Life Coaching

Living a healthy and fulfilled life can be a challenge.  You search the internet, but it’s hard to find the right path.  Luckily, there are motivated and well-trained people in the world whose major focus is to help other people to get organized and moving toward a healthier life.  These experts fall into two categories:  life coaches and counselors/therapists.  Again, Living Healthy List is here to help you decide if this approach is right for you.  There’s a lot to consider.

First, some basic concepts.

Life Coaching Vs Counseling/Therapy?

Now that I’ve touched on it let’s talk about life coaching vs counseling or therapy. Counseling and therapy are basically the same things.  I use the word counseling because there is less stigma associated with it.

So, is there a difference between coaching and counseling? Yes, but it’s not that simple.

Coaching and counseling serve specific purposes but they overlap a fair amount.

Both coaches and counselors create a safe and positive space for their client/patient as a medium for change and although life coaching and therapy can complement each other, life coaching is not therapy.

Through coaching, you develop strategic actions to help you move forward. Coaching does not attempt to explain behaviors, delve into your past, or identify pathology.

Coaching focuses on the present and the future by helping clients set realistic goals to create the future they desire.   They help you tap into the resources you already have which allows you to function at a higher level.

Most life coaches hold at least one or more certifications with many having additional degrees that complement their coaching practice.  However, there is no licensing board for life coaches.

Life coaches are ill-equipped and cannot diagnose mental health, a stigma that may keep people from seeking the help they need.

Counselors or therapists, by contrast, spend more time examining your past looking for solutions to emotional and mental health concerns than they do focusing on the future.

A counselor can help you heal past hurts and deep wounds.  They can help treat mental health or substance abuse problem which includes everything from adjustment issues or divorce to severe issues such as PTSD.  Sessions with a counselor are generally covered by insurance and health savings accounts.

Counselors and therapists are licensed and regulated by each state, which helps ensure proper training and ethical and legal standards are followed.  Additionally, it may put you at ease to know that your confidentiality (with certain limitations) is protected by law.

What does a Life Coach do?

  • Helps you tap into your full potential, help you achieve goals, overcome obstacles, and make changes or shifts in your life.
  • Helps you break through barriers, limiting beliefs, and to develop new habits and skills. They empower you to set goals and establish accountability for your personal and professional success so you can reach your goals. 
  • Serves as an objective sounding board to help keep you focused and on track. They help you create proactive steps to live the life you want, rather than try to figure out what’s “wrong” with you.
  • A life coach works with you- the client, as a partner, and does not tell you what to do. Instead, they are trained to ask evocative questions that guide you to the conclusions on your own; you have the answers to create the changes you seek. Their job is to coax them out of you.
  • A coach is limited in their scope of practice when it comes to serious issues like depression, addiction, chronic anxiety, etc. If you are experiencing any of these situations a good life coach will refer you to a counselor or therapist either instead of or in conjunction with coaching.

 

10 reasons why you should work with a life coach

Studies conducted by the International Coaching Federation on the effectiveness of life coaching showed 99% of the people they interviewed saw their experience working with a life coach as rewarding. b96% stated they would do it again. Additionally, 65% said working with a coach helped them improve their performance at work, and 80% said it helped improve their confidence. These statistics show that you can get a lot out of working with a Life Coach.

How do I find a coach that’s right for me?

There are many different methods of coaching. A quick Google search for “Life Coach” gave us 435,000,000 results and we found everything from lifestyle coaches to mindset coaches to vision coaches.  I even found a high priestess in Iowa who was listed as a Life Coach.

So, how do you find a coach who is right for you?

  • The first thing to do is to get clear on your core values and what success means to you.
  • Consider your needs and your goals to decide whether working with a coach or a counselor right for you.
  • Check out their website. You will gain great insight as to the type of coaching you can expect by visiting a coach’s website. Their “About Me” page will tell you about the coach, their story, and their philosophy.
  • Check out Google Reviews and Testimonials
  • Schedule a free session with several coaches as an interview process. During that initial conversation, you will get a feel for the coaches to ascertain whether they are a good “fit” with their personality, approach, and values.
  • Don’t be afraid to ask the coach questions. You are interviewing them, remember.  The ball is in your court.
  • The coach should be intuitive, curious, and they should ask questions that help guide the conversation. They should be a good listener too and clearly values the connection you are making with them.

During a discovery call with a coach and ask yourself, “ How is this conversation is making me feel”.  Is it resonating with you and connecting you to a deeper part of yourself? It’s OK to feel uncomfortable.  The goal of coaching is to make you uncomfortable so you can move you in the right direction.  Listen to your intuition; you’ll know whether this is the right coach for you.

There are plenty of coaches posting on Instagram and Facebook and have lots of followers which leads us to believe that they are incredibly successful and therefore THE coach of choice. Yes, it is essential for any business owner, Life coaches included, to advertise on these platforms but I caution you not to fall for the shiny object they may be dangling.  It may be a lot of smoke and mirrors.

I hadn’t done my due diligence.  At Living Healthy List we hope to help you avoid that!

Why Pay For A Life Coach?

You’ve probably always turned to your mom or your BFF in times of doubt, struggle, or whenever you needed guidance, right?  You may walk away feeling a little better yet no closer to solving your problem or creating the life you want to live.

Family and friends will have your best interests in mind and because they don’t want to hurt your feelings they may not tell you something that you may need to hear so rarely can they offer you the best solution.

A life coach is trained to see your strengths, call you out when you are stuck in a limiting belief and ask you the right questions to help you master your mindset and transform the way you live your life.

Here’s another way to think of it… Would you ask your neighbor to fix your leaky roof or your nephew to give you tips on how to invest your money?  Only if they were an expert carpenter or financial planner, right?  Instead, you would hire a professional.

Do you have a cellphone, laptop, or satellite TV?  You at least have the first two and you pay for them… because?  You pay for them because you see value in them.

When you pay for a coach to guide you to the life you’ve always wanted to live you are putting that value in yourself.

When you value yourself above other things (and people) paying to have a coach guide you to that dream is essentially a no brainer!

Cost of Coaching

So now you’re getting excited about working with a life coach but there’s that uncomfortable subject of money that we haven’t touch on yet. You’re wondering…

How much is a life coach going to cost me?

Most life coaches charge somewhere between $75 and $250 per hour. However, you can find coaches who fall way outside of that range and usually on the higher end.  A seasoned coach with a great track record does not come cheap.

You can get some value from a single coaching session but the real benefit of hiring a life coach is experienced through an on-going relationship aimed at achieving your goals.  It’s hard to do that in one session!

For this reason, most coaches offer programs or packages for as little as 6 weeks to an entire year.  That’s 12 months!  Depending on the coach and the amount of time you will have direct contact with them,  packages can range from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars a month. Sometimes you are required to pay in full and others provide a monthly payment option?

Like anything else, you should invest your money wisely but don’t base your choice of life coach solely on the cost. Make sure you find a coach that is a good fit and has the training and experience to move you forward in your life.  The money you invest with a life coach should be well worth it.

Go with Your Gut – Trust Your instincts

At the end of a discovery call, you will be asked if you want to proceed and begin coaching. If you feel confident that this is the right choice, great!

If you’re not sure then say no.  A good coach will ask you why and even ask if they can coach you around the subject to determine whether your limiting beliefs are holding you back or if it’s something else.  That’s OK and it is beneficial for you to experience how they actually coach.

If you’re still not sure, end the conversation.  You can always call them back.  They’d be happy to hear from you!

You should not feel pressured or bullied to make such an important decision. There are coaches who follow these hard sales tactics and try to guilt you into signing with them.  Remember, it’s your decision not theirs!

When you do decide to work with a life coach before you sign anything or give them your credit card, we encourage you to read the contract agreement.  Yes, they are long and boring but it’s essential that you understand what your commitment is to the coach and what their commitment is to you.

At Living Healthy List, we understand how frustrating searching the internet for reliable answers can be especially if you end up with more questions than answers.

So…We’ve done the research for you!

We were surprised by many of the query results.  We came across counselors, all sorts of coaches, doctors, angel card readers, hypnotists, therapists, and again the high priestess.

Keywords Searched

Life Coach, life coaching, Authenticity, Business, Personal Coaching, Change coach,  coaching divorce, executive coach, goals happiness, life purpose, law of attraction, leadership life, marriage meditation, mentoring, mindfulness, mindset, motivation, personal development, psychology, purpose, relationship, relationship coach, relationship coaching,  self-development spiritual coach, spirituality, stress, stress management, transformation, transition transformational coach, business coach, business coaching career, career coach, small business coach

There are several coaching directories on the internet. Some of them are free for the coach to list their business on and others charge fees. The lists are not cultivated so basically anyone can sign up for them. In our research we found that none of the directories were complete and many of them limited to the number of coaches on their site, some searched resulting in 0 matches.

Each coach at Living Healthy List has gone through a screening process so we know that they are legitimate coaches and are passionate about helping you. Our list may be limited but it is selective. You can read our Life Coaches bio’s here and connect with them directly.

Also, you can always contact us at Living Healthy List. We’re here to help answer questions, connect you with a life coach, or point you in the right direction.

However, if you want to continue to search on your own, we suggest you do a Google Search

Type in the keywords:

  • Life coach (name of your city or town)
  • Life coach (type in your zip code)

It’s true that a coach doesn’t necessarily need to be in your area as many coaches offer virtual coaching but you may feel more comfortable working with someone locally.

Other Directories

LinkedIn

Noomi

My Coach Match

We hope that you find this information useful and are here to answer any questions.

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