I was recently discussing my life coaching business with someone who was fairly new to the concept. I find that many people are, and that there are many misconceptions. So, I decided to take the opportunity in this month’s Monthly Encouraging Word to attempt to shed some light on the subject. I would also like to touch on the question, “Why would somebody seek me as a life coach?” I think this is an important question for me to continuously review. It keeps me focused on others’ needs and helps me to identify potential areas of growth.

So, first--what is life coaching? Well, for me, the first and most essential aspect of the definition is that it’s a relationship. It’s also a process, but one that will only work if a relationship can be established between us. As with any “helping profession,” trust is critical to success. When I am working together with you to help accomplish the goals that are near and dear to your heart, a bond forms. I become invested, too, and I cheer right along with you. As a life coach, it is my responsibility to ask questions, and to perhaps help clarify cloudy thinking.  I can provide suggested direction, help identify roadblocks, encourage progress, and celebrate victories. I can be your guide, your personal (life) trainer, and your accountability partner. I can be the link that connects your thoughts together and the power cord that energizes you to take action. After all, it’s action that bridges the gap between desiring and achieving your goals. Hope can be restored to situations that have been dulled by disappointment. Life can be breathed into things that seemed dead.

Which brings me to another question that should be addressed:  “What is different about Christian life coaching? Does that just mean that my coach is a Christian?” Well, yes, but there’s much more to it than that. Christian coaching is the extra in extraordinary, the super in supernatural. God specializes in new hope and new life:  He said through His Son, Jesus, that He came “…that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:10, NIV) God wants us to live full, productive lives, unrestrained by doubt, fears, confusion, or anything else that would paralyze us from moving forward into the “…good works, which (He) prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:10, NIV) I think Romans 12:2 expresses well why believers should seek Christian life coaches over secular ones:  “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (NIV) The pattern of this world--including the ways that a secular coach might view things--will not lead you closer to understanding or attaining God’s “good, pleasing and perfect will” for your life. Sometimes, as Christians, we get stuck in the ways of the world and find it hard to even determine God’s will for us, much less to feel empowered to walk into it. As your Christian life coach, I can relate to your spiritual struggles and can help you in that process of “renewing your mind” that brings about God’s transformation. A secular coach may urge you to dig down, summon your strength, and seek your answers from within. But what happens when you come to the end of your own strength and wisdom? When you just don’t have any deeper to dig? As a Christian life coach, I recognize that God’s “…power is made perfect in weakness,” (2 Corinthians 12:9, NIV) so I willingly surrender to Him, asking the Holy Spirit to guide our hearts and sessions, and I turn to God’s word for revelation into your circumstances. Having this power available to us makes Christian life coaching the most powerful type of coaching available to the world. 

Finally, “why would somebody seek me as a life coach? Once they recognized the value of coaching, why choose me?” Again, the issue comes back to trust. Can I be trusted? Sometimes, I have mistakenly fallen into the trap of believing that clients will only trust someone who has it all perfectly put together and who can state with confidence that they can help anyone achieve any dream. I start to worry about how I can convince people that I am worthy of their trust. Then I get a check in my spirit and am reminded that it’s not about having to be perfect in order to help others; in fact, God has never employed a perfect person yet! I think the truth is that most people are just looking for someone to be real with them--to care about them and to treat their feelings with respect. Yes, it’s important to bring my skills and experience to the sessions, to use the gifts that God has given me to help you in any way I can, but if I ever start thinking that I am the key, that’s when I begin to lose effectiveness. In a Christian life coaching relationship, the most important ingredient is Christ. He is ultimately the One with the wisdom into your situation--and the good news is, He’s also the One who wants the most for you and who dreams biggest. So, here’s the truth of what I have to offer:

I am perfectly imperfect. I will not claim to be what I am not. I’m still on this journey, too--still in the trenches. I’ll be right by your side--picking you up, holding you up, praying you up, and cheering you up. I won’t bark orders from the sideline; instead, I’ll lead you from the frontline. I care and I LOVE helping people--to see their circumstances and solutions differently, and to see themselves and God differently. It’s all about perspective; it’s how we view things that determines our attitudes and actions. I don’t mean just putting a bow on your trash and calling it treasure; I mean understanding your relationship to your trash--having a proper perspective of who you are and what it is. I don’t have all the answers, but I--with the guidance of the Holy Spirit--can help discover them with you. Life doesn’t come with one-size-fits-all solutions. God is a personal God with individual plans for each of us. We are all co-heirs and co-laborers. I will work alongside you with a vigor you may not have and a perspective you may not see. We all are the body of Christ; I’m just another part, no more or less important than you. Because we are different--with different strengths, talents, and gifts--we can benefit each other in ways we cannot benefit ourselves.

Friend, we are not meant to navigate this life on our own. The Bible tells us to “bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6:2, NKJV) God put coaching upon my heart and gave me the gift of exhortation, or encouragement. It is said that He doesn’t call the equipped, but equips the called. Therefore, I am trusting that He has given me everything necessary to do the “good work“ of coaching that He called me to. I hope that, if you are feeling stuck in attaining your good works, you also will trust God to equip me to help with your particular need.

I hope this has been helpful. As always, I am available for a free consultation to discuss whether coaching will be a good fit. I can be contacted through my website (actionlifecoach.com), Facebook page (Action Life Coaching), or email (actionlifecoach@gmail.com). Please feel free to share this with friends who may also have questions about life coaching and whether it could benefit them.

God bless!