Working with a life coach is a unique experience and the relationship may be like no other that you’ve had.

It takes place is a confidential one to one dialogue between two equals and yet deals with deeply personal issues from the outset.

It’s not therapy or counselling, but you may be vocalising some personal issues for the first time!

It is therefore important not just to find a life coach, but to find the right life coach for you.

All true relationships are based on effective communication. It isn’t just about talking – it’s also about deep listening.

Life coaching is about you, your life and your personal life experience. Professional life coaches are willing to listen – and to listen on multiple levels – so they can truly know and understand you – and thereby enable you to truly know and understand yourself.

They will reflect back their understanding of you and your situation so that you know they are listening – and feel heard.

Find a life coach who really listens to you.

The right life coach for you will accept you as you are, in a non-judgemental manner. After all, who are they to judge? That goes to the heart of personal development coaching which seeks to empower you to be your true self.

Some approaches recommend modelling other people to be truly successful and achieve similar external results – but inevitably this comes at a personal cost – the cost of your true self and your unique pathway through life.

Instead accepting yourself as you are, for who you are, is the first important step on the road to an authentically fulfilling life.

Find a life coach who accepts you as you are.

Some life coaching approaches aim to be the experts on their clients, giving them advice and guidance to the problem as they see it.

Other approaches aim to give you the time and space to work out what’s really going on, to see things from different perspectives and explore alternatives.

In this way you become the expert on yourself – and as a result know how best to navigate life’s challenges as they arise.

You can then find the solutions to your own problems – there is no expert out there who can tell you how to live your life – and if you do find one, you are giving away your personal power to them at the same time!

Find a life coach who will support you to become an expert on yourself and find solutions to your own problems.

A life coach who seeks to empower you with self-knowledge, leaves you in a stronger position as a free, independent adult able to freely act on their own initiative in the real world, to speak for yourself and follow you own path.

Other people might recognise this as self-confidence and charisma – the hallmark of true individuality.

Some life coaching approaches are directive – that is they drive you towards an external goal in the hope that external success gives you what you really crave. They work by holding you accountable, like a sports coach, or a manager in the workplace.

Find a life coach who empowers you.

A holistic life coach accepts you as a whole person and works with you to integrate all the different parts of yourself into a coherent whole, greater than the sum of the separate parts.

Some approaches are purely cognitive – that is, they operate only up in the head, using rational, logical approaches, in the hope that this is more powerful that the deep-seated feelings and intuition that operate out of sight.

Find a life coach with a holistic approach if you want to pay attention to yourself as a whole person and connect with all aspects of your being.

Everyone wants a a quick fix at one time or another. But for our own personal development to be truly effective it needs to bring about lasting change.

This comes from personal insights which may have eluded us for years – or even decades. Just one insight can be transformational – it can happen in a moment and last forever.

Find a life coach who recognises the lasting power of personal insights.

There are different types of coaching: for example there is goal-orientated, results-driven coaching on the one hand and personal development coaching on the other.

Goal-oriented approaches are all about driving you towards an external goal by taking action in the real world and reporting back on progress.

Many people who have followed goal orientated approaches to achieve external material success are still left unfulfilled and disappointed, asking “is this all there is?” This is where personal development coaching comes in.

Personal development coaching is more about finding meaning and fulfilment in life, by getting in touch with the true authentic self and what really matters in life, rather than achieving ever more with no end or clear objective in sight.

Find a life coach who reflects your objectives.

Honesty and openness are essential in any real relationship – and even more so in a life coaching relationship. It takes trust in the other person to feel safe enough to be honest and open up.

So it’s important to have an initial conversation or an initial session to test out whether the life coach is right for you.

Of course trust builds over time, but you can also trust your instinct in that initial conversation.

Making an enquiry and booking an initial consultation is the only practical way to find out who the right life coach is for you.

To find a life coach you need to listen to your instincts.

Unitive® Life Coaching is different and distinctive. It is a uniquely holistic approach that has evolved into its present form over the past few decades.

It covers every aspect of you as a whole person – thinking, feeling, perception and intuition.

It recognises you as the complex and unique individual you really are and seeks to empower you with lasting personal insights so that you can reclaim your personal power, gain a sense of inner calm and experience the joy of living once more.

Our approach enables you to explore your true nature in a safe and secure coaching environment, enabling you to reconnect with that which you truly are – your own authentic and unique individuality.

As a result, your actions in the real world will be authentic and spontaneous – a true expression of who you are.

Unitive® Life Coaching can – and will – transform the way you live your life.

Whoever you choose to work with, we hope this guide has helped you to reflect on what you really want when you do find a life coach.

If you feel that a Unitive® Life Coach might be a good fit for you right now, then why not make an enquiry and we can arrange an initial conversation.