Top 5 Reasons People Hire Life Coaches

August 06, 2021 by Coach Training EDU

Why do people want a life coach? What motivates them to invest in their own hopes and dreams enough to invite a coach into their world? What is it about life coaching that can be so transformative?

While therapy focuses on the question, “How did we get here?”, life coaching focuses on “How do we get there?” Life coaches partner with their clients to focus on their future. Who does the client want to be? What obstacles will we need to defeat on the way there? How can we make all this happen? The quality of a person’s future is arguably one of the most important things to them in the present, so when a life coach can improve that, it makes their role irreplaceable.

Here are some reasons why people find life coaches invaluable:

• People want to set effective goals and actually achieve them. To most people, actualizing where they want to be in five or ten years seems like an insurmountable task. Goals are the stepping stones they’re desperate to see, but not everyone has the skillset to make specific, attainable goals. Arguably, most of us have a tough time doing that in our own lives. A life coach isn’t living in their client’s mind (thankfully), so they’re not subject to the host of mental blocks and insecurities that come in between a person and their dreams. 
• Life coaches hold the keys to some of life’s greatest frustrations – and people want to get their hands on that set of keys. Hiring a life coach is like buying a toolbox full of handy little gadgets to fix your squeaky wheels, stuck doors, and even knock down your concrete walls. Sometimes, if not many times, the solutions to the obstacles between people and their goals are a lot simpler than they realize. But simple doesn’t mean easy. Because life coaches are extensively trained and certified, they possess a host of tools that you can’t just download from the Internet. Part of the value is the relationship built with the coach, who can ask pointed questions and challenge their client when needed.
• Life coaches keep people accountable and take them over the finish line. Life coaches uphold a level of accountability that keeps their clients on track. People long for this accountability – especially when it’s supportive accountability rather than accountability they have to fear or want to avoid. In most things, it takes a team to achieve success.
• Life coaches help people discover their life’s purpose. Finding your calling, meaning, and purpose in life is something many people struggle to pursue alone. Life coaches guide their clients through exercises that elicit deep thought to help them become more self-aware. They teach clients to recognize the potential pitfalls unique to their personality and makeup to avoid future pitfalls. Everybody’s seeking to live a better story, but it’s tough to do this alone.
• Life coaches lead their clients to balance and fulfillment. Life coaching has grown so much in popularity because it’s relevant to every person. Healthy people seek balance and fulfillment in their lives, and life coaching slows everything down enough to provide unique insights into making a person’s deepest hopes and dreams a reality. This is true even when those hopes and dreams are as “simple” as stronger relationships with their family or a more manageable work/life balance. Many people want fulfillment but aren’t even sure how they would define it in their own lives – life coaching helps them find clarity and direction.

Life coaching is booming. From 2015 to 2019, coaching grew an estimated 33% globally. That’s only five years! The aftermath of the pandemic is making people everywhere ask more questions about the purpose of their lives, careers, and futures while they try to strike a better balance in their lives. As the industry grows, the practice of life coaching will only become more valuable as the best brains come together and sharpen their skills. After all, who isn’t looking for a better life?

You may also enjoy this episode of "Get the Answer" to the question: What should someone look for when selecting a coach?