Toward the end of every year, countless numbers of us set ourselves new year’s resolutions. These are usually aspects of our lives that we believe changes, positive changes would improve our ‘lot’. But how many of us actually do something about adopting these resolutions? Actually make them work for us to achieve what we want out of our life? How many of us truly look at our lives, seriously enough to set a course of direction to achieve the things we really want? Life coaching can be the answer to these questions we pose ourselves.

Life coaching is the process of coaching ourselves to review the present and set goals for the future, in some ways not too dissimilar to a coach of a sports team training to win a game, however, it is not to be confused with counselling. Life coaching is a method a strategy to realise and maximise our potential, to enable oneself to be able to successfully chase our dreams. 

The aim of life coaching is to ascertain one’s conditions and transitions in our personal life, to have us discontinue our negative belief patterns, act more decisively, and set clear goals towards achieving what we want from life. This is accomplished by questioning what is happening in our lives right now through helping oneself explore the cause(s) of our problems and choosing a course of action to make our life as successful as we want it to be.

Success is a state of mind which life coaching helps recognise obstacles, be them real or perceived, that may be hindering us; ‘what is beneath the iceberg?’. It is encouraging yourself to look to your own core strengths, scrutinize your belief systems and to look and think outside the square. 

Life coaching is about focusing on specific goals, be they personal or professional, within a doable plan of action that you yourself have actualised. Through establishing techniques and strategies that not only help you deal with challenges this plan may throw up life coaching can also give a boost to your own motivation to persevere and be committed to seeing the plan to accomplish the goals you have realised.

Effective life coaching techniques comprise evaluating one’s values, beliefs, dreams, and aspirations. Life coaching is exploring one’s own life values and not looking back but focusing on the present and setting future goals, by allowing yourself to ‘take back your time’ ultimately leading to you feeling more satisfied and fulfilled. This is what makes life coaching so successful. 

The life coaching principles can be self-driven as outlined above or through the attaining of a professional life coach. Either way, it shall ensure that your new year’s resolutions become more than just a thought process.

About the writer

Ian Walker is a 57-year-old C6 Quadriplegic Incomplete. Ian lives in Christchurch, New Zealand and has survived 2 separate spinal cord injury-related accidents over the past 14 years. He is a Motivational Speaker who talks about - how to face adversity, cycle road safety, living with a disability, being a 1 percenter . . .

Ian also enjoys life coaching which he utilises through his business BMotiv8d, to assist those with a disability, (or without), who lack motivation, direction and/or confidence, those who feel disorganised or unfulfilled, and/or those who need encouragement or need to set priorities, on how to realise their true potential.