Any great individual, be they a storyteller, architect, doctor, professional, creative genius, author, teacher, or student of life all have one thing in common- they/we have continually created and recreated themselves.  From the blueprints of self, we have transformed, sharpened skills, created exaction, blossomed from uncertainty, and grown from our sense of curiosity.  We all have within us the ability to create our most profoundly amazing life. 

Life Coaching is a roadmap towards this creation.  As life coach and mentor Michael Malone reminds the students of The Wellness Coaching program:

“I’m not here to tell you what to see, I’m here to help you to see.” 

“I’m not here to tell you how to think, I’m here to help you to think.” 

His language has a profound effect on how his clients and students engage in their process of creating ‘Self.’ 

Life Coaching is a very common buzz word in the world of positive thinking. Many individuals seek out the assistance of life coaches, but have you ever really wondered about the intricacies of this popularized profession? 

We’re here to help you debunk ‘Life Coaching Fact vs. Fiction’ so that you can recruit the assistance of a life coach to help you create yourself in all avenues of your life.  Just a note of caution to our readers, reading any further may just change your life, and we sure hope it does!

Myth #1: It’s not realistic for me to be daydreaming about my ‘wants.’  I have a fulltime job and lots of responsibilities. 

FACT:  Would you ever think of trying to drive your car without a full tank of gas?  What if you viewed the ‘wants’ of your life as ‘gas’ in the tank?  Coach Michael Malone has used this metaphor throughout the coaching program and it’s a visual that creates a level of relatability.  Fuel is imperative to your ability to create.   Fuel is the nourishment of your wants and desires.  Working with a life coach helps you to hone in on your wants and desires.  Perhaps it was your experience to be ‘shamed’ for having ‘wants’ and ‘desires,’ but in working with a life coach, you will be able to embrace your wants and desires.  You will be able to step into the possibilities of your life with greater clarity and excitement.  Just remember friends, you are here to find a passageway back to your innate inner wisdom. 

Myth #1 Debunk Question: “Where would you like to be?” 


Myth #2:  Aren’t coaching and therapy basically the same thing? 

FACT:  Actually, there are some major differences, so let’s identify them so that you gain a clearer understanding of these helping professions.    

As Deborah Davis shares in her chart on the comparison of helping professions, coaching and therapy are vastly different.  Here’s a little cheat sheet to help you navigate: 

If you are looking to deal mostly with a person’s present and helping them to navigate towards a more desirable future, while creating a partnership, and taking into account that emotions are normal and natural, while helping your client to identify any challenges and victories as they work towards their desired goals, then you would be looking for the assistance of a Life Coach.

If on the other hand, you are looking for someone to help you deal mostly with your past trauma and healing, are hoping that the ‘other’ person is an expert on your life, that they view emotions as symptomology that something is wrong, and then in turn are able to diagnose you, and offer you professional expertise towards your healing guidelines, then you would be looking towards the support of a therapeutic relationship. 

Myth #2 Debunk Question: “What is it that brings you satisfaction?”


Myth #3:  I’ve had some really rough experiences in my life, how is coaching going to help me? 

FACT:  Life Coaching creates containment. Michael Malone reminds his students and clients that, “Your life is a laboratory!”  He encourages his clients and students to make the best use of the hard days.  It is the job of your coach to help you access the wisdom that lies within you.  You are the master of creating your future.  Coaches aren’t interested so much in the past as they are in the future.  Michael’s words ring true as he again reminds us that, “I’m a potentiality, not a problem to be fixed.” 

In this typically long term relationship with a life coach, your coach becomes part of the unfoldment of your process.  Coaching can typically take place in person or on-line. In a coaching relationship, a client may be seen 1 to 2 times per month, but this ongoing relationship is clearly identified by client and coach early on.  Perhaps there is an acute situation or an ongoing project that support and encouragement is needed for. 

Myth #3 Debunk Question: “How do we grow the best _______(insert your name.)”?


Myth #4:  Isn’t coaching for people who have ‘problems
?’

FACT:  Coaching is a fabulous arena to explore new ways of thinking and being.  Instead of the client relying on others to offer their wisdom, clients are tapping into the pathways within themselves that offer connection and empowerment.  We tend to be trapped in our problems, but the life coaching relationship is one of deeply focusing on possibilities.  As Michael reminds his students and clients, “You already know what isn’t working, so let’s grow consciousness ya’ll.”

A life coaching relationship fosters an environment where you as the client are given permission to grow your wants.  Perhaps you are a mother wanting to re-join the work force, a father who has placed his passions on the back burner, an employee in charge of a new sales team, a student finishing up your schooling- often times in these scenarios the focus of wants and desires are deeply incongruent with the life that is being lived.  Life Coaching helps you to identify the best lens through which to create and view your life. 

Myth #4 Debunk Question:  “What excites you?  What drains you?”


Myth #5
:  Isn’t having a life coach simply like having another friend?

FACT:  The relationship between life coach and client is not one of friendship in the sense that the coach has a specific relationship to maintain with their client. This relationship is focused on the client.  At times this relationship might challenge, incite discomfort, and provoke new edges of leaning into.  A life coach is interested in helping their clients to become more ‘invested’ in their wants and desires.  This partnership utilizes an optimal design of the client’s life.  The conversations that occur between coach and client involve clarification of the client’s goals.  In most coaching relationships these goals are re-assessed in 30, 60 or 90 days depending on the type of goal.  Coaches assume the role of helping clients to ensure that their actions are congruent with who they are.  This relationship is one of support, containment and flexibility.

Myth #5 Debunk Question: “How could the coaching relationship transform your life?”


About The Wellness institute

If you would like to learn more about The Wellness Institute’s Transpersonal Life Coaching program or to connect with a Life Coach near you, please feel free to contact us.  Reconnect to your ‘desires’ and ‘wants’ and debunk the myths of your life that limit you in  creating yourself.   Remember, “Life isn’t about finding yourself, life is about creating yourself.”

Here is a full listing of our certified Transpersonal Life Coaches