Have you ever thought of finding yourself a life coach?
The thought seems bizarre, doesn’t it? I always thought life coaches were for people who have no direction or motivation in life whatsoever. Or people who needed their lives to be controlled by someone else, to have decisions made for them, to basically be the brains behind their actions, to be their puppeteers. “Who would want that?” I’d ask myself in disgust.
So the other day, a friend of a friend of a friend called me. She was searching for a life coach in Pune. Knowing that I’m from Pune and my interest in Psychology, she thought maybe I could help her find someone. The first thing I thought of when she asked me was “But she’s so successful”. I’d always thought people with stable jobs, a good income, a loving family and a healthy lifestyle didn’t need life coaches! Not knowing her too well, I refrained from rudely ask her “Huh? But WHY?” I instead asked her the what it is that she was looking for in a life coach, so I could better help her.
Here’s what she told me.
She wants a guide, a companion to aid her with personal and professional decisions, realistic goal setting, and seeing her through these goals. Well, that’s understandable, isn’t it? That doesn’t mean that she wants someone to make her decisions for her, just someone to facilitate and direct the entire process of decision making. Apart from that, a life coach would also make sure to keep her motivated and on track with her achievements in all fields. This person would be a career counsellor when you require it, a Psychiatrist when you require it, a friend, a colleague, a boss, a wellness coach, a third party listener and the list goes on. It’s pretty amazing isn’t it?
The stigma associated with any form of Psychological help in India is quite astounding. Only once I was able to detach myself from the societal perception that I’ve grown up around was I honestly able to consider the benefits of something as seemingly odd as a life coach.
No, searching for help is NOT something that should be looked down upon. In fact, I think it’s pretty brave of people to admit to themselves that they may need a little help; to get out of a rut, to hone their skills, to make a career change, a personal life change, to weed out the negatives and to grow and develop as an individual overall.
Who knows, maybe every one of us could use a life coach; to act as our steering wheels – getting us where we should get, our seat belts – holding us in place when things get rough, and our air bags – giving us assurance that we’ll be okay, even in the face of adversity.