What is life coaching and how can it help me as a new parent?
"Your life will never be the same”, “They grow fast, cherish this time”, “Don’t lose yourself in the child” – you hear these a lot. You go on Facebook or Instagram and absorb all the wonderful quotes and recommendations given there to young parents, then… you have no time or energy to act upon them.
You love your baby to bits, you are excited and you are scared, you are over the moon and under immense stress. You make plans, yet you aren’t fully in control of your time or your body, even your thoughts. Sometimes you are lucky to have some quiet time… in the shower, those precious minutes all to yourself. Then back to being a loving and caring parent, who has too much to juggle, everyday life which leaves no space for the bigger picture.
Conversations with a friend help though you feel obliged to ask and listen to them too and then there is rarely any depth in conversation about you and your life.
That’s when sessions with a qualified life coach can be of help. Life coaching is an effective process that supports people in making changes or adapting to changes in their lives.
Indeed, coaching sessions are conversations, but they are different from normal, social conversations; they are dynamic, focused and designed to move you forward in life. Coaching raises your awareness and helps you make decisions. After all, your life is the sum total of all the decisions you have consciously (and, frequently, un-consciously) taken to date. The decisions you make or don’t make now, the decisions you will act or don’t act upon – they all will affect you and those around you in the months and years to come.
Coaching sessions last 60min. A typical coaching session will comprise of:
- outline your current situation,
- set up your goals for the coaching session,
- set up your longer-term goals and devise an action plan,
- the overview of what has been discussed.
Between coaching sessions you might stay in touch with your coach to keep on track.
A professional life coach will provide you with time and space to identify what is happening in your life now (with no judgment!) and find a way forward. A coach will unconditionally support you on the path you choose and will – gently – keep you accountable.
Life coaching is an unregulated profession however you might prefer to choose a coach who has a qualification, is fully insured and is a member of the professional body (like Association for Coaching or International Coaching Federation). Do you need this?
Life coaching sessions are only about you, your circumstances, and your future. You can pause. You can breathe. You can recap where you had been at when your child arrived in your life; where you are now, and where you want to head. You can discuss any and all areas of your life, which you’d like to focus on: work, relationship, self-care, child upbringing, finances etc.
Give it a try, have an informal chat with a life coach and see if it works for you. Often, life coaching is the most efficient way to get started on the path to a more perfect life for you.
Ignaty Dyakov-Richmond, fully qualified life coach, member of the Association of Coaching, www.lifesensei.uk
