Life Coaches: No, They Are Not BS

Marissa Bailey

I am writing this today as a convert.  I am publicly admitting: I was wrong.

If you would’ve told me 4 years ago that I would be consistently working with a life coach and ENJOYING it, I would’ve offered a hard NO.

In fact, I silently laughed at people who shared that they work with a life coach.  (Insert judgmental smirk here)
What exactly is a “life coach”?  Do they just take people’s money to tell them how great they are?  Why should I take advice from someone who doesn’t know me and has a bunch of woo woo accreditations?

And then I had a baby.  And struggled to breastfeed.  And got a promotion while on maternity leave.  And was averaging 4 hours of sleep a night.  And was diagnosed with postpartum depression.  And went on antidepressants.  And discovered I had severe anxiety.  And then I asked for help.

It was a hell of an 8 month period.  

I spent the next year working with my therapist while on meds and it was life changing.  It was my first time going to therapy and boy, did I need it.  I worked really hard on myself to get my mind to a healthy place.  And it worked.  Therapy, meds, focusing on me… all of it.

My twice-a-week appointments turned into once a week.  Then every two weeks.  Then once a month.  My amazing therapist recalled how far I’d come and how much we worked through together.  She then suggested I try going at it alone and call her as needed.  It was the perfect time for a pause.

During that pause I realized that while I was so thankful for my time with the therapist, I needed something more.  I needed a less clinical approach.  I was sharing this idea with a friend who encouraged me to talk to her life coach.  (Insert judgmental smirk here). The first 30 minute call was free and I could see if it would be a good fit.  I reluctantly agreed.

Little did I know then, but that 30 minute phone call would open a side of my mind that I didn’t know existed and create a pivotal relationship with a person I – to this day – have only ever met one time in person.

My life coach Jody became a touchpoint, a mirror, a friend, an ally and a teacher.  We worked through my Mom anxiety in a different way than I did with my therapist.  We worked A LOT on my inner monologue and the limiting beliefs I was telling myself.  Jody pointed out things in my childhood that were places where those limiting beliefs may have started and why they continued.
 
Jody gave me tools on how to be nicer to myself, improve my inner thoughts, create a life that I dreamed of, and most importantly, she pointed out how strong my intuition was and gave me the confidence to trust it.  And yes, she is accredited.

I need to be crystal clear about this point: I would never have been in a space to inquire about a life coach, if I hadn’t done the work with a licensed therapist.  My time in therapy healed my mind and prepared me to be mentally fit to take the next step in life.  For me, that was the addition of a life coach. 

I am about a year into an “Intentional Living” program with Jody.  Our time – technically -runs out in about a month and I’ve already started thinking about how often I need to talk with Jody to get to my goals.

For me, my life coach is the outside accountability partner that I need – to nudge me closer and closer to the best, healthiest version of myself.

I am not ashamed to admit that I need that and frankly, having a life coach is the best self-care money I spend all year.

February 18, 2022

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