The Holistic Life Coach
A Journey of Self Awareness
The Holistic Life Coach works with clients on developing awareness in all aspects of their lives. These can include health issues, career issues, relationship issues and even spiritual issues as the Holistic coach examines the entire structure of the client’s life.
A Holistic Life Coach also knows that change begins with self-awareness, wherein the client focuses on their own personal needs, goals or desires.
It’s often said, “We cannot change what we will not see.” Self-awareness is the process of acknowledging not only our strengths, but our weaknesses as well. Becoming self-aware entails listening to your body and feelings and taking action based on what you hear.
“We cannot change what we do not see.” Self-awareness is that active process of experiencing and acknowledging both our strengths and weaknesses. The Holistic Life Coach works with clients in helping them learn how to pay closer attention to those inner messages from their body and emotions which in turn helps the client develop goals that are more in line with the client’s aspirations.
If you’re in tune with your body, you’ll know when to say no to that extra piece of cake or say no to staying up late. You’ll become more in tune with your body the more often you respect it.
Self-awareness is a process. The more we do it, the better we become at it.
Holistic Coaches believe that if one is in tune with their body and mind it is much easier to remain focused when dealing with day to day challenges. Holistic Coaches see self-awareness as a process and know the more it is practiced the easier it becomes.
These tips can help the holistic life coach work with their clients to become more self-aware:
1. Reflect on where the client is and what they want to become.
While it’s important to notice faults and weaknesses, it’s equally important to acknowledge strengths.
Holistic Coaches engage clients in self-reflection by brainstorming how the client sees themselves and what the client would want to become. While it is critical to acknowledge weaknesses or shortcomings, it is equally important to acknowledge strengths and talents as well. The more clients understand themselves the more readily they accept themselves and the easier change becomes. Becoming more self-aware requires a determination to honestly assess ourselves. The Holistic Coach guides their client on that journey.
Clients need the anchor of self-awareness to achieve long term change. They need to honestly embrace and be able to clearly articulate their current situation; otherwise, they will only know short term success.
A very powerful place to start with clients is for the Holistic Life Coach to perform an assessment of those character traits and life values that make the client unique. This assessment will build the client’s confidence and self-worth.
This assessment is not about building the client’s ego but rather about the Holistic coach helping the client see and acknowledge the client’s uniqueness.
Until clients explore the truth of who they are, they cannot move towards becoming who they want to be.
2. Acknowledge likes and dislikes. Holistic coaches understand people can often make choices based not on what they want, but on what others want for them.
Before clients make decisions about their future, we want to encourage them to have clarity around what they want and what they do not want in their life.
3. Confronting the inner self. Holistic Coaches support their clients in boldly considering their motivations, dreams, fears and difficulties; guiding their clients in reflecting on their feelings and emotions, as well as the beliefs the client may have attached to them and hold them in place.
The Holistic Life Coach understands that their client’s beliefs are the road map to how they client lives their life. Some of these beliefs serve the client well leading to happiness and fulfillment, while other beliefs lead to a narrow, narrow viewpoint, stress and unhappiness.
A very useful process is for the client to approach friends and family to honestly share their observations about what makes the client a unique and special person. It is very important, however, for the Holistic Life Coach to guide the client into a state of mind that is open to receiving negative as well as positive feedback.
Life coaches know that clients may not be the best judge of themselves. Many famous actors, musicians, and artist get upset seeing or hearing their own work. A professional Holistic Life Coach will want their client to form an opinion of themselves based on a good balance between how others see the client as well as how the client themselves.
When clients hire a Holistic Life Coach, they are beginning on a journey of discovery! This journey can be immensely fulfilling for both the coach and the client. By working with their clients to increase self-awareness, Holistic Life Coaches help the client build a foundation that will help the clients eliminate behaviors and choices that no longer serve the client well and replace them with behaviors and choices that more accurately represent the client’s core life values.