What is Life Coaching?

Below is my first attempt at “copy writing”. Bonnie had asked me if I could give a testimonial about life coaching, and this is what I sent back. Enjoy!

Ever heard of a star athlete without a coach? The athlete has talent, skill, drive, dedication, and a deep knowledge of their game. So why have a coach? Because what each athlete lacks is the ability to clearly see himself. No athlete can identify his own weaknesses. But the coach sees the weaknesses, and works with the athlete to achieve greatness. So why life coaching? I was incredibly skeptical of having a life coach. After all, I *knew* how to live well! I was a rising star a work, had a great marriage, and a beautiful baby daughter! But what I understand now, that I couldn’t see then, were my weaknesses. For me, it was a relentless internal critic who drove me to near perfection in everything I did, but refused to allow me any rest and tormented my every waking moment. It was issues with myself image. It was a deep seated desire to connect with people, coupled with a huge fear of embarrassment. I will be honest; it takes a serious submission of will and sacrifice of pride, as a man, to admit that I need to see a life coach. But no less or different a sacrifice than admitting I need a coach for sports, business, music, or spirituality. And the benefit of being aware of my weaknesses has been staggering! So what is a life coach? Imagine all of the honesty of your closest friends and family, delivered in a constructive and encouraging way, with none of the emotional baggage or history. If you are really honest with yourself looking in the mirror, you know there are areas of your life that are not excellent or smooth or successful, but you can’t name them or you don’t want to acknowledge them. But you know they exist. A life coach will show you the things about yourself that you cannot or will not see on your own. Is having my life coached fun? No. I enjoy my coaching time, but the learning and growing process is a surprising amount of mental and emotional pain. Am I cured? No, but I play the game of life better now than I ever have. Is life coaching worth the pain? ABSOLUTELY.