Over the years I’ve heard several people talk about working with a life coach. I even have a few friends who have hired online life coaches and made positive improvements in their lives. Yet, I’ve never fully understood what a life coach does and never thought one could help me.
Why I Felt I Needed a Life Coach
As a recovering addict, these last several years have been focused on maintaining my sobriety and getting back up on my feet. It wasn’t until recently that I realized I was stuck. Sure, I’ve gotten sober, married the man I love, started a new career I enjoy, have a roof over my head, and have enough money to meet our needs. And while these are no small feats for someone who’d literally destroyed and lost everything, in the very back of my mind was the growing realization that I didn’t know where to go from here.
Every day it seems something reminded me that I am not where I thought/dreamed I was supposed to be at this age. I’ve no retirement, no savings, no home to call my own (we rent), and no clue where to go from here to achieve those things. It’s like I managed to get back on my feet, only to remain standing in the same place, not knowing how to move forward and horrified at falling backward. Then I was offered the opportunity to speak with a life coach, and now I finally feel as though I have taken that next step forward.
What Is a Life Coach?
In the spirit of honesty, once I had confirmed that I wanted to speak with a life coach, I started to have my doubts. After all, I already see a counselor, so I still wasn’t convinced that a life coach would be of any benefit. It wasn’t until I was reading some other people’s accounts of their experiences with a life coach that it really clicked for me. It was in this one post where a life coach explained it to her client, she said:
A counselor looks at your past to explain who you are today, while a Life Coach uses where you are today to help you get to where you want to be tomorrow.
After reading that, I knew this was exactly what I needed, so I headed over to the Life Reimagined® website and got started.
What Is Life Reimagined
Life Reimagined is an online life coaching service that:
- Helps you define your personal mission statement.
- Gives you the ability to choose your own certified Life Coach from a team of experts.
- Lets you video chat with your Life Coach from the comfort and privacy of your home.
- Prompts you to create personalized action plans and track your progress.
- Connects you with resources and events (even those in your own area) to help you learn new skills.
Getting Started
Getting set up with Life Reimagined was not only quick and easy, but it was also actually an eye-opening experience. After signing up, I spent about 20 to 30 minutes working on the Life Reimagined® LifeMap. This is actually a series of questions presented as a card-sorting exercise that helps you get to know yourself better.
The questions focus on 5 specific areas: Gifts, Passions, Impacts, Values, and Purpose.
There are a ton of options to choose from within each of the five LifeMap areas, and while many resonated for me, ultimately I had to narrow it down to the top 3 for each area. These questions and my answers produced my personal LifeMap which is sort of like my purpose statement.
While I identified with what I read, I still had no clear idea of what to do with that statement it how to get there. And this is where my session with a Life Coach comes in.
Finding A Life Coach
Selecting a Life Coach to speak with was my next step. Life Reimagined offers several, and as I looked through the available coaches I was able to see their credentials and areas of expertise. There were actually several on there I felt I would like to talk to, and eventually I narrowed it down to the one I felt I would connect with the best that also had a time slot open that would work with my schedule.
My appointment is just a few days away, and I will be writing another post to let you know how my appointment with a Life Coach went so you can see what to expect if you, too, are considering or want to see how working with a Life Coach can benefit you! Until then, visit Life Reimagined to learn more about this wonderful service!