Anyone tried it and how did it go?

not tried it, guy I went to school with is now a lifecoach. Cant vouch for him either way. I cant help but look at it with a little skepticism.

*pulls up a chaise longue*

Does 'Long' mind you pulling up one of his homes?

Anyway, best advice I can give is to check out anyone you consider very carefully and only take on recommendation from someone you both trust and don't think is a bit flaky – mate of mine became a life coach for a while when he lost his job in the city as in his words 'it's easy money and people don't have a clue that you don't really have a clue' – IIRC he took a two week course to prepare and that was it – he was let loose on the public. Actually as it turned out, I think he actually grew into the job and was quite good at it but he's told me some funny/scary stories about the kinds of BS that's sold as coaching.

BS for the rich and gullible

Awaits charlatans to extol its virtues

PS I have a life coaching qualification that work made me do

yesh @nols but if you go into it having an attitude like that then of course, it won't work.

Just don't give them your bank account details teehee. 😆

To op, – always be one of the things I would of done/do once I had won the lottery but beginning to think it's not worth it otherwise as I life coach 'n' train myself nowadays.

If you feel intrigued and genuinely interested in progressing your "life'' forward then GO FOR IT!

There's a saying that the buddhist way have and that it's to take the middle road (basically) as you get the best of both (warburtons say).

Word!

Anyone want to buy some genuine snake oil? good for all that ails you!

Aren't they just people who couldn't get a proper job?

Not tried it but I reckon getting an independent objective look at your issues can't be all bad….

I could take an "independent objective look at your issues" for you.
That doesn't mean that my suggestions for what you should do about them would be any more valid than your own or anyone else's.

the life coaches i know personally have been dismal failures in their own personal lives – by their own admission

Isn't that what friends and family are for ??

I imagine they are like any other consultancy role. They won't tell you anything you don't already know, they will just help you get on with things you know you should be getting on with.

What qualifications or membership of what professional bodies do the teachers of the "Life Coach" courses have, or belong to?

That doesn't mean that my suggestions for what you should do about them would be any more valid than your own or anyone else's

That is not what they do – that would be advising. They help you come to your own conclusions about solutions etc.
Woppit it just depends not sure if there is an international body/standard

Woppit it just depends not sure if there is an international body/standard

I think you're probably right about that. A bit like, ooh – "Graphology", let's say…

"the life coaches i know personally have been dismal failures in their own personal lives – by their own admission"

Yup, my brother was a life coach and a vicar and he got sacked from being a vicar, I mean how incompetent to you have to be to get sacked as a vicar?

And he's a odious money grabbing little t**t, I'd take his advice on nowt.

Does that help?

not sure if there is an international body/standard

It's still a highly non regulated industry and the barriers to entry are low (i.e. do a life coaching course over a course and Voila! you're a lifecoach)

There are some bodies who are trying hard to beat some professionalism into the field. Leading the way (IMHO) is the International Coach Federation who at least have an ethical code and a series of accreditations to give you some idea of what you're getting..

Absolutely right that there's a whole bunch of stuff being touted as Coaching. Some excellent, some truly awful. At its best Coaching is life-changing, wonderful and truly transformative. At its worst its a dressed up bunch of hippy-crap that can screw people up.

Best advice would be to do some research before parting with any money. Most coaches will talk to you and do an "intro" session free of charge as the relationship between you and the Coach is vital. It maybe that you don't need coaching at all. Good Coaches will only work with you if its the right thing for you (and for them).

Steelfan – very happy to talk more off-forum. Email in profile.

TM

twiglet – you're one of 'them', aren't you?

Bunnyhop is my life coach. It was either that or a custodial sentence. Poor girl

iDave

twiglet – you're one of 'them', aren't you?

LOL! I wonder what stereotype you're thinking of 🙂 Let me know and I can see if I fit 😀

TM

I lump life coaches and "trainers" into the same bracket – relatively pointless if you have half a brain and the ability to have a good hard look at yourself and do your own research. Given that as said above they are not advisors with a wealth of careers or business (or whatever) knowledge to hand out but merely there to supply questions to you for you to answer for yourself only feckless idiots unable to self analyse should open their wallets to them.

And "trainers"…. My wife is in HR and works alongside a "trainer". "Trains" on a variety of subjects she happily admits to knowing nothing about by spending the week before genning up on the subject of the week (H&S this week, management techniques next, IT databases the week after) so that she is one page ahead in the manual from those that she is "training". Probably just a bit miffed as it took a degree, a post grad qualification and industrial experience for me to have the knowledge to become an "educator" in my field and I earn a fraction what she does for being an "idiot's guide" on legs.

Have you thought of retraining?

—

Obviously there are plenty of crap life coaches when the industry is totally unregulated (and how would one ever regulate it?). It's easy to say that life coaches are all gash, MTFU, it's completely obvious etc. But then you could make the same statements about counsellors + therapists (MTFU, it was just a bit of trauma), and lots of what psychiatrists (STFU and MTFU, weirdo, now have these tabs and talk to the counsellor) and GPs (MTFU and put the chips down, you fat ****) do. But the real test is whether their clients are actually helped to live more productive and happier lives by what they do – the good ones do help and the shit ones don't.

And I don't know if being completely disorganised in your own life should be a barrier to being a life coach so long as you come up with the goods for other people – after all, GPs are more unhealthy and suicidal than the general population, builders' houses are always falling down and the butcher's dog is always the worst shod. (That's the expression, right?)

Mrs North, when suffering v bad work induced depression, took herself off to have CBT.

In essence the CBT she received was life coaching. It helped her, in her darkest hour, regain some perspective on her life, her work, and the way she had to interact and control both of them.

Of course, she could have had a "good hard look at herself", but since that's another way of saying "pull yourself together" (generally acknowledged as utterly non productive for someone suffering from depression), all she knew was that she needed a third party to help her regain perspective.

Oh, and FWIW, she's very cynical about any of life's "softer" services and is by no means unintlligent (she's a teaching fellow at a university), but found what she experienced as enormously valuable and instrumental in her recovery.

Someone who can get in your face and make you examine things in a reasonably structured way is probably worth a spot of money if you've got it spare.

I've had some CBT from a woman I knew was useless, lazy and dense. If the insurance company hadn't been paying I'd have walked out.I've had relationship counselling/sex therapy that was epically crap and going nowhere, and I've dealt with a couple of people who have been bright, energetic and reasonably useful.

It doesn't seem to be a difficult thing to do particularly though.

We sell snake oil a Life Coaching Course and there is no regulation. We also punt it as "Take this course and you can run your own Life Coaching Business"

Some are excellent and some are terrible.

Best to hire from word of mouth/good experiences.

Isn't that what friends and family are for ??

No, it's what STW is for 😆

Good constructive comments coming from (konabunny/mr north/bigdummy) these thread contributors.

To sum up I would of thought or imo is that ''we as life coach clients just need that final eye opener and in some cases, a push.

Just my sterling's worth.

My Sisters' mum is a life coach and when she was training she used me as a guinea pig for practicing her skills. But I have to say it was a really interesing experience.

I was quite open to it and learnt alot about myself and found great benefit from it. It wasn't just changing the specific bits we discussed but also setting a framework in place for overcoming obstacles in the future. I feel much happier and much more content as a result.

I had a few "issues" years ago and went to a number of counsellors – all of which were useless in resolving things. I found a life coach much more useful – helping to highlight areas of concern and put strategies in place to overcome the issues.

The way I look at it…

Counsellors = looking backward to understand with no real plan of action to resolve issues

Life coach = Looking forward at what you want to achieve and putting a plan in place to overcome obstacles and achieve those goals.

Like anything, even bike coaching, there are good ones and bad ones – choose carefully.

Thinking of it for myself rather than becoming one as I dont seem to have any direction or motivation do anything. Last year was pretty tough especially with the unexpected death of my father and I'm struggling to get myself back on track and makes some changes in my life. I even find it hard getting out on the bike and always find excuses not to go. Not sure what to do next and at 40 I feel I should know. Isn't life supposed to begin at 40?

[/quote]Not sure what to do next and at 40 I feel I should know. Isn't life supposed to begin at 40?

It is if you fall into the single category and fall for mass advertising hence the good excuse to join Match.com 🙄

😛

Am sorry to hear of your loss. Perhaps rather than make excuses not to go out on your bike, simply ask yourself out loud (sounds silly but it works) why ''not'' to go out on your bike, – whilst changing your language to more appropriate (opposite in your case I would imagine?)
positive type.

Try it, at the end of the day, if you go with the flow of this method, it will confirm an achievement played on your part and is time for taking note of that and how you feel in yourself.

That's enough of the directing other people's life for now, now I must direct my life off of the laptop. 😆

Bushwacked – Member
My Sisters' mum is a life coach

You know I call my sisters Mum simply Mum.
HTH