What is Life Coaching or Mindset Coaching?

A brief word for "Newbies" to Coaching

At Synergy Diamond Coaching success coaching includes life coaching, business coaching, career coaching, executive coaching and spiritual life coaching. Looking at life coaching will help you understand coaching in other areas.

What is Life Coaching?

Life Coaching has been defined many ways. We dont attempt to define it comprehensively but do share with you some of our observations, experience and understanding into Life Coaching:

* Life Coaching is a process between two open minded individuals, one facilitating the other to better planning, decision making, goal setting, growth, change and success.

*Coaches uses tools and techniques when initiating "Coaching Conversations". A popular tool used by many Coaches for the last few decades is the GROW model of Coaching, which stands for Goals, (Current) Reality, Options and Wrap Up (Written Action Plan). This simple and powerful tool acts as a framework for many coaching sessions. It is a series of questions which enable coaches to deliver a meaningful result for the coachee. See the FAQs page for an example of a coaching conversation using the GROW model of Coaching.

* Coaches ask better questions, in order that coachess may set SMART goals, take productive action, make wise decisions and succeed.

* Life Coaching is about the yin and the yang, the dark and the light, it is about relative thinking rather than absolute thinking. Coaching assists you to uncover limiting beliefs, fears, emotional blockages, negative thinking and other internal obstacles. Life Coaching has had alot of success in assisting people overcome difficult obstacles, quickly and permanently.

* Life Coaching is a process which accentuates the productive use of all our good natural talents, skills, strengths, abilities and resources.

* Life Coaching heavily involves self development, professional development and relationship development at many levels. It is about empowerment.

* Coaches act as a sounding board or a mirror for the coachee. This process allows the coachee to see past his/her limited perception of himself/herself; amongst other benefits.

* Life Coaching is a process, a learning process, an exploration of mind, body and soul.

* Life Coaching is about the coachee not the coach, empowering the coachee to take full responsibility for their own decisions, actions, thoughts, behaviours and words.That is, Coaches believe that the Coachee has all the knowledge within (the expert of his/her life) to answer the relevant questions.

Coaches don't give advice which the coachee must follow. Yes coaches can share knowledge or provide education but ultimately the choices and decisions are for the coachee to make. The coachee largely dictates the subject matter and the coach facilitates either the resolution of a problem or the accomplishment of a goal or both.

How is Coaching different to Mentoring, Advice, Consultancy, Psychology and Counseling?

Coaching is not the same as consulting (advice) or therapy (psychology or counseling). Yes there are overlaps and sharing but coaching is normally about the present and future events, not past events. Coaches normally don't aim to cure mental health problems unless they are qualified psychologists as well.

And yes a suitably qualified coach can provide therapy if they also have suitable qualifications as a consultant or psychologist. This is textbook thinking, on the other hand, some coaches have priceless experience, networks, real world success, knowledge, skills and talents that cannot be attained by degrees from academic institutions. And it is this latter type of coach, coupled with suitable methodologies (coaching qualifications) that we learn from and model from. Of course, we also take from academia when appropriate.

In other words, the emphasis here is on Emotional Intelligence, Spiritual Intelligence, Real World Experience, Wisdom (as apposed to text book information) from a Charismatic Coach who may facilitate your success.

Coaching and mentoring are often confused as the same thing. Yes there is a cross over. Our understanding of mentoring is a professional relationship between an experienced professional assisting a junior employee on a specific subject matter. Mentoring does allow for providing "advice" such that there maybe a right way or wrong way to do things. Whereas coaching is more involved on a macro level about achieving performance targets, goals, relationships etc. Again coaches maybe mentors as well as coaches if they have suitable qualifications and relevant professional experience.

For further details on comparisons see Harvard Business Review, January 2009, "What can coaches do for you?"

Coaching is also associated with NLP, positive psychology and other sciences of the mind & being, such as quantum physics. The following provides a brief overview on these topics.

What is NLP or Neuro-Linguistic Programming & Positive Psychology and what has it to do with Coaching?

NLP applies objectivity [flexible rational thinking] as opposed to subjectivity [the way we think consciously and unconsciously or rather react than think, most of the time in our limited perception of reality, disunited from the truth and each other]. NLP is about examining your thinking, feeling and language in order to better help you achieve your goals. And one of the aims of NLP is to copy patterns of excellence or habits of highly successful people (modeling). A common simple definition of NLP is to state that it is the study of excellence. NLP is frequently used in Business and Wealth coaching. Many coaches model their techniques and behaviour on habits of millionaires and billionaires. 

Positive psychology (coaching) is something recent in Western Countries. In the 1990's, psychologist Martin Seligman began a trend in psychology away from mental illness towards mental wellness, hence positive psychology. It focuses on people's strengths, positive character traits and happiness-boosting practices. Since then there has been a lot of books and research on what makes us happy. No doubt you have all seen on book stands the Art of Happiness by the Dalai Lama and many other books on happiness. And the mention of the Dalai Lama also raises the fact that many coaching schools draw upon spiritual principles from various eastern spiritual ways to enhance happiness and well being. Coaches have been using positive psychology long before it became popular in the halls of academia and psychology practices. Positive psychology forms part of the wide body of knowledge that is Life Coaching.

I use and practice a holistic method of life coachng and business coaching. And draw upon principles from all the above, as well as other trusted sources, to facilitate success for you.

Coaching is one of the fastest growing industries worldwide. And that fact alone is testimony in itself to its success in achieving results in all areas of life for people, globally.

The Benefits of life & Business Coaching include:

• Breakthroughs, becoming unstuck
• Accelerated permanent change or just permanent positive change
• Transformation
• Inspiration
• Motivation
• Self awareness and self education
• Improved communication and relationships
• Action, action and more action, so lots of learning
• Empowerment
• Financial Success
• Succeeding
• Happiness
• Fun And much more

Success coaching is about creating lasting change and positive transformation in You [your heart, your mind and your body; and those you love] not a temporary hyper state.

What areas in life do we Coach?

We coach you in the key areas of life (as well as covering other areas as the need or want arises):

• Spirituality
• Health & Fitness
• Relationships & Social
• Family
• Personal Growth & Development (Emotions, Thinking, Learning etc)
• Career & Business (Prosperity)
• Finances

Services

Coaching

The following Coaching Services are available

• Life Coaching
• Spiritual Life Coaching
  
• Business Coaching
• Career Coaching
• Executive Coaching

See the Business Coaching Tab for more on our various business coaching services.