OK, so everywhere you turn you keep hearing this concept of a “coach,” but what the hell does that even mean? The only coach you can remember is the one that yelled at you when you didn’t want to take a header in soccer practice. You probably haven’t had a coach in your life since your varsity sports days.
So why then, as a young professional, would you need a so-called “coach?” Aren’t you already climbing the corporate ladder? Aren’t you finally mastering the city lifestyle without your parents’ support? You’re doing just fine on your own… right?
Well, this might all be true. But none of this should determine whether or not to hire a coach. Let’s look below at seven reasons why you might need to hire a life coach despite how successful you perceive yourself to be.
7 Reasons Why You Need a Coach:
1. To help you through a transitional period
Our twenties can be one of the most tumultuous decades of our adult life. During this period, much of our life sways in uncertainty and we ask ourselves questions constantly. Is this the career for me? Where do I want to live? Do I see myself in this relationship long term?
With each of these questions comes a big decision and is followed by a confusing transitional period. These periods can be psychologically and emotionally taxing on anybody. And it’s in these times that the support of a coach can be valuable. The coach can help you deal with the pain your feeling, transition those emotions into something positive and find ways to help you improve your situation.
2. Be your accountability partner
We all have areas in our life where we want to improve. Whether it’s to be more productive at work, tackle that big MBA program you’ve been avoiding, or start up that side project that’s been in the back of your mind for months.
While these feats can seem intimidating when you’re on your own, having someone who holds you accountable can be all the difference. A coach can be that person and help to instill discipline in you. While you might just be surviving your day-to-day right now, a coach can help you put your fears behind you and thrive.
3. Be a sounding board for big life decisions
As mentioned above, in our twenties and thirties we’re forced to face many life-altering decisions. It’s during these times we normally turn to our friends and family for advice. While their input is surely needed, it can be contradicting and even have biases.
A coach, while never making a decision for you, will serve as that unbiased sounding board to help you find the answers for yourself. A good coach will help you see the decision in a new light and put things in a greater perspective. This little voice could be exactly what you need to turn to a new chapter in life.
4. Make your dreams a reality
For many of us, dreaming was something we gave up as children. The adult world and it’s societal norms swept us up and stole our ability to think of an ideal life. But the truth is, your dreams are attainable and coaches can guide you to them.
Coaches can help you rediscover your dream goals and then map out a path to get you there. There are two key parts to reaching your dreams: 1) Truly believing they are in fact possible and 2) Fighting towards them no matter how difficult the journey becomes. Your coach can navigate you through this process.
5. Take your career to the next level
It’s easy to feel like we’re just treading water at work. We think we’re doing everything right to get that promotion or find that new job but nothing seems to be working as quickly as we want.
A seasoned coach can introduce you to ideas and techniques to help you reach your goals faster. Through more effective goal setting and daily habits a coach can take the goals that have alluded you for so long and make them attainable.
6. Push you beyond your comfort zone
We all have a tendency to live where life is easiest: in our comfort zone. Yet, so much of our potential and opportunity lies far outside of it. Without testing our limits we will stunt our own growth.
A coach is someone who can nudge you out of your comfort zone and into new moments of self-discovery. Whether it’s getting yourself out of the job you hate, planning a trip abroad, or launching into a new social circle, a coach can push you to get there. When you begin this process with your coach, you’ll start to see yourself grow as what was once uncomfortable to you becomes comfortable.
7. Reexamine your life plan
It’s easy for us to get caught up in the mindless day-to-day grind of the working world. We work hard every week for our check just to relax on the weekend and start all over again on Monday. In this process, we lose track of time and forget to think about who we are and what we want in life.
A coach can be someone to help you reflect on your life’s situation and discover new things about yourself. Our twenties and thirties are a perfect time to use a coach to do a “pulse check” on where you are in life and determine where to go from here. A seasoned coach will help you examine your passions, skills, and values in order to create a path that makes the most sense for you.
OK, but how do I find the coach for me?
After reading this article you probably see parts of your own life in the paragraphs above. Maybe you’re starting to believe that now is the time for you to seek out a coach and work through your own situation. The challenge now of course is finding the right coach. Who can you trust? Who’s qualified to help you out?
To be frank, there’s a lot of so-called coaches out there misleading you to choose them. They probably want you to fork over big money just to sign up. I’d be weary of these promotions. You want to get to know someone before selecting them as your coach. You want to make sure the person is credible and understands your situation.
Having said this, I want to offer up the chance to give me that shot and be your coach. I specialize in working with Millennials and young professionals in metropolitan cities. I’ve helped clients with self-discovery, goal setting and career redirection. If you’re interested in talking with me over the phone or in-person (Boston-based) then I’ll do that first meeting completely free. Just as you want to make sure I can help you, I want to make sure that we are a good match for each other.
My goal through this blog and through my one-on-one coaching is to help Millennials discover their life’s purpose and design a life around their passions. If this is a life that interests you, then I think our partnership could be the best decision you’ve ever made.
Please email me at brendan@straddletheline.co if you’re interested. In that email tell me a little bit about your story and why you’d want to work with me. After that, we can set up a quick call to see how we can best work together.
Thanks so much for reading and I look forward to hearing from you!
