Life coaching or personal coaching is a popular topic. Learn more about life coaching and how to find the right personal coach for you.
Should You Have a Life Coach?
Personal coaching is a growth profession for a reason. People find that a life coach helps them clarify their goals, stay on target, and advance toward their greatest vision of success. And it’s fun to be coached.
Life Coaching and Personal Growth
A life coach is someone on your side who's only agenda is helping you understand and achieve your goals. Personal coaching, as practiced by today's trained professionals, is positive, supportive, and effective at helping personal growth.
Today's coaches are trained in the processes of listening, questioning, and supporting forward movement. People of all walks in life are turning to coaches to help them achieve their goals and dreams. Executives, athletes, writers, actors, people in transition, are among those who simply want to improve some aspect of life and are seeking the help of coaching.
What It's Like to be Coached
How does it feel to be coached? Energizing, exciting, motivating!
Discard the images you may have of athletic coaches who storm, scream, demean, and threaten in order to draw the utmost performance from an athlete. Personal coaches do not fit the athletic coach stereotype, but are more a combination of best friend, effective mentor, enthusiastic cheerleader, and empathetic listener.
An effective personal coach will help you clarify your goals, separating what you truly desire in your heart from the shallow goals that others may have urged on you.
With that goal clarity comes natural enthusiasm, energy, and passion. You'll be excited by your journey.
Molly's Story
This true story of an aspiring author's experience provides an excellent example of the growth possible with coaching. Molly (not her real name) had written a manuscript about her experience in living through a family tragedy. The draft was well written and offered a positive, hopeful message for others facing a similar experience.
But Molly was unsure of her book's value, whether anyone would read it, and how to proceed. Molly's coach helped her to see herself as a writer; she became able to declare, "I am a writer," which boosted her confidence and self esteem. Her coach reinforced the value of her book's message and helped her focus on the positive feedback she had received.
With coaching, Molly recognized that her main goal was to help others undergoing a similar life event and she focused on accomplishing that goal. Within a few short months, Molly self-published her book, gave several presentations, designed and delivered a workshop, obtained a web site, and sold several hundred books. Her books are displayed in local area shops and her church has purchased a supply to give to members facing similar experiences.
In Molly's own words, "Having a coach made all the difference. Jerry understood my goals, and he helped me articulate them and form realistic plans to reach them. Meeting with him on a regular basis kept me motivated. Coaching definitely helped me make my dream a reality."
Seeking the help of a coach does not imply a personal weakness or deficiency. To the contrary, it shows a personal determination to move forward and the self confidence to seek help in areas of unfamiliarity.
How to Find the Perfect Coach for You
A coaching relationship is very personal. The right coach for you will depend on many factors: the coach's experience, personality, style of coaching, training, and personality fit. To be effective, the coaching relationship must be open and trusting.
You'll find the perfect coach for you by a combination of attraction and audition. Browse the web site of the International Coach Federation for coaches in your area and with practices related to your situation. Contact those to whom you're attracted. Most coaches offer a complementary first session.
译文:
生活教练加速个人成长
请生活教练或私人教练是一个热门话题。让我们多了解一下生活教练，以及如何为自己找到最合适的私人教练。
你应该聘请生活教练吗？
私人教练这一职业基于某种原因不断成长。人们发现，生活教练可以帮助他们认清自己的目标，坚定目的，并向着他们最大的成功目标前进。而且受训也是一件很有意思的事情。
生活教练和个人成长
生活教练陪伴你左右，其唯一任务就是帮助你认识并达到自己的目标。现今多由受过训练的专业人士担任私人教练，他们对您的个人成长起到了正面、支持、有效的协助作用。
如今的教练在受训时都经历了聆听、询问以及支持行动的过程。各行各业的人都倾向于寻求教练的帮助，以实现自己的目标和梦想。管理者、运动员、作家、演员、处在过渡阶段的人，以及其他人群，这些人只不过想提升自己生活的某个方面，并正在寻求教练的帮助。
受训是怎样的状况？
受训的感觉如何？精力充沛、令人兴奋、鼓舞人心！
你的脑中可能描绘这样一幅画面：体育教练正在咆哮、尖叫、贬斥并威胁，好迫使运动员发挥出极限水平。你大可不必这样想。你的私人教练不会照搬体育教练的套路，但更像是好朋友、有影响力的导师、热情的拉拉队长以及投入感情的聆听者。
有影响力的私人教练会协助你认清目标，将你心底的真实欲望与其他人催你完成的浅薄目标分离。
目标认清后还需要自然而然的狂热、精力和激情。你会为自己的旅程感到兴奋。
莫利的故事
这个故事一个热心作者的真实经历，她为我们提供了通过培训进行个人成长的极佳的范例。莫利（化名）经受了一场家庭悲剧，她根据自己的亲身体验撰写了一本书。草稿写的很好，这为其他有同样遭遇的人传递了一条积极、充满希望的信息。
但莫利不确定她的书是否有价值，别人是否愿意读，以及如何进行下去。莫利的教练帮助她认识到自己作为作者的身份；她渐渐能够说出“我是作者”这类话，这增强了她的信心和自我肯定。她的教练强化了她的书籍中信息的价值，并帮助她专注于收到的积极评论。
通过培训，莫利意识到，她的主要目标是帮助其他人度过类似的生活境遇，并且她坚持完成此目标。短短几个月之后，莫利出版了自己的书籍，做过几次讲演，设计并推出了一个工作室，得到了一个网站，并售出了几百本书籍。她的书陈列在当地的商店里，她常去的教堂也购进了一批，发放给有类似遭遇的教友。
用莫利自己的话说：“请一个教练让这一切都不同了。杰瑞理解我的这些目标，他帮助我将这些目标形成一个整体，并指定出可行的计划去实现他们。我经常与他见面，这让我不断获得动力。教练确实帮助我实现了梦想。”
寻求教练的帮助不表示您有弱点或不足之处。恰恰相反的是，这表明您有决心进步，并在不熟悉的领域上寻求帮助的自信。
如何为自己找到最好的教练
与教练的关系非常私人化。哪个教练最适合你由多方面因素决定：教练的经验、性格、培训的方式、训练内容以及个性匹配度。为了达到效果，必须与教练保持公开且信赖的关系。
你会通过其吸引力并倾听，来找到最适合你的教练。请浏览国际教练联盟网站，在当地找到其执业范围与你的情况相关的教练。联系这些吸引到你的教练。多数教练会在第一次见面时与您深入沟通。