a situation, consulting a good life coach can always be helpful.

What is the best life coach certification program?

There are many good life coaching courses available online which provided start to end courses at beginner and advanced level. You can contact www.lifecoach.com and www.udemy.com for a better understanding.

What is the future of life coaching? 

Life coaching is one of the fastest-growing sectors in the world. People have now become more open about discussing their problems. The acceptance of taking guidance from a life coach has grown in leaps and bounds over the last decade.

How to become a life coach?

A person who chooses to take up life coaching professionally must find his niche and get a life coaching certificate accordingly. A piece of structured information can be helpful to achieve goals better. after you have decided what you want, prepare a model and keep educating yourself for the same.

What is the difference between therapy and life coaching?

Therapy is about emotional and mental well-being. It’s about healing.

Life coaching is about helping the client to solve their issues in life and help them to look at their life issues from a different angel. Relationships,work or even finding the lost you, a good life coach can help you over come your problems.

Note: 

I have written this blog while pursuing my life coaching course. I have shared some valuable aspects for a better understanding of life coaching. Hope it helps. Keep spreading smiles.

Cheers !

Aakriti.