ARE YOU AFRAID OF COACHING?“
Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood” – Madame Marie Curie
Because coaching is a relatively new concept, many people are not really clear on what coaching is, what it “does”, how coaching can benefit them and what results can be achieved.
In fact, coaching is often confused with Therapy, its “distant cousin with a bad reputation, from the wrong side of the tracks”. Therapy has had a tough rap for many years and is only recently becoming more socially acceptable.
In contrast, Coaching, a relatively new profession, founded in the mid- 1980's, is fast gaining global recognition and acceptance as a legitimate Life Enhancement Strategy.Unlike psychiatry and psychotherapy, which became socially acceptable in America long before it has happened in the rest of the world, coaching seems to be catching on globally as an acceptable and desirable form of self-help.
For many years, there was a huge stigma attached to the idea of seeing a psychiatrist, psychologist or mental health practitioner. The general consensus was that if you were seeing a psychiatrist, you must be crazy. Many of the Fears that prevent people from going to therapy are the same fears that prevent them from getting coaching.
Some Psychotherapy Myths & Fears:
Myth1: Only crazy people go to psychotherapy.
Myth2: Psychologists just listen to you vent, so why pay someone to listen to you complain?
Myth3: A psychologist will just blame all your problems on your parents or your childhood experiences.Myth4: You’ll need to stay in psychotherapy for many years or even the rest of your life
Fear 1: Stigma and judgment - Only crazy people go to psychotherapy
Fear 2: Embarrassment – “Everyone will know” .It’s airing your family’s “dirty laundry” in public.
Fear 3: Feeling of Inadequacy – I should be able to handle this on my own. Only weak people ask for help
Fear 4: Articulating Feelings – Men especially struggle with this, often seeing it as a sign of weakness
(Read more at: http://www.oprah.com/health/Talk-Therapy-and-Mental-Health/1#ixzz2vXTzxtO8)
In today’s world, we are a lot more tolerant and accepting of the need for outside help and of taking care of our mental and emotional health in the same manner that we take care of our physical health.The good news is that for many years now, it is not only socially acceptable, it is almost a prerequisite to have a therapist. In fact, you might be considered crazy if you don’t have one! And, whereas Therapy was given a bad reputation, generally through misunderstanding and ignorance, Coaching is rapidly gaining a great reputation.
What is the difference between coaching and therapy?
Therapy focuses on helping people to work through past emotional issues to create a healthy present, coaching focuses on working with healthy people, by taking actions in the present, to create a desired future.
People can understand and relate to the concept of coaching so much more easily. Everyone understands why Rugby Teams, Football Teams, Basketball Teams, Baseball Teams and Tennis, Golf and Olympic Sportsmen and women have coaches. It helps them to improve their performance!
Because we understand coaching, we can accept it and embrace it more easily.We have role models and heroes who are using coaches to achieve results and we can feel comfortable with that. Anyone who is anyone has at least one coach, and many of the most successful people work with several coaches, specializing in specific areas of success.
What is stopping you from getting a Life Coach? Is fear holding you back? What are you afraid of? What if you were wrong?
Everyone wants or needs a life coach. The truth is anything you want to do in life you can do better and more easily with the aid of a Life Coach to support you in your journey.
“Do not let your fears choose your destiny” – Unknown
"I absolutely believe that people, unless coached, never reach their maximum capabilities." ― Bob Nardelli, former CEO, Home Depot
“If you want to build your business and at the same time have a rewarding personal life, you call a coach.” – Denver Post
