What do you do if your career in life coaching requires resilience?
As a life coach, you're in the business of fostering growth and resilience in others. But what happens when the very career you've chosen tests your own endurance and adaptability? Life coaching is a journey that often requires you to navigate through your own challenges while supporting others. It's a path where resilience isn't just beneficial; it's essential. To thrive as a life coach, you need strategies to bolster your resilience so you can continue to be a guiding light for your clients, even when times get tough. Let's explore how you can cultivate resilience in your coaching career.
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Resilience in life coaching starts with the right mindset. You must view challenges not as insurmountable obstacles but as opportunities for growth. Embrace a growth mindset, where you believe that abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work. This perspective will help you maintain a positive outlook and stay motivated even when faced with setbacks. Remember, your attitude towards difficulties will not only affect your own well-being but also how effectively you can support your clients.
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A true life coach understands this “resilience” is a tool and not a way of life. Resilience must be managed to effective just like the superman and superwoman syndrome we have created. Management of Resilience means sometimes things are BAD and you must embrace them, take time to process and adjust as needed. Not the always look at the positive or full spread ahead. This type of mindset is what lead us to burnout. We know better now, so we must do better.
Prioritizing self-care is non-negotiable for sustaining resilience in life coaching. Establish rituals that replenish your energy and allow for reflection. This could include meditation, exercise, or setting aside time for hobbies that bring you joy. By taking care of your physical, emotional, and mental health, you ensure that you have the vitality and clarity needed to support others. Think of self-care as an investment in your professional capacity to serve your clients.
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Self care isn’t about bubble baths and scented candles. It’s about knowing what you want to do and making sure you have the support to execute on it. It’s about learning to become a good partner to yourself - to cultivate your skills and lean in on your unfair advantages. It’s about taking adequate breaks and not letting a never ending to-do list run your life. It’s about knowing when to quit. It’s about protecting deep work time each day and making sure you know ahead of time what you need to focus on that will move the needle. It’s about working on consistency, improvement and optimization IN THAT ORDER in a never ending spiral as you add things. It’s about allowing yourself to work at your natural pace.
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Self-care for me is all about self-awareness, being able to check in on myself, and having strategies in place that I know will help me be mentally and physically capable of giving my best in what I'm doing. One example is whenever I feel stuck and unmotivated, I know that changing environments help me kick off my creativity and be more productive.
In the realm of life coaching, continuous learning is a cornerstone of resilience. Stay abreast of new coaching techniques, psychological research, and self-improvement strategies. Engaging in regular professional development not only sharpens your skills but also keeps you inspired and adaptable. When you commit to learning, you're better equipped to handle the shifting landscapes of human behavior and the coaching industry.
No life coach is an island. Building a strong support network with other coaching professionals can provide you with valuable insights and encouragement. Whether it's through formal associations or informal meet-ups, connecting with peers can help you navigate the ups and downs of your career. Sharing experiences and advice with fellow coaches can reinforce your resilience by reminding you that you're part of a community with common goals and challenges.
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True a life coaches will spent time teaching others how to build a support system. In order to operate in integrity one must possess this very system. Also as life coaches we are guiding individuals toward a goal. Along this journey you will discover other areas this client may need support. Ex: During your session you realize your clients presents with depressive symptoms. What do you do now? You would then encourage them to go speak with a mental health professional with a warm handoff. You cannot offer a warm handoff which is essential without having a network of said professionals to refer them to. Iron sharpens Iron so networking with other life coaches and similar career paths is essential for growth.
Establishing clear boundaries with clients is crucial for maintaining resilience. It's important to define the scope of your services and the extent of your availability. Setting these limits helps prevent burnout and ensures that you can give each client the attention they deserve. Remember, being a life coach doesn't mean being on call 24/7. Respecting your time and energy is key to sustaining a long and fulfilling career.
Lastly, engage in reflective practice regularly. Take time to assess what's working well in your coaching sessions and where there's room for improvement. Reflect on your interactions with clients, the outcomes of your sessions, and your overall job satisfaction. This introspection will help you identify patterns, celebrate successes, and make adjustments where necessary. Reflective practice is a powerful tool for personal growth and professional resilience.
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I’d say first of all it’s not really an ‘if’ scenario, but nor is that unique to a career as a life coach. Resilience is really about our ability to cope, as well as we can, when things don’t go according to plan or as we’d hoped all the time - well, that’s definitely going to happen! Resilience to me isn’t ’man up’ or plough on regardless, it’s about being conscious of what support you need to be able to manage these more uncomfortable and disconcerting experiences.