I am the Life Coach – a what?!
According to biblical sources (Hebrew Old Testament scripture), the first open-ended question ever recorded in history was spoken by God to Adam and Eve. To be precise: after the two ate an apple from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, God asked, “Where are you?” and “Who told you that you were naked?”.
I am not sure that at that moment God was in a mood to listen deeply, so we date the beginning of coaching some centuries later.
It might be the teaching of Confucius (~600 BC) who taught about personal morality, justice and sincerity. There are also ancient Greeks like Epictetus (~150 BC), Plato (~400 BC) or Socrates (~450 BC) that started to emphasize the ethics of self-determination and inner integrity, and many other wise men later.
As you can see saying that life coaching is a modern invention is a bit of an exaggeration. You can also notice that being a coach means to be, in a way, a part of a quite high society 🙂
But what is coaching and how can a coach can help you?
Life coaching is a combination of techniques, methods and behaviorous that help you increase your potential and live the life you have always wanted.
The starting point is a belief that you have much more power than you ever expected and my job is to help you find it. Yes, YOU. I am not kidding!
In practice coaching is a very unique conversation. What magical tools do we use? Simple but very effective! First of all I was trained to listen. It’s not a joke. It is really an art to focus on a different person and listen deeply, actively, intuitively with all your senses.
I also ask a lot of questions. Thanks to them we explore your beliefs, values, expectations and underlying assumptions that are creating your model of the world. We are learning who you are and who you want to be.
We – because on this journey the coachee and the coach are partners. Together we are there to recognize and name your needs and dreams and highlight the most effective way to get them. And believe me, you will feel the changes because you are going to drive them!
Since I am the biggest fan of your success, I am not afraid to confront you with questions and observations you never wanted to hear. Yes, even those that your friend were not brave enough to tell you. I am boldly honest, trust me.
I do it respectfully since my goal is not to convince you to think more like me, but to help you to think more effectively yourself. And this is actually one of the major advantages of a coach over a friend, wife or parents in general. We are here for you and your success with no hidden agenda.
So a coach`s job is to help you find new perspectives and fresh energy so you can recognize, explore and achieve your goals. And also to open up to the fact that you are the only specialist and master of your own life.
Your job is to make a commitment, take responsibility and do what is needs to be done if you want to succeed. It is not easy because it requires a lot of your self-discipline, determination and venturing out of your comfort zone.
But you are not alone anymore! We will be there together with your ups and downs on your way to take off and fly.
Oh yes, fly. Because the whole idea of coaching is not about helping a caterpillar to become a better caterpillar, but to help the caterpillar to become a butterfly.
We just have to find out what flying means to you, first.
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Resources: sparkinside.com, www.motivationeer.com, www.animascoaching.com, J. Starr “The Coaching Manual”, Harlow, 2016, p. 357, H. Herman “ Najdete si sveho martana”, Olomouc, 2014, p.234