Hiring a life coach has become a go-to solution for those looking to make positive changes in their lives. For all of the benefits a life coach brings into the picture, is it possible that being your own life coach is just as effective? In short, yes but let’s take a closer look at why.
When Things Get Tough, Learn to be Your Own Life Coach
It’s fair to say that life isn’t always simple or easy. There are times when stress builds, relationships get complicated, and finding the right solutions to issues…well, that just feels out of reach.
There are seasons of life when it feels like you might be consistently getting in your own way. In some scenarios, procrastination could be keeping you from goals you’ve. In other cases, you might be having trouble breaking old habits that hold you back.
Either way, when the going gets tough, many people choose to employ the professional assistance of a life coach. This makes sense because a life coach is there to help you break bad habits, change your perspective and reach goals, all under an umbrella of accountability.
They’re literally paid to help you succeed and there’s a certain amount of security in that notion.
On the other hand, the fact you’re considering partnering with a life coach says something about you too. You already recognize you want to make changes… so is being your own life coach a possibility?
Yes, it most definitely is doable and a good route to go if you could stand to save both time and money throughout the process.
That said, acting as your own life coach requires the ability to pinpoint a few specific personality traits within yourself. It also means you have to be willing and committed to applying coaching techniques consistently without anyone else telling you to.
If you can check both of those off the list, you’re good to go. Being your own life coach is certainly doable.
Suggested Personality Traits For Life Coaching Yourself
Making the most of the self-coaching experience requires a few specific personality traits. While they aren’t all going to make or break the success of self-coaching yourself, already possessing them is going to make the process smoother.
You Recognize That You’re an Organized Person
This one seems simple on the surface, but it’s a pillar of successful self-coaching that promises to be useful every step of the way. If you already know that you’re a naturally organized person, you’re in a good place to take on the role a hired life coach otherwise would.
When it comes to making progress, having a plan in place makes all the difference. The ability to break complex goals down into simple parts is key to long-term success. If that’s a process that comes to you rather easily, you’re already saving time and on your way to achieving goals.
You Value Commitment
The reality is, change of any kind comes with some inevitable growing pains. Paving a path towards your goals isn’t inherently easy. That means if the plan is to life coach yourself, being a person who values commitment is going to boost your chances of success.
Where a life coach would be on-hand to help you through the difficult transitions in the process, self-coaching means you’re the one accountable for sticking it out when the going gets rough.
Individuals who are to remind themselves of the reason they started the process in the first place, and see it through even when it’s uncomfortable, are well-suited to being their own life coach.
You’re Compassionate
Creating positive change in life isn’t always about driving relentlessly forward towards your goals. It also requires compassion and understanding.
A hired life coach is responsible for bringing that type of empathy into the equation by taking time to really get to know their client. A life coach must recognize when a compassionate word of encouragement is the most effective strategy.
As your own life coach, you should be able to be just as kind and compassionate with yourself through the process. This means you’re someone who recognizes your limitations without seeing them as failures. You also have the capacity to assess your strengths and weaknesses without falling apart emotionally.
You’re Goal-Driven and You Understand Why
Just because you haven’t reached all of your goals at this point in life doesn’t mean you don’t have plenty of them on the back burner. Those who are well-suited to being their own life coach often have a wide variety of goals and understand the reasons behind them.
Sometimes, having a plethora of goals in life can make it difficult to narrow down where to start… but it’s not impossible. If you already have goals and only need to re-work your focus you’re already on a good track.
If you’re someone who can break those goals down further into why they’re so important to you, even better! Pinpointing purpose always fuels motivation and makes self-coaching that much more productive.
You Embrace Creativity
As with all things in life, the path to reaching goals and improving isn’t always predictable. A life coach is often hired by individuals who may have a hard time thinking outside of the box when it comes to goal-oriented solutions.
If you know you’re a person with a creative mind and spirit who’s willing to change things up when needed, you’re bound to be a successful self-coach. The ability to take a non-traditional route towards change, despite what it looks like from the outside, is a personality trait that will only help you in your endeavors.
What You’ll Need to do to Life Coach Yourself
Once you’re sure you have the personality traits in place that lend themselves to self-coaching, you’ll want to make sure you can get on board with what being a life coach entails. Taking ownership of the following techniques and strategies is vital to producing lasting results in your life.
You’ll Need to be Able to Break it Down
A quality life coach begins the process by setting time aside for a thorough assessment of their client. Being your own life coach means you’ll need to do this as well.
It’s important to know that this isn’t an off-the-cuff look at your life before getting on your way with things. Instead, it’s an in-depth evaluation of what you’re really good at, areas you struggle with, and a specific breakdown of what you want to improve upon.
Sometimes, this requires going to friends and family you trust for added insight. It’s imperative that you turn to those who will give you authentic feedback without sugar-coating the details you may not initially want to hear. This is the only way to gain genuine information into who you are and how you can pave a path to change that works.
You’ll be Creating Specific Goals
If you’re already a goal-oriented person, chances are you don’t need a hired life coach to tell you how to identify those things you’re striving for in life. When you go the route of DIY life coaching, it’s more about focusing in enough to put those goals you have on paper.
You’ll want to start by identifying three very specific and manageable goals when working as your own life coach. Set a goal for the year, a goal for the month, and a goal for that week. For example, if you wanted to progress in your career, the list might look something like this:
- This year, I will land a new job.
- Every month, I will send out 3 applications.
- This week, I will update my resume.
You’ll Keep a Journal of Your Progress
A hired life coach is put in place to keep clients accountable for making progress towards their goals. When you’re coaching yourself, a progress journal can do the same thing!
Keeping track of both your successes and setbacks in one place is a good way to gain insight into how things are moving along. A progress journal isn’t meant to be a source of stress, but rather a motivator. It gives you a comprehensive place to return to time and again to see where you are, where you want to be, and just how far you’ve come.
You’ll Participate in Self-Assessment
If you were to hire a life coach, they would be responsible for delivering constructive feedback when it’s needed most. As your own life coach, self-assessment is an integral part of the process that you’ll have to be on board with too.
This could be a self-evaluation, but in many cases, it means regularly scheduled meet-ups with a trusted confidante. You’ll need to ask that person to commit to asking you how you’re doing with your goals at this time and what you’re struggling with. Simply knowing someone is going to be asking is often enough to keep you committed to what you’ve set out to do.
You’ll Need to Adjust if Necessary
There’s a common misconception out there that a hired life coach has the ability to transform their clients into entirely new, and better human beings over time. This simply isn’t true.
A life coach is responsible for helping their clients access the unique strengths and skills they already possess. Then they show them how to hone those skills to make positive progress in life towards their goals.
No matter what those goals may be, this requires both flexibility and creativity to succeed. With life coaching—especially the DIY variety— adjustment from time to time is just part of the process.
The reality is no different when you decide to coach yourself. If something isn’t working, you’re going to need to be willing to change things up.
Being open to the idea that plans can be altered to achieve more successful results is key to success. A commitment to this type of thinking will also help you avoid burnout.
Being Your Own Life Coach Starts Here
Hiring a life coach is a good strategy when you’re looking to make changes and could use the added accountability along the way.
That being said, if you possess the traits of a life coach and are willing to put in the work, there’s no reason that you can’t life coach yourself.
Creating a plan of action, putting it in place, and seeing it through comes with a great deal of satisfaction as well. Seeing positive results in the way of life changes that lead to progress is always the cherry on top!