If a person doesn’t pay attention, they can look up and realize that 40 years have passed without any real fulfillment. Life passes so quickly, and it’s so important for people to seize the time they have. This is one of the reasons why life coaches can be transformational figures in the lives of others. If you love the idea of assisting people as they make life-changing shifts, life coaching is a great career to pursue. However, it’s not a career you can merely jump into. It requires skill, intentionality, and your own mindset shifts. Consider some of the ways you can become a great life coach.
1. Practice Listening
If you’re used to interjecting when others talk, now is the time to learn to stop. In fact, when an individual is in a session with you, you need to learn the art of active listening. You want to pay attention to the words that are coming out of the mouths of your clients. You also want to pay attention to their posture, body language, and other non-verbal cues. As you learn how to put the full story together, you’ll gain more insight and details as to where they need the most help. Plus, in many cases, people just want to emote in a safe space. As a life coach, it’s your job to create that safe space for your clients to learn and grow.
2. Learn to Avoid Judgement
Make your office a judgment-free zone. For many people, it’ll take a few mistakes before they get things on the right track. If people feel as though they can’t be honest about their shortcomings, they might not be as open and honest as they need to be in order to get the most from their coaching sessions. Your clients should feel safe enough to be vulnerable. One of the parts of being non-judgmental involves learning how to avoid reactions. Even if you think in a way of disagreement, your visceral responses shouldn’t show up on your countenance as that might lead clients to recoil in fear of judgment or shame.
3. Get Certifications
Even if your friends and family members tell you that you have a knack for coaching, you’ll always want to invest in courses that help you to refine your craft. Certifications and courses also legitimize your practice. While becoming a life coach can be a very fulfilling journey, it involves some training so that you understand how to deal with various personalities, experiences, and potential solutions. Even when you’re immersed in your career as a life coach, never stop taking courses. As you continue to refine your skillset, you’ll be able to open up more doors and opportunities to impact more people.
4. Offer Free Services for Practice
When you’re first starting out, you don’t have any experience. That’s still not an excuse to drop the ball with your first few paying clients. Instead, offer free services in order to gain practice. If you have social media accounts, create a status where you offer three free coaching sessions to the first five people who send a direct message. Then, work your way through those coaching sessions. Before you start the sessions with each individual, ask them to agree to fill out feedback questionnaires. As they finish each session, you can send them a questionnaire in order to learn about their takeaways and their experiences. You’ll also learn how you can improve your process moving forward.
5. Develop a Positive Mindset
A positive mindset is key for anyone who is coaching people through life. Life is challenging. When you have a cheerleader in your corner, they should be upbeat and positive. As a life coach, you’re serving as the cheerleader for your clients. While you don’t have to keep your pompoms nearby, you’ll still want to learn the art of cultivating positivity. Keep a gratitude journal, meditate and learn how to focus your thoughts on the good things that are happening. Get creative in the ways you flip the negative experiences in order to find the positive. You don’t need to be delusional or unrealistic, but learn to find the silver lining in the midst of the struggle.
Life coaching provides the clarity, motivation, and nurturing an individual needs in order to get their life on the right track. When you do the process in the right way, you won’t have clients for years and years. With just a few sessions, you’ll be able to help others in their quests for fulfillment. As you’re able to help others reach their goals, you’ll simultaneously feel a deep sense of purpose and your own fulfillment.
