What is Coaching?
Coaching is a term in the field of personal health and psychology that has many different meanings. My definition of a coach is someone who can help you get from “here” to “there”. For some, that may mean setting new goals to help invigorate yourself or your career. For others, it may mena getting “unstuck”, or finding some new passion or anchor in your life. If you’re somehow just not fulfilled with who you are, where your life is now, or your current performance level, then having a coach to elp you think outside the box may be just what you need.
Whether you’re a young adult in or out of college, a parent, business professional, or an athlete, my goal is to help you tap into those strengths you already possess to put together a plan that will empower you to find new levels of future success and fulfilment.
Isn’t Coaching Just Therapy?
Coaching is very different from traditional therapy. Having done both, I can be clear about their differences. Therapy is helping people whose lives have been impaired in some way, by some problem. These problems typically get in the way of a person’s ability to “take care of business” and be happy. Therapy also may involve significant issues, such as depression, anxiety, ADHD, substance use, etc. In short, it’s helping those with some dysfunction get to a level of functionality.
Coaching, on the other hand, doesn’t assume impairment. It assumes you’re fairly functional to begin with, and then helps you get to new levels of fulfilment. Coaching assumes you’re motivated to do the work. Coaching also assumes you’re capable of making changes through action.
So, in short, therapy is “problem” focused, while coaching is “solution” focused. Therapy tends to be retrospective (thinking about how past issues contribute to impairment), while coaching is prospective (thinking about achieving future goals). Coaching is about empowerment.
Why Do I Need a Coach?
People hire coaches for a variety of reasons. Typically, we think of coaches as providing the structure and motivation to excel. Coaches usually have some “game plan” that will eventually be executed. Same here, except that the game plan is one that you and I develop and work on together, drawing on your unique strengths. You are an equal participant in this process. After all, I want you to be able to take the tools and experiences you’ve learned with you to use on your own.
Enlisting a coach also helps you think of different ways to be creative and resilient when dealing with life, and it’s associated landmines. it’s about seeing yourself from different perspectives. It’s about new challenges and developing that positive attitude that sustains your motivation and creativity.