Is Coaching for You?
Bruce Schneider, founder of IPEC Coaching, developed questions to help assess a person’s readiness for coaching. As you will see below, we have included comments from different women, whose lives have improved from working with a coach. Take a moment to honestly answer these questions for yourself:
1. Am I ready to create more balance in my life?
I used to feel as though my life was spinning out of control. I never seemed to find time for myself between dealing with my family and my job. However, now that I’ve gone through a coaching program, I feel that I have balance. My coach helped me look at how I could better manage my time and how to consciously allot more time for me.
2. Am I ready to improve my personal relationships?
Each relationship that I had been in over the years, whether romantic or platonic, had always turned chaotic in nature. It seemed as if I always had an argument going on with one person or another, and it was upsetting because these were people that I loved. Coaching helped me look at the positives in the people around me. I’ve learned to express my feelings to others and prevent arguments before they occur.
3. Am I ready to make real and positive changes in my life?
Before starting the coaching program, I was terrified of what my future might hold. I was not happy at work, and I felt that I had taken a wrong turn somewhere. I felt there were better things for me, but I didn’t know how to find them. Coaching helped focus my energy on realizing what I wanted for a better life.
4. Am I ready and willing to overcome self-limiting behavior?
I was constantly making excuses for why I was not happy. My victim mentality only progressed as things in my life fell apart. After the divorce and the death of my mother, I decided that it was time for me to stop blaming everyone but myself. Shortly after starting a coaching program, I began rethinking my actions, trying new things, and having unbelievable energy to meet my goals.
5. Am I ready to achieve a sense of fulfillment in life and work?
It wasn’t easy for me to admit that life wasn’t working out quite as I planned. I had expected to be the Director of my department by this age, and I also expected to have more money saved for retirement. I’m a positive person, and so I decided to seek help. My coach not only helped me gain acceptance of where I was in my life, but she also gave me the confidence to finally get that big promotion.
6. Am I ready to create and take action to achieve my goals?
Creating lists and laying out plans was never my strong point, which is why I decided to seek help from a professional when I decided to launch my own business. I knew what I wanted, but I didn’t know if and how I could get it. My coach loyally guided me through the ups and downs of the business start-up, and I can say now that I have exceeded the goals laid out in my business plan.
7. Am I ready for more fun and enjoyment in my life?
My life had become so mundane with television programs and the occasional dinner out with my husband. It began to eat at me because I honestly wasn’t even sure if I still knew how to have fun. It was hard to break from my routine, but I found a coach and started reclaiming my life. Now, I spend each weekend doing something different. Sometimes I’ll go on a bike ride, other weekends I’ll hit the movies. I feel young again, and I think people around me are enjoying the new me, too!
8. Am I ready to say “YES” when it means taking care of me?
After having my second child, I rarely did anything that wasn’t centered on the children. My time was limited between feedings, diaper changes, picking up toys, and doing laundry. I couldn’t remember when I had my last shower, let alone the last time I did something selfish for myself. A Life Empowerment Coach was truly the answer to help me find a happy medium. I’ve now set aside one hour a day for myself – to do whatever my heart desires!
9. Am I ready to reduce the stressors in my life?
With the blue-tooth in my ear and the Blackberry glued to my fingers, it was easy to see that I surrounded myself with my work. Hey, at least it kept me busy and distracted from yelling at strangers in traffic. After another day of working 12+ hours, I realized that my life had gotten way too stressful. I can now say that was the “old me.” I’ve learned to put everything in the correct time and place, and I’ve never felt physically or mentally better.
10. Could I benefit from someone who will help me stay on track?
I always considered myself to be a fiercely independent woman, but I also knew that I had a habit of procrastinating on anything that was not life or death. It wasn’t so much that I didn’t know what to do with my life, as it was more that I didn’t know how to implement a plan to bring my dreams to fruition. Thankfully, my life Empowerment Coach helped me design and conquer that plan of action.
If you answered YES to less than three questions, coaching is not for you right now.
If you answered YES to three to six questions, coaching could help you look at your life from a different viewpoint as well as help you develop a plan of action. You must, however, decide to make the necessary commitment to action for your benefit, or you will not make life-changing improvements.
If you answered YES to more than six of these questions, you are ready for a Life Coach now and are willing to do whatever it takes to create the life you deserve and desire!
