Is Life Coaching Real?

I've got a confession to make - to myself and to you. Some days {a lot of days} I believe that coaching isn't real. It's not a real profession. It's illegitimate. A farce. I'll tell you what really makes me a non-believer - this influencer, Instagram, positive affirmation, manifest your dreams, everyone is a life coach vibe we've got going on out there. And let me be clear. I LOVE positive affirmations. I LOVE manifesting my dreams. I LOVE that everyone can be anything they want to be.

But, there is a profession that already has those skills and those messages on lock down and it's called motivational speaking. Can motivational speakers BE coaches? Sure. Can coaches BE motivational speakers? You betcha. But coaching and motivational speaking are not one and the same. 

In my 20s - loooooong before I went to school for, and got certified to do, life coaching, I was having a conversation with my Uncle Jack on the subject. It went something like this:

Me: I'm going to be a guest on my friend's podcast. She's a life coach.

Uncle Jack: What does that mean exactly? A life coach. {This was 20 years ago - before life coaching took off, so it was a legitimate question}.

Me: It's like an advisor for your life. A consultant - but for your life. Like a guide - for your life. {I did not know what I was talking about, but I was making best guesses.}

Uncle Jack: You know who I want advising me on my life? Someone who has lived a whole complete life achieving everything I want to achieve, has died and came back to talk about it. That's who I want for a life coach.

Maybe I internalized that conversation. Maybe I already had doubts. Or maybe my skepticism had to wait for Instagram, Tik Tok, my own coaching journey, and the rise of the coach guru to really settle in. But, settle it has.

So...what exactly does this mean for someone who is a life coach? Or someone who has a life coach? Or someone who loves life coaching? Most likely the farce in your life isn't coaching, but something else: writing, parenting, succeeding, adjusting to change, connecting with other humans, adulting, getting a new job, launching a business, feeling content, getting help. We all have one. That thing that is present in your life - perhaps a big part of your life, that just doesn't quite feel like it belongs.

Well, it can mean you ignore every word here, hit delete, and carry on with your day. Or it can mean you pull out that wonderful tool called curiosity and start poking around. I think I'm going to start with the former and delete this email. Then when I've had enough avoidance maybe I'll pull it back out and ask myself some hard questions. Because after all, I am a life coach...