Why Hiring A Personal Development Coach Can Be An Investment In Oneself

By William Hughes


The most basic needs of humans are shelter, food and security. In this modern world millions of people no longer worry about these basic needs and actually have far more than they strictly need. Many people start to wonder about the meaning of life in general and the purpose of their own lives in particular. They do not feel fulfilled and feel as if their is something missing from their lives. In may cases they hire the services of a personal development coach to help them.

People hire coaches because they are not sure exactly what it is that they want to change in their own lives. They just have a vague desire to become better people, to be happier or to better understand themselves and others. They hire coaches to guide them, advise them and to encourage them to actively pursue the changes that they desire and to teach them how to go about it.

Individualized coaching is not a magic formula for getting all the answers and for achieving high levels of fulfilment. Coaches worth their salt will never be prescriptive and they will never goad their clients in a specific direction. Instead, their job is to be a sounding board and to gently lead their clients towards the development of a determination to improve on an individual level.

Very few people ever take a hard, brutally honest look at themselves and professional coaches know this. Their first priority is therefore to help their clients to examine themselves honestly, warts and all. They know that it is almost impossible to achieve self fulfilment without self knowledge. Clients often find this process of discovering themselves painful, but it is necessary in order to allow for future growth.

Self examination inevitably lead to the identification of areas where improvement or growth will be beneficial. Identifying these areas is important, but it is also important to set very specific goals. It is not good enough, for example, to say that one will spend more time on community work. The goal should be more specific. It would be better to say that one wants to spend at least three hours each week performing community work.

People often abandon their goals because they see no progress. They lose heart. That is why reputable coaches will help their clients to break down their bigger goals into smaller steps. Action plans are small steps that can be measured. If clients see progress, even small successes, they are encouraged and motivated to continue their quest towards achieving their ultimate goals.

It is vital that coaches and their clients maintain a close and trusting relationship. If this is not the case the client will not be completely honest with the mentor. The client must know that the mentor will treat their sessions confidentially. Top coaches often refer their clients to colleagues if they realize that a specific client will form a closer bond with someone else.

Individual coaching has become a rather large industry. People have developed new needs. They want more from life than just survival and material needs. They want meaning. In this respect, coaches can certainly be of great help.




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