I was recently asked to be a guest blogger for a local health club’s website. Here is that post!
The Benefits of Having a Life Coach
By Jessica (Heller) Parker
Ever heard the term Life Coach, but wondered what exactly that meant?
I know I needed to hear someone explain it to me. Since college I toyed with the idea of counseling or mentoring. My dad is a counselor, so I guess it runs in the blood a little bit. A couple years out of college, I had a friend who introduced me to the profession of Life Coaching.
She had a Life Coach who was extremely helpful to her at a time when she felt like she kept running into dead ends. This person helped get my friend unstuck. It sounded like an interesting profession, but I sort of dismissed the idea for myself, thinking that I needed to get more life experience under my belt before becoming a Life Coach. Little did I know how wrong I was about this assumption.
Being a Life Coach is not about what the coach knows, it is about uncovering for the client who they are at their core, and what it is that they truly want.
The same friend who told me about Life Coaching in 2008 came into town, and over dinner we got to talking about coaching again. She mentioned to me this time that she had never actually met or seen her Life Coach.
Everything was done over the phone (in fact the majority of Life Coaching happens this way). She also mentioned that her coach sounded very much like she was probably a peer (my friend was in her mid-twenties at the time), but she never asked the coach’s age, because that was not what mattered. What mattered to my friend was how effective the coaching had been! Hearing this news gave me what I needed to pursue this vocation, and I am loving it!
I love being a Life Coach because I get to be a part of transformation in a powerful way in someone’s life. A person comes to me for coaching when they are ready to make a change or set a plan, when they are feeling stuck and want to get unstuck, or when they need to talk to someone who is unbiased and outside of the situation and can offer tools needed to achieve goals.
When a person’s values and actions are aligned, that is when they feel most fulfilled in life. The point at which this is not the case causes dissatisfaction, feeling drained, and a disinterest in life and work. A Life Coach helps to make that alignment happen! Through powerful questions and conversation, the client makes a plan of action for the next step to becoming who they want to be.
If there is something that you have been wanting to do for a long time, but are not sure how to go about doing it, a coach can help. If you want to achieve a goal, but need accountability in place to assure you make it happen, Life Coaching is for you. If you have had hopes and dreams, but feel like you need a safe place to talk about them to make those dreams a reality, come talk to me.
If you are still wondering if Life Coaching is for you, shoot me an email at coach@ignitelifecoaching.com or check out the FAQ’s at www.JesHeller.com. There’s no better time to make a change than now!
About the Author
Jessica (Heller) Parker is a professional life coach – passionate about seeing people maximize their abilities and fully express who they are made to be in order to be of service to others. She has a thirst for life, and a love of the outdoors. Formerly a Division I collegiate soccer player, Jes currently resides in Phoenix, is active in her community and loves to maintain health and wholeness. You can find out more at www.ignitelifecoaching.com.