Become A Life Coach: A life coach normally specializes in a particular area, thus there are life coaches from different backgrounds such as relationship or career coaches. Life coaching refers to a practice in which a person helps others to identify and attain their goals in life. However, unlike in other professions, you do not require professional certification or license in order to become a life coach.
As a result, you can easily claim to be a life coach with ease, depending on what you wish to coach people about. The only problem is that you will not be effective, particularly if you do not know what it means to coach.
At the same time, you also need to have background knowledge in the area in which you intend to focus your coaching skills. If for instance, you wish to coach people on relationships, you must have a good grasp of this subject. This is an indication that even if you are not required to be licensed or certified in order to become a life coach, you cannot just bestow this title upon yourself. As this article gives you tips on how to become a life coach, you will no doubt realize that life coaching is not as easy as it seems.
Tips on how to become a life coach
The first step towards becoming a life coach is to determine the area of life coaching in which you intend to specialize. As indicated earlier, you can coach people on different matters such as finances, careers or relationships. It would be advisable to choose an area in which you have previous experience, which will make your coaching more effective. You may need to acquire additional training, which will increase your likelihood of success. Once you have identified your area of specialization, you need training on how to become a life coach.
Currently, there are coach training certification programs, which may take one to three years to complete. The duration of the programs mainly depends on the depth and intensity of the training program you choose. Further, you may want to enrol in programs which are accredited by the ICF (International Coach Federation). In so doing, you will become a certified life coach, such that your career will be secure should a license be required in future.
If you cannot afford these programs, be sure to take introductory courses so that you can familiarize yourself with coaching. There is a lot of information on the internet regarding life coaching, which can provide you with the basics of what it means to be a coach. You can also learn from other successful life coaches, integrating their lessons into your own life.
Coaching knowledge is just as important as having a background in your area of speciality. It is therefore important to hone your skills in these two areas if you wish to be distinct. If you wish to become a career life coach, it is advisable to become certified, even though it is not a requirement. Failure to do this will limit your options, since there are clients or businesses that will not hire a life coach who is not certified, regardless of your previous experience.
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