Life coaching is an effective way to improve your life by helping you identify goals, set priorities, and develop strategies to achieve those goals. It helps you learn how to manage stress, cope with change, and build confidence in yourself. There are many types of life coaching for women that are often labelled with different ‘coach’ titles, like health coach, relationship coach, career coach or homeschool coach. However, all these more defined titles mean is that the coach has chosen to specialize in a certain area of life coaching.
A life coach helps you with your life. As the different sports coaches help athletes get better at their specific sport, a life coach will help you get better in specific areas of your life. Even a coach that just has the general “life coach” title will only focus on specific areas of your life at one time – whether it be related to your health, relationships or career. If you find there is just one area that you need coaching in, then you may want to search out a coach with that specific title as they have zeroed in their coaching skills to help others in that area. Many coaches will also specialize because they have experienced a personal journey of transformation in that area of life, so they can relate well to helping others with similar struggles.
What are the Benefits of Working with a Life Coach
Life coaches provide the tools and knowledge needed for their clients to empower themselves, explore their potential and reach new goals. Through one-on-one sessions with a life coach, women will learn ways to overcome obstacles, challenge negative mindsets, move forward on their goals and develop the mindset for success. While there are a large number of books written to help women in these areas, working with a life coach provides personalized help to an individuals’ unique challenges and allows for open dialogue for the client to identify and work through their issues with the guidance of coaching professional. Coaching generally isn’t a long-term relationship. Most people do well with 3-6 months of meeting regularly (weekly or bi-weekly) with a coach.
The reasons you may want to work with a life coach is to have someone that will:
- help you set, clarify, maintain focus, and achieve your goals.
- hold you accountable for what you say you’re going to do.
- help you establish your own solutions and strategies for your home and life.
- encourage, support, and believe in you even when you may not.
- recognize when you may be holding yourself back—and gently let you know.
- ask the best questions for you to give answers that will guide you in overcoming difficulties.
One of the first steps of life coaching is to determine your values and prioritize what matters the most. This is important so that you can understand how each decision you make fits into improving your overall wellbeing. A life coach can help you take a look at what goals are worth investing your time and energy into, as well as help you set boundaries around activities that don’t align with your values. Focusing on what matters will also give clarity for setting achievable goals.
“In addition to providing all of these benefits, life coaching can also guide you in improving your self-confidence (a particular issue for many women) by uncovering the strengths you have, and the accomplishments that you have achieved, but which may be hidden by a streak of low self-esteem, or perhaps by being unaware that what you can bring to the table is more valuable than you think. As a skilled and objective outside observer, a good life coach will notice things about you that you undervalue, or that you may not even realize are there.” – Jim Weinstein, Founder of DC Life Counseling
Create Action Plans with Accountability & Support
An action plan is a road map for success, and it sets out each step necessary to reach the desired goal or outcome. With the help of a life coach you will have an action plan in place so you can track your progress and make necessary changes along the way. A life coach is also an invaluable source of accountability and support as they encourage and remind you to stay on track with your goals. Having this type of guidance will help you build better habits while ensuring that your efforts are directed towards achieving meaningful results.
Hear are the 4 main steps that you will go through with your coach.
1. Understand Your Goals and Desires
As you and your life coach begin your journey together, it’s important to take the time to understand yourself, your goals and desires. You will spend time figuring out what it is you want from life and build on that by setting clear and achievable goals that will move you closer towards those objectives. This initial stage is essential for developing successful self-improvement strategies and will set the framework for all future coaching sessions.
2. Identify Obstacles and Challenges
Once you’ve established your goals, it’s important to understand the obstacles and challenges standing in the way of achieving them. You and your coach will learn why you haven’t been successful in the past so that you can prepare for and overcome any similar issues should they arise again. Knowing what external or internal factors could potentially put a stop to progress will help you to effectively plan ahead and make sure that every attempt at self-improvement is met with success.
3. Assess Your Strengths and Weaknesses
An important part of personal growth is taking the time to reflect on and assess your current strengths and weaknesses. Taking stock of what has been going right in your life, as well as areas where improvements can be made, can help guide you to reach your future goals. Together with your coach you will make a list or set up a visual representation of these qualities and use it to track progress as you move forward with your self-improvement journey.
4. Set Achievable Benchmarks for Success
Once you’ve assessed your current strengths and weaknesses, it’s time to set realistic goals. Building a path towards your personal growth begins with smart planning. Choose achievable benchmarks and timelines that work for you – big changes don’t happen overnight, but with diligence and focus you can make lasting improvements in your life. Break down ambitious goals into smaller, more manageable chunks that help propel you forward. Setting incremental goals helps to motivate success and keeps you on track for lasting change. In collaboration with your life coach, you will create some type of action plan that will be reviewed during sessions and updated with your progress.
Why Life Coaching Helps Women Achieve
The right life coach can make a huge impact on your journey toward personal growth. Find someone with experience who understands what you’re trying to accomplish. Whether you look for someone with a specific coaching title (like health coach or relationship coach), or just locate a professional with the life coach title, take the time to get to know about their personality and worldview. A life coach is kind of like a professional friend who only wants to talk about you! So, just as you don’t find every person you meet to be the friend-type for you, not every life coach will the best coach for you.
Life coaching works best when the client relates well to the personality of the coach and the coach relates well to the personality of the client. Most coaches will offer a free first-time coaching meeting so they can understand you and your needs and assess whether they will be able to be the best support for you.
If you’re ready to make a change in your life and reach your potential then consider life coaching. Women from all walks of life have found great satisfaction and fulfillment from a coaching relationship. This approach is designed to help you step out of your comfort zone, face challenges head on, and take charge of whatever aspect of your life you want more control in. With the right support, you can create your wonderful life of work and play.
Life coaching for women is an invaluable tool that can help you create lasting change, helping you reach your goals and achieve the life you’ve always wanted. Learn more about life coaching sessions and the action you can take right now to learn how coaching can help you.
If you need a coaching relationship to get more clarity and accountability to live the life you’re really meant to, allow me to help you with your journey!
Written by Steph Morrison
Steph has been building businesses, mostly from home, for over 10 years, motivated by her strong determination that her two youngest boys would be educated at home. Pursuing her calling to help parents enjoy the responsibility of educating their children, she works in the marketing department of The Old Schoolhouse®, and coaches and trains entrepreneurs to start and grow their business from home. Her and her family are perfectly placed in the prairies of Saskatchewan, Canada. She loves being a homebody and building up her permaculture property. Learn more about Steph at the About Steph page.
