When you think of a coach, it can have many meanings–that guy yelling plays from the sideline, directing his team to the big win. Or, the person who teaches your children how to hit a baseball or kick a soccer ball during weekly practices and games. Over recent years, coaching has increased in popularity with everyone from corporate executives to stay-at-home moms. A coach can be someone who is trained to help you advance your career, fine-tune your finances, navigate the divorce process, lose weight or even organize your closet.

What Does a Life Coach Do?

A true coach’s sole purpose is to help you reach your goals, on your timeline, based upon your desire for a higher level of fulfillment in your life — in any area. Techniques can include visioning, self-awareness exercises, core value determination, and learning to create new patterns of thinking, communication and behavior via various written exercises, role playing and through real life experiences.

To really benefit from working with a coach, you do need to be ready to actively participate in the process. It will require that you do the work outside of the weekly sessions, and genuinely take a proactive role in changing your life for the better. It is action-driven, even if that action is requiring you to sit quietly for 15 minutes each day to start to get your thoughts organized and clear.

How Do I Choose a Life Coach?

Don’t be afraid to ask for references and discuss the specific process that coach utilizes. As with therapy, there are different approaches, techniques and styles. You may prefer to work with a man or woman. You could choose a specialist (such as a Divorce Coach) or a general Life Coach, like me. You’ll want to feel comfortable with their level of experience and source of training. Some coaches are certified, but that isn’t required to be a coach. You’ll need to determine if this is important to you. It’s also important to understand the cost and time requirements each week, and if there is a contract for a specific number of sessions once you get started.

Do I Need a Life Coach If I’m Already Working With a Therapist?

Coaching and therapy are certainly not mutually exclusive. In fact, combining these services can be of great benefit and work hand-in-hand toward getting you on the right path in your life. A therapist is typically more focused on the root causes for feeling the way you do and helping you with coping, communication and more “feelings-driven” issues. A Life Coach is not an analyst and does not deal in the past. A coach will help you to clarify strengths and weaknesses, and what may be holding you back from moving forward or making better decisions in the future. A coach allows you to set the agenda, and guides you through the process of clarifying your goals, determining a timeline, and holding you accountable to action-driven commitments.

You may be hesitant to engage in a coaching relationship, or seek counseling with a therapist. Your perception of those services may be negative, and it may create feelings of vulnerability or weakness that make you uncomfortable. However, the common adage that two heads are better than one is certainly common for a reason. A Life Coach is a sounding board who will give you objective feedback and provide a perspective and insight to which you may be blind. Your current thinking patterns and behaviors have gotten you where you are; however it requires new thinking and behavior to get you where you want to go. That can only be accomplished with your willingness to consider other options, other perspectives and a significant amount of vulnerability.

Life Coaching During Divorce

Divorce is one of the largest transition times in your life. It gives you the opportunity to make decisions to shape your life in the direction you want it to go. Because this is such a difficult time emotionally, having an objective person by your side to keep you focused on achieving your vision is invaluable. It’s much easier to put your needs and desires aside and play it small than to go after what you truly want. As difficult as it may be to think about this, there is no better time!

With your Untangle The Knot membership, you have the opportunity to work with me as part of your service. During your free assessment with me, you’ll begin by completing an online survey that takes about 20 minutes. I will review the results with you via phone, and this information will help you clearly see how your strengths, weaknesses and values will shape everything from how you deal with divorce negotiations, make life decisions and even identify new career options. Meanwhile, Julie Gannon, Untangle The Knot Co-Founder and Divorce Coach, offers a free consult which will help you begin to navigate the divorce process from start to finish, and into single life.