When I think of coaching, Tony D’Amato’s empowering speech in Any Given Sunday comes to mind. I think about what a coach does and remember Mickey’s guidance to Rocky in the ring. A coach is someone who is always on your team; they are in your corner. Anyone who has ever played or watched an organized sport knows the team always has a coach.
“You find out life’s this game of inches, so is football. Because in either game – life or football – the margin for error is so small. I mean, one half a step too late or too early and you don’t quite make it. One-half second too slow, too fast and you don’t quite catch it. The inches we need are everywhere around us. They’re in every break of the game, every minute, every second.”
Tony D’Amato – Any Given Sunday
Of course, the team is made up of individuals who share a common interest and knowledge. Those individuals are clearly equipped and capable to play out the contest or practice accordingly with or without an individual instructing them. However, the role of coaching goes well beyond what we see during the game. The coach helps strategize, develop, and train the athletes to be their best. He or she leads the team development to create the best outcome in a game. A coach provides encouragement, advice, and knows the strengths and weaknesses of each player.
In life, we often feel like we are running up and down the court just trying not to have the ball stolen from us, or possibly just trying to make it into the end zone without an interception. Life, like sports, needs a coach. You may have heard of the term life coach but may not actually be aware of what one actually does.
Athletes have natural skill and ability, but it takes repetition and consistency for them to be the best they can be. That’s where a coach comes in; someone who is on their team regardless of the outcome and fuels them with encouragement and the tools to succeed. You have natural skills, abilities, talents, and dreams, but sometimes you need someone in your corner to hold you accountable, enhance your skill development, or achieve your championship in life.
The Coaching Experience
Personally, I have been able to help people find that they are not as far as they may think from their dreams. As a life coach, I focus on you – your goals, your vision, your desired outcomes. What is your vision for your life? If you could wake up and design your day, what would that look like?
By taking your strengths and even looking at your weaknesses, I can help you be the author of your own story. The words are already inside of you; sometimes it’s just about putting them on paper. We can create boundaries, spark new interests outside of work, or find out what’s missing from your life. The possibilities are limitless, as is your potential to take control of your life.
A coach is your biggest cheerleader, aiming to help you reach your greatest potential in life and what that looks like to you.
Maybe it’s holding yourself accountable to waking up at a certain time to get in extra hours to meet a health goal, or possibly it could be starting a new daily habit to create a positive environment and open mind for new horizons. Whatever the journey may be to get there, we hold the key to our success. I am there beside you to help you ignite self-discovery, life passion, and build the life you’ve always dreamt of having.
What a coach does:
- help you better your ever-day living,
- obtain and set goals,
- advise in decision making,
- empower you to set boundaries that better your quality of life,
- improve in your relationships and/or career,
- hold you accountable and
- identify obstacles to progress.
What a coach does not do:
- provide licensed mental healthcare with a diagnosis,
- treat psychological needs, or consult on psychological matters,
- provide licensed expertise in nutrition,
- provide licensed personal training and does not offer exercise regimens.
Life Coaching vs. Clinical Counseling
We are all human, and as human beings, we are all imperfect. We face trauma, setbacks, grief, struggles; we face life. Sometimes we need help to process our emotions, feelings, and thoughts. It’s essential for us to take care of our mental health, just as it is our physical health. For this reason, clinical counseling and mental health therapy is an essential practice and administered by a licensed professional. A life coach does not have the medical licensing, nor extended education and certifications, to treat, diagnose, or consult like a mental health professional. Medical conditions such as anxiety, depression, or any other mental health concern will benefit from clinical counseling versus life coaching while there is a medical concern for your well-being. Therapy helps with cognitive reframing and allows a person to heal.
If an individual wants to challenge themselves, find ways to leap out of their comfort zone, or even needs inspiration on how to design a life they love, life coaching is a great route to take. Life coaching focuses on the present, while clinical counseling often ventures into one’s past. Life Coaching is a desire of an individual to better the journey of their life by placing goals and putting thoughts into action. Yes, what may have led you to life coaching could involve touching on the story of how you got to where you are now, but it is not an essential need to better the health and well-being of an individual, like counseling and therapy.
Goals and thoughts can often be revealed in clinical counseling , due to breakthroughs in self-discovery and getting to the root issues. This is why a therapist may refer a client to a trusted Life Coach. Since life coaching is not an essential health-benefit, it is not covered by insurance, unlike clinical counseling. Paying out of pocket expenses is a choice for the individual in life coaching to entrust in a coach and an investment in building an ideal life, goal, or dream.
Working with a life coach, you may have a time limit in order to reach your goals. Several sessions over a time period may help you achieve an altitude you are looking for, and you may not always see a need for frequent sessions. However, it can be beneficial to maintain accountability with sessions every so often.
With clinical counseling, time is administered by a counselor on the appropriate sessions directed through a mental health professional. Just as one would take inventory with a family practitioner or a medical physician, a counselor is concerned about your mental well-being, health and healing.
Life Coaching and clinical counseling are both excellent paths to take on your life journey. If you desire the healing and reflection of counseling or the need to manifest your goals into reality with life coaching, you are the author of your own story and have the power to create the life you’re dreaming of.
A coach is your biggest cheerleader, aiming to help you reach your greatest potential in life and what that looks like to you.