What is Life Coaching

Introduction

In this robust world we live in, coaching is both a growing profession worldwide and a growing communication style that is being adopted more and more by leaders of organizations, teachers, counselors, parents and others.

What is different about the co-active coaching model adopted by Life Coaching Egypt is that its not about problem solving, although problems will be solved. It is not primarily about improving performance, attaining goals or achieving results, although all of this will certainly happen in an effective coaching relationship. Coaching is chiefly about discovery, awareness, choosing with total awareness and most of all gaining wisdom of the totality of life and what may lay beyond it. It is a way of effectively empowering people to find their own answers, uncovering to them  that they are naturally creative, resourceful and whole, encouraging them as they continue to make important decisions and choices in their individual lives.

Coaching is a form of conversation with unspoken ground rules regarding certain qualities that must be present: respect, openness, compassion, empathy and rigorous commitment to speaking the truth. There are certain assumptions underlying the conversation as well. We assume strength and capability, not weakness, limiting beliefs, helplessness or dependence.

What is life coaching?

• It will help you to build your life or career from unlimited possibilities and choices rather than from circumstances. It will keep you on track and in charge of your life.
• Coaching will help you make choices on the basis of who you really are and who you want to be.
• It releases or erases self doubt and self limiting beliefs that may stop you from taking that first step, or going that extra mile, to get you to where you want to be.
• Coaching widens your horizons and deepens your creativity in order for you to paint the pictures you envision of your future.
• It increases the focus on what is really important for you and brings clarity in order to realize your goals.
• Life coaching opens up your curiosity about yourself rather than taking things for granted. With intuition and powerful questions you discover traits and strengths that you never thought you had thereby giving you a chance to endorse these qualities of strength.

How does it work?

• Coaching is a very powerful relationship and a tool which will set you in the right direction of your life.
• It deals with "now" and the "future."
• It moves you forward and deepens your learning.
• The coaching process starts with a discovery session in order to determine where and who you are today and where you see yourself and who you want to be in the future.
• The discovery session takes about 1.5 to 2 hours and is followed by a series of regular coaching sessions.
• They usually consist of three sessions x 40 minutes a month, which you can do weekly, or four sessions x 30 minutes in ten day interval meetings and/or telephone conversations.
• In the process itself we use a blend of Fulfillment, Process and Balance Coaching:

The first principle of coaching is Fulfillment Coaching which is where we discover your true essential self and start honoring it rather than “living” your social distorted self. We get in touch with your core values and see where you honor them and where you step on them.

Perhaps the simplicity of their life at a certain time gave them a clearer picture of what was truly valuable and fulfilling to them, but their sense of fulfillment was not about feeling good or happy all the time.  Which makes clear that feeling fulfilled is not just about experiencing happy conditions or achieving specific results. Living a life purpose, mission, or service can be intense, sometimes heartbreaking and exhausting and at the same time enormously fulfilling.
The coach helps the client clarify these meanings allowing his heart, mind and soul to crave, search and attain this magnificent feeling which words cannot really describe…its as if a bird is slowly flapping its wings preparing for its flight of and to freedom…

The second principle is Balance Coaching which is about living a life that is “alive” and flowing. When a client feels lifeless and out of choices and options, balance coaching comes in to help explore more choices from an empowered state. What clients want is to be able to juggle the precious priorities of their lives so that they mix and cohesively flow together to produce a rewarding and fulfilled life.  They want less struggle, more ease of motion. Clients want to be more empowered rather than enslaved by circumstances.

Finally the third principle of coaching is Process Coaching. In Fulfillment and Balance Coaching, the coach focuses on moving forward. In these two methods the coaching model emphasizes on moving forward and its focused, directed and intentional; it is about generating and creating. As for Process Coaching it focuses on the internal experience, on what is happening in the moment, enhancing the ability of the client to be aware of the moment and name it. It is the coaches' job to recognize, notice and listen to the clients current below the surface of what seemingly looks like a calm river, tuning our ear to hear any turbulences or resistance, looking for any signs that something is obstructing the flow of the river… We then explore together this turbulence and usually it turns out that there has been black holes/voids the client has been avoiding for a long time. The coach stays with the client full heartedly exploring what lies there. After this journey down the tube as we like to call it, the client shifts back and movement happens.

Coaching versus Psychotherapy and Consultancy.

Consultants usually are specialist in one area and definitely have an agenda were they impose and give solutions. Rather than considering the client resourceful and whole, consultants are more interested in getting the assignment/job done and completed rather than the long-term benefit and well being of the client. I The coaching relationship is more personal and intimate dealing with the person as a whole rather than dealing with things and projects.
As for therapists they will surely go for “fixing” the client and see clients as defected rather than whole. They tend to mostly dwell on the past trying to diagnose and search for the problem whilst the coach is mainly concerned about the “now” and the clients' future welfare.

These distinctions are quite important because this is what's great about life coaching, and what makes it so special and personalized….the coach is a sincere friend who really cares about the client and works towards achieving the clients total empowered independence, rather than making him/her dependent on the coach, as consultants or therapists may do. This really differentiates between the Life Coach, Consultant and Therapist and identifies the long term sustainable added value of life coaching.