Six Common Misconceptions About Life Coaching

What image comes to mind if I ask you to picture a Life Coach?

​Maybe you see a pumped up fitness trainer, complete with whistle and bulging veins, who yells at you each morning to make the most of your life.

Or maybe you picture a soft-spoken philosophy guru with a pony tail who burns pungent incense and recites Yoda-esque wisdom.

Or maybe you don't see anything at all. Maybe you just think, "Life coach? That's a fake job for someone who charges you a lot of money by promising to change your life. Boo."

All those responses make sense! ​

Is this how you picture a life coach?

Given people's general understanding of coaching, you're in very good company -- no matter what response or colorful image comes to mind. 

Personally, before I went through professional coach training, I thought of a life coach as a cross between a therapist and a trusted advisor. (Also an astronaut. Because I picture everyone as an astronaut.)

In any case, there are some big misconceptions around coaching that are worth clearing up. Mainly because those misconceptions might be preventing you from using a really cool resource for yourself one day!

So, for your reading pleasure, here are some of the most common misconceptions around coaching!

(You can also browse the What is Coaching? page on AaronGrahamCoaching.com, for more info about how coaching works.)

1. Coaching is just someone giving you advice.

A professional coach will never give you advice. They do not have the answers... YOU DO! 

Instead, coaches frequently ask thoughtful, open-ended questions to help you think creatively about what you really want and the best way to go after it. 

Coaches trust that you have the answer. And if you don't right then, the coach knows you are fully capable of discovering the answer for yourself in time. Neat, eh? ​

2. Coaching is just like therapy.

Well, are they both usually conversations between two people? Sure. But so is ordering a hot dog. 

A therapist is a licensed mental health professional who works with people experiencing emotional or psychological wounds, living with mental health disorders, or are otherwise not functional in certain areas of their life. 

A coach only works with people who are already considered functional in their lives. A coach helps you get from functional to ideal. From a life that's merely acceptable to one that feels optimal and amazing. ​

3. "I don't need a coach. My life is not a mess. I'm doing fine."

Yes, you are doing fine! Most people ARE doing just fine. 

And if you don't feel you need a coach, great! No one says you have to have one. Certainly not me. That's not how coaching works.

Where a coach can provide value and service is in helping you shift from living a "fine" life to living an "amazing" life. Whatever "amazing" means to you. But it's always up to you to decide if and when you'd like to use coaching as one of your resources. 

If you're on the fence, or wondering how you might move your life beyond "fine," start by asking yourself a few of these questions:
​

• What are you tolerating right now?
• What do you want for yourself that you can't seem to achieve? 
• What's currently getting in your way?
• Where do you feel frustrated, victimized, or powerless in your life?
• In what ways do you keep finding yourself in the same situations over and over again?
• What part of your life are you least satisfied with?
• How are you spending most of your emotional energy?

You are doing fine.

4. Coaches tell you what to do.

[Cue game show buzzer sound.]

Similar to the misconception about giving advice, a coach will never tell you what to do. 

At the beginning of your relationship, your coach may suggest helpful assessments and exercises so you can both gain clarity around who you are, what is important to you, and what you truly want. But a coach will never tell you what to do. 

As you continue working with your coach, you may create tasks or action items that you want to accomplish each week. But in each case, YOU decide what you are going to do, and YOU tell the coach how you will keep yourself accountable.

5. Coaching is a waste of money.

Since you are always in charge, it is up to you how you choose to show up in your coaching relationship -- just like in life. 

If you are not open-minded or you approach the unfamiliar with judgment and skepticism or if you choose not to follow through on action items you create with your coach, then, yeah, you're probably not making the most of your hard-earned dollars.

Just like if you buy a Tesla, but only use it once and never recharge it, you might be wasting your money.

​(By the way, if you do that, please call me -- I will recharge your Tesla for you and also take it off your hands.)

So, if you're curious about coaching but concerned about wasting your money, ask yourself a few questions:
​

• What can you do to maximize the benefit of working with a coach?
• How can you squeeze every penny of value out of this investment you're making in your future self?
• How much is it worth to you to create the life you've always wanted?

Please make use of your Tesla.

6. Coaching is just meaningless, fluffy talk. 

A GOOD coach does two things:
​

1. Helps you get to the core energy, emotions, beliefs, or thoughts that are either motivating you or keeping you from living your best life
2. Ensures you create tangible, measurable, and achievable action items that keep you moving along your path to create the life you want.

An AMAZING coach will also help you transform your own reality into something barely imaginable today. But let's take it one step at a time, man.

​Believe, you must. ;-)

​Peace,
​AG

Got Questions? Interested in a FREE 30-minute consultation?

​Email me at [email protected] or visit AaronGrahamCoaching.com for more info.​