THE MIRACLE OF LIFE COACHING
A well-designed programme of life coaching, when conducted by an ethical, passionate and well-trained practitioner, can be nothing short of life-changing for the clients who experience it.
At New Insights, we refer to this type of life coaching programme as transformational in nature. This distinguishes it from coaching that is more limited, or transactional in nature—aiming simply to establish a goal and develop a way forward, taking into account the current reality experienced by the client.
Transactional life coaching has its place, of course. It is particularly effective for those who have already completed a transformational coaching programme and who desire support and inspiration to sustain their new life and direction.
The profit motive and the path of least resistance
Unfortunately, the profit motive has ensnared some providers of life coach training into taking the path of least resistance. They embrace the commercially fuelled desire for instant gratification, offering courses that dangle the promise of a magic bullet.
Superficial training, that is overly niche in its focus, results in coaches graduating without the necessary broad-based knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to help bring about lasting, transformational change in their clients.
Life coaching dumbed down
Life coaching—always intended to be a specialised, professional field requiring in-depth training and experience—then gets dumbed down to the point where it becomes no more than a simple problem/solution-based intervention.
Despite the instant gratification promises and hype created by marketers trying to prove their worth, when it comes to transforming one’s life for the better, you can take it from me. There are no magical ‘silver bullets’.
Do the work!
Celebrity life coach Iyanla Vanzant puts it so simply, powerfully and succinctly:
“You have to do the work.”
When you embark on a programme of transformational life coaching, your life coach will make it quite clear where the responsibility for action lies. You are the one who will need to do the ‘hard yards’.
A tried and trusted process
But you will enjoy the comfort of a tried and trusted process. Your coach will accompany you every step of the journey, offering a safe space, tools, techniques, caring support, motivation and inspiration—and ensuring there are plenty of fun moments along the way.
And, in the vast majority of cases, the result—after as little as fifteen sessions and six or seven months—is literally life-changing. Many clients equate the experience of transformational life coaching with a personal miracle!
Anna and Nathan
Let’s unpack why this is, with a hypothetical example:
Anna has arrived at what she sees as an inflection point in her life.
After 10 years of working for a corporate employer, she is feeling discontented and has a deep desire for change. But she also feels powerless to bring that change about.
Anna feels exhausted by her job and has completely lost the spark she once had. She feels taken for granted by current management and struggles to see a bright career future with the company.
At the same time, she feels the weight of financial pressure. Her partner is in and out of work, and this just serves to amplify the importance of her regular monthly paycheck.
Anna has resorted to an approach of not ‘rocking the boat’ at work. She suppresses her natural fun, creative nature. She feels stuck with no way out.
Anna approaches Nathan, a New Insights trained and certified life coach.
“I hate my job. My company sucks; I see no future with them. But the economy is in a mess, and when it comes to a stable income, my partner is unreliable, so I can’t leave. I’m stuck with no way forward. I feel resentful.
Nathan, I need your help. But I can’t commit to more than two or three sessions, so you’ll need to work some magic!”
Anna’s situation is representative of a fairly common scenario that clients may present with, wanting life coaching.
The convenience of blaming
When we feel stuck, things aren’t going the way we would like and/or we find ourselves struggling to achieve—or even visualise— our goals and dreams, it is very convenient to blame others or the outside world in general.
Then, when the situation feels overwhelming, we set out to find someone or something, in that very same outside world, that can offer a quick fix for our predicament.
Years of disempowerment
We ignore the fact that, over many years, we may have been subconsciously accumulating disempowering habits and beliefs, indulging in self-defeating behaviours, ignoring our most important personal values, avoiding the question of our purpose in life, and suppressing our emotions and authentic passions.
Why?
Because we have been trying to appease the very same outside world that we conveniently blame for our shortcomings and look to for instant solutions.
Turning a problem into an exciting opportunity
Nathan, being a great life coach, invests some time convincing Anna of the need for transformational life coaching. His approach is to explain that, rather than facing a serious problem, Anna has just unlocked the door to an incredible opportunity.
“It may not feel like it now, Anna, but by coming to see me, you have prepared the groundwork for a defining moment in your life.
That moment happens when you make a courageous decision to start an amazing journey of transformation.
During the journey, you will come to know yourself like never before. You’ll discover the values you have unwittingly buried, smash those disempowering beliefs that have been limiting your potential, discover your true purpose and develop a robust plan to start—and keep on—living the life you love.
I’ll stay with you on the journey to give you all the tools, support and inspiration you need to ensure you don’t waiver from your desired path.
With my help, you will transform your life. All that’s needed from you right now is this:
Commit to the full life coaching programme and accept personal responsibility for taking the actions we agree are needed, along the way.
Now, how does that sound, Anna? Are you ready for the ride of your life?”
