Why should I take on "life coaching"?

Getting started

You do not have to take on life coaching just to be better at your job - although a lot of people do. Forty per cent of Fortune 500 company (the biggest companies in the United States) executives have a life coach. Life coaching is about becoming a better person in all aspects of your life. Oprah Winfrey's motto is "life your best life" and in many ways that is what life coaching is about. Life coaching can help you achieve your goals in many areas, for example:

  • how to be a better employee
  • how to be a better boss
  • how to be a better husband or wife
  • how to be a better sister or brother, daughter or son
  • how to be a better member of the community
  • how to be a better friend
  • how to be in better health
  • how to be a better housekeeper

How do I start?

The truth is, if you are reading about life coaching or are thinking about how to improve yourself, then you have already made the first step. There are four steps of learning, and you've already reached number two. The four steps of learning are:

  1. unconscious unconsciousness - you do not know what it is you do not know
  2. conscious unconsciousness - you know that you do not know something
  3. conscious consciousness - you know what you have to do, but you need to really think about practicing it
  4. conscious unconsciousness - you know something so well, that you do not even need to think about practicing it

The move up to step four will mean that you are constantly striving to be a better person - without even thinking about how you are going to do that - you just do it.

Moving to step three is about changing your actions. The more you change your actions, the more "natural" the new action will become. The move to step four will not happen easily - and it's hard to put a time frame on when it will happen. However when you move into step four, you may at first not realise that you have done so. Once you realise you are doing something without thinking about it, you've reached step four.

What's the next step?

The next thing you need is a goal - or more than one goal. Being goal oriented is very important, because it gives you something to always come back to when you don't know what to do next. However, it's important to set the RIGHT goals. In order to set the right goals, it is handy to use the rule of SMART goals.

  • S - Specific
  • M - Measurable
  • A - Achievable
  • R - Realistic
  • T - Time bound

For each goal that you set, measure it against the SMART checklist. If you goal does not fit all of these criteria, you may need to adjust your goal.

The next important step is to write your goal down. If it is written down it automatically becomes "real" and something that you can remind yourself with. For example, if your goal is to lose weight, writing your goal down and sticking it to the mirror might be a good place. If your goal is to de-stress, it might be a good idea to write your goal down and put it on your car dashboard so that you remind yourself not to get caught up in road rage incidents while sitting in traffic. Go to the page "be your own life coach" for more ideas on writing your goals down.