What is a life coach?

I see life-coaching as a journey to discovery and a way of unlocking your ultimate potential. Typically, my clients aim to gain clarity of their goals and learn how to identify any obstacles preventing them from achieving them.

Through coaching you essentially learn how to be intentional. You learn how to take your life into your own hands and be accountable for how you live your life. It’s about setting goals, reaching them, and then exceeding them. A life-coach is just somebody who goes with you on that journey to discovery.

What does a life coach actually do?

A life coach guides you through the process of identifying your potential, defining your goals and planning your path to achieving them.

They are a sounding board, a sensible and impartial voice and a teacher of important techniques needed to change your mindset, overcome your obstacles, and reach your goals.

Why do I need a life coach?

If you feel you could/should be achieving more than you are right now, if you find that you lack confidence and often doubt yourself or feel unable to achieve your goals, you could really benefit from life coaching.

Where are you based?

I am based in London, UK. But I offer virtual sessions, so can coach practically anyone, practically anywhere!

What are your life coaching qualifications?

Although it is not a legal requirement to be certified to become a life coach, I believe it is important in displaying your understanding and experience in the field. I am certified through an ICF (International Coaching Federation) approved course.

I am also currently training to become a NLP (Neuro-linguistic programming) practitioner to improve my expertise.

What do you focus on?

I focus on impostor syndrome, which can present itself as a number of things, including: self-doubt, perfectionism, lack of confidence, insecurity, and anxiety. I also focus on achieving and maintaining a healthy work/life balance, stress/time management, and interpersonal skills (such as healthy communication and criticism).

What can I expect from a session?

The short answer? You set the agenda for each session.

Different life-coaches use different approaches and there’s no one-size-fits-all. I typically use a holistic approach that looks at all aspects of a client’s life but, ultimately, coaching is about the client.

My role is to just listen and ask questions to challenge their thinking. I might ask, ‘why did you come to life-coaching in the first place, why is this what you want?’ Based on this we can work together to come up with action points to work on. It’s like taking mini steps to reach their bigger goals.

Each session typically lasts an hour and I advise a session per week, leaving a gap for the client to reflect. I usually recommend a minimum of three sessions because people are often sceptical about life-coaching so might be a bit reluctant during initial sessions.

What benefits can I expect from life coaching?

Life coaching can have so many benefits, and they entirely depend on your unique individual goals and objectives.

Some of the benefits you can expect from life coaching are:

• Clarity on your goals and how you can achieve them.
• An understanding of the obstacles or negative thinking patterns that are preventing you from achieving your goals right now.
• An understanding of the tools required to help you to overcome these obstacles.
• Empowerment to utilise these tools to overcome these obstacles, change your negative thinking patterns and achieve your goals.
• Support with setting goals and planning your strategy to achieve them.

How does it differ from counselling or therapy?

A therapist delves into your past and uses those experiences to help you understand patterns in your behaviour today. The main difference is that therapy focuses a lot on the past and the present whereas life-coaching helps you engage in your current state, with more of a focus on the present and future.

Also, life-coaches aren’t mental practitioners so we can’t diagnose mental illnesses like anxiety or depression. Life-coaching shouldn’t be substituted for therapy. If anything, I would recommend adding it on to therapy.

What is impostor syndrome?

Impostor syndrome is a manner of thinking in which an individual doubts their skills, talents or accomplishments. They often feel they do not deserve their wins in life, or may put them down to luck, and may have a persistent internalized fear of being exposed as a "fraud".

The lack of confidence that impostor syndrome instills in us can get in the way of reaching our full potential or achieving our goals. My goal is to help you manage it.