What is the difference between coaching and counseling? Is coaching right for…

It has been said that counseling takes you from dysfunctional to functional while coaching takes you from functional to optimal. Counseling often focuses on diagnosing a problem and healing unresolved issues of the past, while utilizing insight and understanding. Counseling typically focuses on the “why” of any situation. Coaching, on the other hand, is action driven. Coaches shift the focus from “why” to “how.” In the coaching process, you continually take steps that move you toward your goals in life. Your coach partners with you to discover where you want to go, and together, you design a very clear and specific plan to get there. Action is a key component of coaching.

A fundamental belief of coaching is that there are only opportunities in life, not problems. Coaches also believe that each human being is already whole, complete and perfect. There is nothing broken; so there’s nothing to fix. Thus, when you embark upon achieving your goals while firmly rooted in these core principles, you will be driven by inspiration, abundance and true joy, rather than by fear or scarcity. This may be a very new approach to life for many. When you shift your perspective of yourself, your circumstances and how you see others and the world, you begin to see many new opportunities that were previously missed by you, and your experience of life alters.

Wondering if coaching is for you? Coaching is an effective way to achieve your life goals. People cause huge transformations for themselves out of working with a coach. If you are interested in new levels of success in life and are willing to challenge yourself, coaching is for you.

Still unsure? Ask yourself the following questions:

• Do you have goals that you have been putting off for years?
• Do you still feel unfulfilled in certain areas of your life?
• Do you believe you haven’t reached your full potential?
• Do you ever feel resigned, “stuck” or unmotivated in aspects of your life that are important to you?
• Is there something in life that you want, but just doesn’t seem possible?
• Do you allow fear to stop you from achieving your goals?

If you responded “yes” to any of these questions, coaching will empower you to cause breakthroughs in those important aspects of your life. A life coach will help you design a future of your own creation and positively alter the quality of your life. In the process, you will be empowered to continue creating lasting change in your life.

Jamie L. Cicerelle is a Certified Life Coach (CPC) with Blank Canvas Coaching, with 13 years of experience as a divorce lawyer. She specializes in divorce and relationship coaching.