Life coaching has gained a great deal of public recognition recently in Australia. Yet although coaching is exploding into our corporations and lives, many people remain unclear of exactly what coaching is and the benefits coaching affords. So what exactly is Coaching and what does a Life Coaching relationship involve?

Life Coaching is a professional relationship that is focused solely on your desire to achieve your goals, whether they are business, professional or personal. Through the process of coaching, your Life Coach will assist you to identify your core values and work with you to develop an action plan that will close the gap between where you are now and where you want to be. Once your goals have been established, your coach works with you to formulate strategies to achieve the results you demand and overcome the barriers you are likely to confront.

Throughout your coaching relationship your Coach will measure, monitor, manage and empower you to achieve your goals. Constantly acting as a sounding board to keep you motivated and accountable to your action plan.

No one can be an expert in every aspect of life! Take for instance a world-class athlete who is an expert in their chosen sport… they understand full well that there are many aspects to life outside of sport that, if not running smoothly, have the potential to adversely affect their performance.

Consider this question. Why do world-class sports people, who are already experts in their chosen field, require a coach? The answer is not in what a coach can teach them about their sport, but how their coach can help them manage other aspects of their lives that may impact negatively on their performance if not in balance.

Take for example Ian Thorpe who recently changed his coach. What could Ian's new coach teach him about swimming that he doesn’t already know? The answer, in truth, is very little. His coach’s job is to maintain and improve Ian’s potential by helping him to focus all his energy to maximise his performance. This means his coach is a ‘life coach’ who will strive to ensure that Ian’s main opponent isn’t in his own head.

The same is true for all of us! Our goals in life will be adversely impacted if we do not retain a ‘winning’ mind. A ‘winning’ mind is one that is not pre-occupied with aspects of life that aren’t running smoothly. We will either become pre-occupied with the part of life that’s not functioning efficiently, or choose to ignore it; either way our goals, our work, our business, our plans, our career, our relationships will suffer.

Top sports people have understood the principles of life coaching and its many advantages for decades. Sport is a metaphor for life! That’s why life coaching is becoming an invaluable tool for busy people, in ANY walk of life.