Do you keep hearing people around you singing the praises of their life coach — and you’re wondering what the hype is all about? Or maybe you’re wondering what leads to someone hiring a life coach in the first place.
Let’s explore why you need a life coach (or why you don’t need one just yet) and what you can expect from this type of professional relationship.
What is a life coach?
A life coach is a guide who can help you attain your goals in several aspects of your life. Think of the way a sports coach helps athletes achieve their full potential in that discipline… you can apply the same concept to virtually any part of your life!
Not only do life coaches help you achieve your goals, but they can help you clarify what your goals are. If you’re someone who doesn’t have that clarity yet, life coaches can provide a well-needed perspective on your current life situation.
Types of life coaches you can hire
You can find general life coaches who’ll support you in all aspects of your life. But most people have specific needs and desires.
For example, you can find coaches who specialize in:
- Health and wellness
- Mindset
- Career
- Business
- Relationships
- Retirement
- Transitioning to college
- Divorce
- Grief
- Financial
- Spirituality
Some people will need a life coach who has more than one specialty. For instance, let’s say you’ve tried several approaches to weight loss and fitness but cannot achieve your goals despite trying your best. Perhaps you’d get better results with a coach who takes a holistic approach and considers your mindset, relationships, career, spirituality, and more when coming up with the right fitness plan for you.
Who hires life coaches?
Point to any demographic and you’re likely to find people from that group who work with life coaches. In reality, life coaches aren’t just ideal for a few types of people — almost anyone could benefit from working with a life coach at some point in their lives.
Below are just a few of the countless examples of people who hire life coaches:
- Mid-life people looking to transition into a new career
- Teenagers who want to explore career options
- Newly divorced parents who want to get back into dating while navigating single parenthood
- People who want to improve their health
- Someone who isn’t sure where their spiritual beliefs are anymore and want to explore it
- A budding business owner who wants to increase their personal productivity without burning out
- And so many more!
Plus, life coaches aren’t just for “regular” people. In fact, many people became successful in part thanks to the guidance of a coach. If you look at highly successful people in the public eye, many of them have hired life coaches in the past — and many more still work with their coach!
Examples of famous people who’ve hired life coaches include:
- Oprah
- Leonardo DiCaprio
- Hugh Jackman
- Serena Williams
- Von Miller
- Nia Long
- Richard Branson
- Bill Gates
You’ve probably worked closely with successful people who’ve worked with life coaches and you wouldn’t even know!
Why you need a life coach
If you’re unsure whether you need a life coach at this moment of your life, let’s explore why people work with life coaches in the first place.
1. Navigating a big change
Change is hard. People get comfortable with where they are and resist growth by resisting change.
And if you’re facing a big transition in your life, you may be unsure of how to handle it in a healthy way, much less succeed at this transition!
A big change can look like heading off to college, transitioning to a new career, moving across the country (or to a new country entirely), or even starting a new business. Even people who have a healthy support system may struggle to make a smooth transition without additional support.
A life coach can help you see the big picture in your big transition. They can also help you gain the confidence you need to start moving forward with the change. Finally, life coaches can help you clarify what you want out of a transition so that you’re not making random decisions. You’ll have a better chance of landing where you want to when you know how to aim there — which is exactly what a coach can help you do.
2. You lack focus
Do you have a goal you want to achieve, but you constantly get distracted by shiny objections and various ideals? Any big goal needs your full focus if you want to succeed — whether that’s finding your soul mate, launching your dream business, or achieving a specific career goal.
When you work with a life coach, you’ll have someone on your team to keep you grounded while also allowing you to clarify your dream. But a life coach won’t just clarify your goals and give you focus — they’ll help you come up with an actionable plan that gets you there faster than you would on your own.
3. You’re scared of taking action
Have you ever let similar thoughts stop you from doing what you really want to do:
“I’m not good enough to make it.”
“What if I fail?”
“I’m not ready for this yet.”
If so, working with a coach may be just what you need to cultivate your own inner strength and overcome your fears.
Everyone lives with fear, but successful people know how to overcome it and keep growing. And asking for help to overcome that fear isn’t a sign of weakness — rather, it shows you’re willing to be vulnerable and change the way you think.
Working with a coach makes you feel less alone with your fear. You’ll know that with every step you take, you’ll have a cheerleader by your side, ready to catch you if you fall.
4. You feel unfulfilled
It’s not uncommon to feel lost in life. Maybe you feel like you made the wrong career choice ten years ago and don’t know where to go from here. Or maybe you just have a vague feeling of not getting satisfaction from what you do.
For some people, life just feels a little bit “meh” and aimless.
This is where a life coach comes in. Because of the training they undergo, a life coach will know what questions to ask you to clarify why you’re feeling unfulfilled… and what you really want from life.
They’ll help you:
- Clarify what you truly value
- What goals make sense for you at this point in your life
- What you really want to be doing
- What fulfillment means to you
- And so much more!
No one knows you better than yourself, which is why some people feel skeptical about working with a life coach to achieve fulfillment. But life coaches can’t read your mind — instead, they work with you and steer the conversation in a way that helps you uncover what you subconsciously desire.
5. You’re self-sabotaging
Do you have self-destructive habits that are stopping you short of achieving what you want? Unfortunately, many driven people tend to self-sabotage without even realizing it.
For some people, this will look like aimlessly wasting time. For others, it will instead look like avoiding the high-value actions they know can help them succeed.
Life coaches will help you reevaluate your decisions and your actions. They’ll help you discover which of your habits could be sabotaging your efforts to reach success.
This can be especially important for people who’ve had the same habits for a long time. Old patterns can be difficult to break when you’re on your own. They’re even difficult to spot.
Life coaches act as a second pair of eyes that provide a fresh perspective on your life and your habits. What you consider the status quo could be what’s stopping you from achieving success.
Do I need a life coach or a therapist?
Life coaches and therapists have some things in common but shouldn’t be confused with one another. Most importantly, you shouldn’t hire a life coach if you need a therapist, and vice versa!
But how do you know which type of professional you need right now?
If you currently have trauma or other issues you need to overcome and heal, you need a therapist. Therapists provide a safe space where you don’t need to feel pressured to perform or achieve anything. Instead, your goal is to heal and become at ease with yourself.
On the other hand, a life coach can help you find success once you’ve healed. The ideal coach will make you feel comfortable but will also keep you accountable and gently push you towards taking action.
But it’ll be difficult for you to feel at ease and prioritize taking action when you’re still struggling to heal from past trauma.
Here’s an easy way to put it:
If you want to feel better, hire a therapist.
If you want to do better, hire a life coach.
Need a life coach? Here’s how to find your ideal fit
Now that you know why people work with life coaches, you have what you need to figure out if (and why) you need one in your life. Sign up to Coach Compare (it’s free!) and get matched with a life coach who fits your exact needs!
