What is life coaching?

25 Mar

And How It Actually Helps You Move Forward

Full moon 25. March 2024

Have you ever wondered what “Life Coaching actually does (beyond being a buzzword) and how it can help you move forward? Then: welcome! you have come to the right place.

Life coaching is a relatively unknown and “young” profession, but contrary to what you might think it actually has been around for a long, long time.

We consider coaching in sport to be completely normal and accept and expect all successful athletes and teams to compete and succeed with a coach by their side;

The principal between a sports coach and a life coach is much the same.

In my own coaching work, I often describe it as walking alongside someone while helping them rediscover their own direction like holding up a mirror to the parts they’ve forgotten.

What does a Life Coach do?

In our work together, I’m not the expert in your life — you are. My role is to ask the right questions, reflect what I see, and help you uncover the insights and actions that move you forward. This process is highly empowering and anyone can benefit from it.

A life coach should be professionally trained (I am a qualified Life Coach, Inner Child therapist and am accredited with ANZCAL) to be able to help you overcome difficulties, setbacks and hurdles, which can range from small issues like feeling stuck or unsure about the future, through to a crisis, or even trauma.

This is something to look out for because the profession is not regulated at this stage and anyone can call themselves a coach.

Life coaching is future orientated and solution based, it is engaging and action driven.

Coaching Is (mainly) About the Future, Not the Past

Future oriented:

This means the focus within a coaching journey lies mainly on the presence (what is now) and the future (who do you want to be, what do you want to achieve, how do you want to feel, how do you want to behave, what life do you really want to live, what relationships are you calling in).

In saying that, coaching focuses a lot on behavior-, feelings-, emotions-, mindset-, thoughts- and action- improvement, which in my coaching practice is being addressed at the root cause that oftentimes lies in the past. Important: this doesn't mean you need to relive the past to overcome certain blocks in your life, it just highlights the need to create awareness as to why you behave the way you behave for instance.

As a coach I frequently act like a mirror to allow my clients to understand fully what is holding them back from moving forward.

Solution based:

Self explanatory, coaching is about moving forward and giving you solutions in the form of actions steps (oftentimes practical exercises) that will help you achieve a goal.

Engaging and action driven:

Each coaching session is about you and your needs - a space in which transformation can happen when you are open to it. The more you are open to the process and curious about where it might take you, the more engaging the session will be.

How I Work With Clients:

All of my clients walk away from each session with at least 3 practical action steps to strengthen what they have learned about themselves.

My approach is holistic and usual includes a range of areas to improve wellbeing.

These exercises could be:

Somatic - working things out through your physical being (i.e. someone with anxiety will be provided with a toolkit to work on physical symptom relief); the somatic aspect to my coaching also includes emotional processing.

Mindset - improving the way you perceive yourself, your life, certain situations, looking at the glass half full rather than half empty

Spiritual - self reflection, self development and spiritual growth, stepping into your essence

Practical - sometimes it's the practical things that need attention (i.e. how to organise your schedule, recognizing priorities, taking regular breaks etc.)

“Every person’s story is different, but the common thread I see in all my clients is the moment they realize they’re capable and deserving of so much more than they’ve been living.”

What is the difference between therapy and coaching?

Many of my clients have tried therapy before and found it helpful, but come to coaching when they want more forward motion and practical solutions.

Have you ever left a counselling session wondering: “I talked it all through but what do I do now?”

Coaching in my opinion fills that gap, the “what do I do now” is covered with the action steps, which to me is fiercely empowering.

It is important to highlight that coaching is not suitable for people going through a mental illness, oftentimes coaching can be a complementary service to psychotherapy or counselling, but is not a substitute.

What Life Coaching Can Help You With:

Below are just some examples, and every person’s story is different, but the common thread I see in all my clients is they realize they’re capable and deserving of so much more than they have been and are currently living.

Feeling lost and isolated after a separation
Moving into parenthood
Overcoming Burnout
Finding clarity in relationships (should I stay or should I go)
Body Image issues (very dear to my heart) - learn to like your body
Confidence issues
Career change
Moving into retirement
Feeling stuck and numb to life (I used to feel happy)
Getting anxiety under control - leaving it behind
limiting beliefs that are holding someone back but they just don’t know how to move on from it
achieving a goal or milestone

These are just some examples and as pointed out before anyone can benefit from a coach by their side, the collaboration nature of coaching makes it a warm, open environment, where everyday problems, or bigger issues can be utilized as a catapult for personal growth.

Let’s Talk — I’d Love to Hear From You

Please feel free to book a free 15-min non committal call or email me with any questions you might have - I am always excited to hear from you.

Much love

Marisa

Did you enjoy this article? each month I post a reflection on a topic that has been predominant for the past month in my life; Sometimes this will include ideas, coaching tools, tips and tricks for you to add to your mental health toolkit to try at home. Want to receive this straight to your inbox?

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