Online Class: How to Be Your Own Life Coach

Everyone wants to improve something: be a better parent or spouse, be happier, more peaceful, more fulfilled. Self-help books fly off the bookshelves and call-in radio shows answer questions one at a time to share knowledge and instruction, yet we continue to veer off course and find ourselves living someone else's life. Becoming your own life coach enlightens and empowers to find, capture, and live the life that is meant for you and you alone. Through guided lessons and exercises, you can assess your strengths, curtail your weaknesses, and discover the possibilities that await you.

 

This course is most effective when you allow yourself plenty of time to digest each session – a maximum of one week per lesson. As you'll find, being your own life coach depends heavily on your capacity to absorb the lesson, walk with the ideas you'll find and the goals you come up with, and then move forward with more certainty about your course. Some of you may find that you need longer than a week; just take the time you need. Becoming your own life coach doesn't happen overnight. Just as the steps that you will take to make your life over take time and energy, so too does the process of deciding what those steps will be.

 

Some of you may find that you want to jump ahead to a specific section, such as those on relationships, money, and work. This course is designed to be studied in the order that is outlined. Think of it as a building the house that is your life: a foundation must be laid before the first story; the second story cannot come until after the first, and so on. By the time we get to work, money, and love, think of these as finally living in the house, getting your furniture and decorations, and inviting people over. Your new couch simply will not last without the shelter the finished home provides. You will not want to bring a date or your spouse to your home when it is not safe and durable. You must be thriving and secure to begin taking on new challenges. The goals you achieve will be sustainable only if you have equipped your mind, body, and soul to be sustainable as well.

 

In addition to the necessary foundation, you must remember that as you assess your wants, needs, and goals, these change over time. Moreover, you change over time as well. The lessons you will go through in this course can and should be used repeatedly through your life. None of us are finished; we all grow and change and develop as a healthy and natural part of life. Nevertheless, it is imperative to continue to reassess, as you change, whether or not the person you are becoming is the person you want to be. Much of determining yourself and your life comes from weeding out the bad and fertilizing the good. That can only happen when you commit yourself to properly caring for your mind, body, and soul. The changes you do (and do not) see will alert you to what works for you and what doesn't, but you must be willing to pay attention. Just as a diabetic must take their medicine each day, we all must care for and develop ourselves holistically on a daily basis as well. If you are not sure yet how to do that, it is okay, that's part of what you'll be learning. Consistency, rather than speed, is the key to being your own life coach.

In preparation of the rest of this course, there are some tasks you must complete and a commitment you must make to yourself. This course is most effective when you undertake the journey on your own; after all, being your own life coach is all about what works for you and the life you want. Nonetheless, if you have a partner or spouse, someone with whom your life is closely intertwined, then you can decide what (if any) activities and lessons you want your partner to be part of. If you feel that the issues you are addressing are truly your own, you may find it best to exclude them altogether or to only include them on particular issues. You also may find that you do not want to go through the process with them, but may want to share your new goals and decisions with them after you complete the course. Alternatively, some of you may want your spouse or someone in your life to go through this course with you, sharing and discussing your revelations and decisions. Any way that you find works for you is okay. Just bear in mind that being your own life coach means absolute honesty with yourself and acceptance of where you are right now; therefore, only share what you want or feel you can.

 

It is recommended that you have a few simple tools to help you as you walk this path towards the life you want. They do not need to be new, expensive, or excessive; they simply need to work for you.