Articles & Resources

In the past couple years, life coaching and consulting has grown into a massive industry. It is all over the news and social media. Many celebrities have endorsed life coaching as have countless others. So here you are, asking “What exactly is a life coach?” and “Do I really need one?”

Athletes have coaches, professionals have mentors, new parents seek guidance, and the list goes on and on. 

In all of these scenarios, people are seeking guidance from others to help them gain a better understanding of the stage of life that they are in and to learn how to improve.

A life coach is no different! 

Life coaches exist to help people as they navigate the ups and downs that life has to offer. 

Life doesn’t come with a handbook to follow and as a result, most of us weren’t formally taught how to live successfully. That is where life coaching comes in! 

Life coaches are people who have figured it out. They are people who have experienced life and were able to orient their paths to have a measure of success. They have become experts in their field and are using their experience to work with others; helping them achieve success in their own lives. 

A life coach can help you to figure out what you want out of life and who you want to be. They will work with you to set and achieve goals and provide you with the support that is needed to achieve their dreams. Additionally, life coaches will teach you tools that can be used long after the coaching experience has ended which will ensure that the positive momentum that was achieved during coaching can continue. 

A life coach wears many hats:

1. We are cheerleaders.

Life is easier when someone is in your corner. When you know you have support, it’s easier to take risks and chase dreams. When you are working with a life coach, you always have someone in your corner.

• Your life coach will also push and motivate you. Experienced life coaches have seen plenty of clients attempt to avoid hard work and stressful situations. They understand this behavior and if they see it in their clients, they can draw attention to it and push the client forward. 

2. We provide guidance.

It’s not always easy to make good decisions, especially when you’re stressed or fearful about the outcome. Sometimes, we are too close to our problems or hurdles to make appropriate decisions to move past them. A life coach can help you to make wise decisions. 

A friend can’t always be objective or completely honest, but your life coach can. You’ll hear what you need to hear from your life coach.

3. We help you to determine what you want to be when you “grow up.”

 
It doesn’t matter if you’re 18 or 68. A mentor can help you to determine what the next step of your life should be. If you’re feeling lost, a life coach might be the answer.

4. We will help you to find balance.

Life coaches are aware that there’s more to life than having money in the bank or the perfect physique. They emphasize keeping all parts of a person’s life in balance. Health, professional success, relationships, finances, spirituality and leisure activities are all part of a well-balanced life.

5. We can help with many facets of life. A few of these include:

• Career
• Love life
• Finding your life’s purpose
• Achieving challenging goals
• Making more money
• Creating more free time
• Following an exercise program
• Starting a business

As a result, you want to make sure that you coach has expertise in the area of your life that you would like to see growth. Here at The Morning Goals, we focus on working with career-oriented individuals, business owners, entrepreneurs, and creatives. We help people build businesses, careers, or build alternate revenue streams. With this focus in mind we also work with our clients to establish a well-balanced lifestyle. 

6. We are not therapists.

Therapists deal with past issues and traumas. Life coaches work from the present moment and into the future. A coach won’t help you get over a past loss or deal with the fact that you were bullied in junior high. However, a coach can guide you toward building a more desirable future.

7. We are not required to have any training.

There are currently no governing boards that require life coaches to have training – and there are many successful coaches who do not have any formal training at all. 

That being said, there are industry leading organizations that offer certifications where they train prospective life coaches on best practices to ensure successful relationships with clients. 

Here at The Morning Goals, we believe that knowledge is power and have perused training to offer the highest quality of service possible to our clients. Currently, Ed is a Master Certified Life Coach by the Certified Life Coach Institute (CLCI), the leader in life coach certification. For more information about CLCI, click here

Pay attention to reviews and schedule an introductory session to see if a particular life coach is a good fit. Most will offer a free session. Choose carefully.

Do you need a life coach? A coach won’t solve your challenges, but they can help you to help yourself. If you need a steady hand to guide you and a cheerleader to support you, a life coach can make a big difference. There are good life coaches and bad life coaches. If you’re looking for a life coach, ensure that you find a good one. For more information on the process of finding a life coach, check out our previous post here

What if I told you that I would give you $1,000 to make an important public speech? Would you take the offer? Like most of us, you probably recoiled immediately at the idea, even though it could be lucrative for you! Why didn’t this idea appeal to you?

When the very thought of certain activities evokes fear or anxiety within you, it’s because they’re outside your comfort zone. Public speaking, for example, is outside of most people’s comfort zone.

Your comfort zone is the sphere of activities that you feel comfortable with and that you can accomplish without negative emotions.

It also includes people, places, and things that cause only positive thoughts within you.

How Important is Your Comfort Zone?

Your comfort zone can limit your capabilities and cause you to abandon your dreams and goals, or it can spur you on to great things. In fact, your comfort zone can determine both your personality and your potential for success.

Many successful people achieve their goals because they have the ability to expand their comfort zone in order to get what they want.

If you wish to expand your comfort zone, you can mentally condition yourself to be comfortable in new situations so you can overcome your anxiety, achieve your goals, and fulfill your dreams.

Here are some tips you can use to expand your comfort zone and help fight your anxiety about certain situations:

Understand your mindset. Mental conditioning plays a large role in developing your comfort zone. This means that how we form our comfort zones begins in our own mind.

Each of us already has preconceived notions of what may be comfortable and what may not be, and we designate mental guidelines to keep us within our comfort zone.

You have chosen your own comfort zone boundaries! Knowing your boundaries is the first step to being able to expand them.

Disobey some of your self-imposed rules. If you want to expand your comfort zone, you must let yourself loose from the guidelines you impose on yourself. Breaking some of these rules will allow you to seek new experiences that can bring you greater success!

Consider the true risk of a situation. It’s important to know what the true risks are, as opposed to what you feel (or fear) may occur. Knowing the difference can enable you to overcome your limitations.