How Do I Find The Right Life Coach?

Choosing the right Life Coach is extremely important. A powerful coach/client relationship can help you go further than you ever thought possible, accomplish your goals, realize your dreams, and experience more fulfillment, ease, and joy in your life.  

#1 - CONSIDER CERTIFICATIONS 
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While there is currently no legal certification required to say that you are a Life Coach, there is a governing board called the International Coaching Federation (or ICF).  The ICF makes sure that coaches have adequate education hours and client hours to offer you the highest level of coaching.  I highly recommend choosing an ICF-certified coach.  That being said, I have collaborated with amazing coaching who were not ICF certified.  Trust yourself and your judgment. 

For me, as a coach, ICF certification was important.  In 2010, I graduated from IPEC, one of the most highly acclaimed coaching schools in the world.  IPEC's coach training program exceeds all requirements set forth by the ICF. 

#2 - INTERVIEW COACHES

​Almost every single coach offers some kind of free consultation or free mini-session. I recommend scheduling several.  While ICF coaches will all have similar education, each coach brings to the coaching relationship their own unique gifts, skills, and experience.  Asking your coach what unique gifts they bring to the coaching relationship during your free consultation is a great idea.  You can also ask them to describe their style of coaching, or outline the process they use to help clients reach their goals.  Remember - you are interviewing someone for the position of GUIDE on your journey of life.  If you were going to trust a guide to take you to the top of Everest - you'd ask a few questions. This is your one wild and precious life, be intentional about the people you surround yourself with.   

Remember, each and every life coach is a good fit for some people and not a good fit for other people.  No coach is a good fit for every single person.  This is a good thing. There are many amazing coaches out there that are not a good fit for you.  If a coach is not a good fit for you, it doesn't mean anything, so there is no need to feel weird about it. 

#3 - TRUST YOUR GUT

This is the most important part of choosing a Life Coach.  You have a thing inside of you - call it your knower, your intuition, your higher self - whatever language you use to name that thing doesn't matter.  What does matter is that you learn to trust it.  That thing has the answers for you (and only you), and it is there to guide you in your life.  When choosing a coach, let your gut guide you. 

#4 - DISAPPOINT WHOEVER YOU NEED TO

It is your job to disappoint whoever you need to in order to follow your inner knowing.  That means that you might have to disappoint the coaches that you had a free consultation with.  You might have to disappoint a partner or friend who had an opinion on who you should coach with.  This is not only okay, it is a practice that you must become an expert at if you are going to live the life that you were born to live.  You didn't come here to be a people pleaser, you came here to shine your light. 

#5 - A NOTE ON BEING UNCOMFORTABLE VS. BEING UNCOMFORTABLE

There are two types of discomfort, one you should feel while working with a coach and one you should never feel while working with a coach.  When you pay attention to how you feel in your body, you can recognize the two feelings and how they are different. 

When you feel uncomfortable on the inside, in your chest - like a start exploding outwards - that is the good kind of discomfort.  This discomfort is accompanied by clarity and a sense of openness in your heart.  That means that you are growing, or that you are about to take an action step that is going to result in your growth and development as a human.  This feeling is an indicator that you are on the right path and doing the right thing.  

When you feel uncomfortable from the outside, like pressure pushing down on your shoulders, in on your chest, or squeezing your head, like you're in a vice or a meat grinder - this is the bad kind of discomfort.  This discomfort is accompanied by confusion, fuzzy thoughts, trusting another person over yourself, or shoulding on yourself.  This means that something is out of alignment - and it's an indicator that it is time to stop, step back from the situation, and spend some time alone so that you can assess the situation. 

I mention this because it's of utmost importance to understand as you go through your journey of life, but also because it pertains to finding a coach.  If you feel pressured during your coaching consultation- if you feel that type II uncomfortable, that is a sign that the coach is not a good fit for you, and I recommend that you continue to seek free consultations until you find a coach/client relationship that feels safe and uplifting.