What is Life Coaching and How is It Different from Coaching?

Are you at a crossroads in your life, or having trouble identifying what areas you should be focusing on to get the most out of where you are right now? If so, this article on what is life coaching may be for you.

What is life coaching?

Life coaching is working with someone who can support and encourage you as you navigate your way through personal or career challenges, help you get unstuck, and guide you toward achieving your ultimate goals.

Differences between life coaching and therapy

Life coaching and therapy are both centered on improving your well-being and making positive changes in your life. However, they are not the same thing.

Life coaches are not certified therapists. Their focus is on what’s happening in your life right now, where you want to be, and what you need to do to get there. They will help you set goals, identify and modify obstacles that get in the way, shift your perspective, work on overall self-improvement, and act as unbiased thinking partners who can provide support, motivation, and accountability.

Therapists, on the other hand, are trained, licensed mental health professionals who can diagnose and treat mental health conditions. They look at your past to help you understand and manage your present, focus on your thoughts and feelings, and assist you in working through trauma and other issues from your past.

Examples of what a life coach can help you do

• Clarify your goals.
• Shift from a fixed mindset to a growth-focused one.
• Consider alternative approaches you may not have thought of before.
• Improve your productivity and focus.
• Increase your self-awareness.
• Identify your unique skills, talents, and abilities.
• Deal with uncertainty.
• Reframe your thought patterns by looking at things from different perspectives.
• Consider alternative approaches you may have not previously considered.
• Recognize where you’re stuck and what needs to change.
• Pinpoint your strengths and build confidence in them.
• Recognize blind spots that are keeping you from achieving your goals.
• Develop positive habits that increase productivity and mental health.
• Identify obstacles that keep getting in your way and pinpoint areas where you are resistant to change.
• Improve your overall work performance.
• Create empowering beliefs and attitudes.
• Handle life transitions.
• Grow spiritually.
• Develop strategies for overcoming your obstacles.
• Improve your work/personal life balance.
• Achieve your health and fitness goals.
• Increase creativity and productivity.
• Learn skills, strategies, and approaches that enable you to achieve maximum potential.
• Equip you with stress management skills.
• Provide you with the support and accountability you need to make changes that stick.
• Improve your time management skills and set proper priorities.
• Boost your self-compassion and self esteem.
• Navigate your way through change, uncertainty, and the unknown.

Types of life coaches

Some life coaches are generalists, who can offer you support for any need. Others specialize in one area.

Some common life coaching specialties include business coaching, leadership coaching, financial coaching, relationship coaching, sobriety coaching, health and wellness coaching, and spiritual coaching.

If you have questions about this article on what life coaching is or are interested in learning more about it, please give our office a call today at Carlsbad Christian Counseling in California.