Some thoughts on the value of coaching for certain individuals.
Coaching comes in many varieties based on specific needs. But overall, a coach is someone who can offer you an outside perspective, or feedback, on your current situation. A good coach won’t tell you how to get where you want, but will, instead, help remove the barriers that stand in the way of you realizing what you already know. Most of all, coaching can provide accountability so that you don’t settle for less than what you want from your life goals.
Is Coaching the Same as Therapy?
Coaching and therapy are not the same. Therapy is a medical treatment designed to get to the root of a problem and help you confront, manage, or take medication for that problem.
Coaching works for otherwise healthy individuals who are struggling with frustration, feeling stuck, feeling disappointed with life, unable to enjoy their lives, or other issues.
Therapy looks backward to heal what’s broken. Coaching looks forward to help you get what you want out of life.
Unfortunately, there can be symptomatic overlap between conditions that require therapy and situations that can benefit from coaching alone. For example, if you’re suffering from mild depression, you may need therapy. Maybe there is something going on that’s rooted deep in trauma or is, perhaps, neurological in nature.
On the other hand, many people feel depressed when their lives are out of balance. Whether they’re working too hard for too little or they are unhappy in their relationships or they are pursuing things that are counter to their nature…this sort of circumstantial depression can likely be helped by coaching.
Who is coaching for?
Coaching is for otherwise healthy people who find themselves stuck and don’t know why. This might look like:
- Regularly getting passed up for promotion in spite of working hard.
- Never being able to get a new business fully off the ground.
- Falling into repeated relationship patterns.
- Self-sabotaging before goals are achieved.
- Generally unhappy with the trajectory of life, whether it be in career, relationship, health, or other areas.
The key point in any of these situations is that the person doesn’t know why they are stuck, but they are ready and willing to find out so that they can move forward. That brings us to the final question:
Are you coachable?
You may not be ready for coaching, and that’s okay. It’s important to be honest with yourself. Maybe you have some things to address in therapy first. Maybe you simply aren’t ready.
At Growth Maker’s Lab, we look for individuals who are coachable. That means:
- They have stopped blaming others and decided to take ownership of their circumstances.
- They are open to feedback.
- They recognize the importance of accountability and are ready to network with others who can help them stay accountable.
- They are motivated to be and do their very best.
Coaching, at its core, is just humans helping humans be the best versions of themselves. You live in your day-to-day life all the time, and sometimes you can’t see the forest for the trees. You may not even clearly see just how much value you’re capable of bringing to the world. A good coach and community helps you get other perspectives to give you a clearer picture of what’s going on and help keep you accountable to your vision for your life.