You need a coach for your life? You're damn right!

Jun 15

Before starting my life coach training program (with Martha Beck Wayfinder), I could not have told you what this type of coach was. So, it was no surprise that once I started sharing my new life coaching and consultation gig with prospective clients and curious family members and friends, people had questions about life coaching. I thought what a great opportunity to share some thoughts of mine from working with my initial clients.

What is life coaching?

As a life coach and consult, I’m here to…

· talk to you and listen to what’s most pressing on your mind and heart.

· walk beside you (sometimes literally if you want to Walk & Talk in NoCo).

· focus on you by asking questions.

· help you find your own answers to the big questions in life.

· share nonjudgmental observations and patterns for your consideration.

· offer suggestions for ideas on how to implement your dreams.

The part of the work I love most (well, in addition to hanging out with some really badass women) is the hard, but super rewarding, work of examining limiting thoughts and beliefs, working to loosen those limitations, and walking away feeling lighter and freer and more authentic.

Who needs a life coach anyway?

Here’s a quick checklist for you:

Are you human?

Or are you, at least, having a human experience?

If you answered yes or maybe to either of those, then life coaching can support you!

Seriously, it’s not just for goal-oriented, ambitious career people, although that’s great, too. It’s for people who want to embody their true selves and be more authentic in this journey called life.

Okay, I signed up, now what do we talk about?

Umm, anything and everything! Whatever is on your mind and heart! Relationships, career or jobs, retirement planning, parenting, spiritual pursuit, yoga practice, grieving, you name it, let’s do it!

But Tamara, “I don’t need a coach, I have a therapist or counselor.” Or “I don’t need either, I deal with things myself.”

My response is AWESOME! If life is working for, then, by all means, carry on as you please!

For me, coaching and therapy serve complementary support roles - I have coaches and a therapist in my life. My therapist and I have met regularly over the last few years and together we monitor my mental well-being. Whereas, I have worked with coaches once or twice and on-going and we focus on any number of things. For example, with one awesome coaching training friend, Cindy, she loves to coach on finances so we talk about my beliefs/stories around money and how do I put it all to use for me. I think I could write a whole other post on what I’ve used coaches for in my life over the last year because it’s been so deep work, people!

Coaching can be

· short term or long term,

· through an idea or project phase or through a major life transition,

· planning and vision focused or working to release old beliefs. Often, it’s all these things at the same time because life is complex.

Ultimately, negotiating life these days is stressful and self-care, to me, means having multiple tools so that I can show up every day and be the best version of me and engage as a mom, friend, leader, teacher, co-worker, human.

Sum it up for me…

At the end of the day, life coaching, and my approach to it, is for people who aren’t completely satisfied in any area of life. It’s for people who want a little sweeter day-to-day AND for people who want to make big leaps towards their ideal life.

What other questions do you have about life coaching? I’d love to hear your perceptions about it and talk more.