To Coach – simply defined as the process of teaching or instructing an individual.
Most know coaching from sports, where it is the process of coaching an individual athlete or group of athletes to higher performance. Sports coaches exist at all levels from pee wee sports to current and future Olympians. Highly successful sports coaches are revered, they are sought out by sports franchises and elite athletes often at a premium that few regular athletes can afford.
The next most known example of a coach comes from those that have experienced Executive Coaching in the corporate world. Again, this type of coaching comes at a great expense by a corporation and are reserved for the limited few at the higher echelons of business. Then there is Relationship Coaching, which may help people find a love interest or develop closer bonds to those around them.
Finally, some may have heard of Coaching but may be unsure of what it is or who it is for. There may be a perception that Coaching is reserved for the wealthy or those in need of help with a serious life issue, perhaps even the question to the meaning of life. In fact, this is just the opposite. Coaching can assist anyone with any question, need or issue.
A Coach is a facilitator, a mentor, and an inquisitor. A good Coach doesn’t teach like a sports coach, nor do they strategize like an Executive Coach might, and they don’t necessarily help you define what are looking for in a partner. Rather a good Coach practices the art of passionately listening and asking reflective questions to help the client define the answer to a question that they already intuitively know.
All of us know, deep down in our subconscious, what we really want from life and when we aren’t truly living the life we are “meant” to live. No matter what direction is needed, be it physical, emotional, spiritual, or professional, a good Coach helps the client simply peel back the layers of self-questioning. They assist the client to understand where their own self-doubt is limiting their progress and assist them in eliminating that doubt so that they can move forward with confidence and clarity. They remove the uncertainty of a plan and assist the client to set goals and “next steps” to achieve their stated intention with a guarantee of success. Coaches help the client to answer, “What do you really want?”, “What is important to you?” and “What will success look like to you?” The Coach asks the questions and the Client does the exploration, together they chart a course to move forward, but only in an area that assures the Client’s buy-in and trust.
For a Coach, there is no specific agenda or goal, simply determining the client’s values, assisting in establishing their priorities and setting the client’s goals from week to week. Whether the client is looking to start a new business, transition professions, discover more meaningful relationships, establish a healthier eating habit, or all the above, the Coach passionately listens and meets the client exactly where they are at and together build upon the blocks for the client’s success.
So, what is it as you think about a Coach that you have been dying to always do, but told yourself you couldn’t?
How do you think about your life today and think about how it could be more fulfilling in the future?
Or Perhaps when have you just felt “stuck” in an aspect of life and just needed to “talk it through” with someone?
If ever you have felt these or any myriad of other instances where you knew there was more potential and purpose in your life…then a Coach, just might be for you. Not just for the elite athlete, not the top executive, and definitely not just for the “Love Connection”, Coaches can help everyone to aspire to the best possible “you” that you can be.
