Life coaches are a new breed of counsellor, motivator and consultant all rolled into one. The idea emerged because everything in life got complicated - from work to relationships, from health to money. Life coaching can help you live the life that you want.

Most people would readily admit to feeling the strain of 21st century living. For some it feels more like fraying at the edges, and if not drowning, then at best only treading water - and that's just in the shallow end.

Life coaches are not miracle makers or therapists. They are individuals trained to hone in on ways that help you express your personal needs and then aid and encourage you to find solutions for them.

So where do I start? Start by thinking carefully about the following questions:

• What is going on in your life that you would prefer to be different?
• Do you have any personal goals?
• What are you tolerating?
• What would you be doing if there were no obstacles?
• What does your ideal life look like?
• What changes would you like to make over the next month?

Your coach will then ask you follow up questions based on the answers you give and you can select an area of your life to work on together. This could be overall health and fitness, including weight loss or smoking cessation or a better work life balance, relationships or self confidence.

Prioritize
What's really important to you? Make a list of all the things that are important to you. This could be freedom, financial stability, health and wellbeing, relationships or family life. When you have your list rank just how important each of your choices are from one to ten.

Defeat your inner procrastinator
Your goals need time frames and need to be specific. This is where goals and aims differ. A good aim might be to increase overall fitness but it is not a good goal. A better goal would be to walk to work rather than take the car for example. The goal then needs a time frame, as your coach my next question would be When will you start walking to work?

Commitment and Honesty
Coaching is about teamwork. As I said earlier, coaches are not miracle workers who wave a magic wand and make the changes happen for you. That's why it's vital to be honest about the changes you want to make. The change has to come from the client. If the changes are something someone else wants for you then it's unlikely you'll be successful in making your changes stick. Be honest about the progress you have made towards your goals in your sessions and be prepared to be questioned on it. As your coach I want you to succeed and start living the life you deserve - but we can't make progress without honestly challenging the things that hold you back. Even if that's you yourself.

Copyright © Louise Hawkley 2007
Fully qualified and accredited in Life coaching and using complimentary techniques such as hypnotherapy and neuro linguistic programming, Louise Hawkley believes in the science of the mind and the human condition. Realizing early in her career that we can all re-program our minds to overcome fears, phobias and re-direct ourselves to become more fulfilled and better motivated in our everyday lives. Louise is committed to sharing this knowledge and enriching the lives of others, through these very real and quantifiable techniques. Contact Louise through her website YellowCoaching.co.uk, by email or telephone - +44 (0)1536 507781.

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