In this episode of the Becoming You podcast, I talk directly to all of my long-term listeners who have been on the fence about getting a life coach by debunking some of the most common myths that come up time and again.

Myth #1: Your coach will fix all of your problems.

…and by extension, that they will fix you.

This is a really common myth, and I have to catch myself sometimes whenever I find an amazing coach and think, “This is the one.”

Never put pressure on yourself or your coach to have delivered this idea of paradise by the end of your time together.

Healing is not a linear journey, and it’s definitely not up to other people to do it for you.

Myth #2: Your coach will tell you exactly what you need to do to solve your problems.

For those who lived their whole lives being told what to do, beginning a coaching relationship may feel really scary.

But the truth is, your coach is a teacher, a guide, but they will never tell you what to do.

Instead of prescribing solutions that they think will solve a problem, good coaches will ask questions such as: “What do you want to do?”; “What do you desire?”; “How do you feel about that?”

Basically, a coach answers your question with a question because, when it comes down to it, you hold all the answers to your problems. Their job is to help you connect with and trust yourself.

Myth #3 & 4: Coaching is only for really damaged people. Coaching and therapy are the same.

I deliberately combined these two myths, because there is a lot of overlap between the two in terms of the mentality of the person who believes them.

Firstly, let’s get rid of the word “damaged” from our vocabulary, because you aren’t “broken” simply because you’re going through a tough time in your life. Suffering doesn’t equal brokenness.

Now, coaching and therapy are not the same. In general, therapy focuses on unearthing the roots of our suffering from the past in order to shed some light on our present suffering and help us navigate the now. Coaching, on the other hand, is more so about using lessons from the past in order to help you achieve your future goals.

Myth #5: Coaching is only for executives and athletes.

Coaching is not reserved for the elite, or those at the top of their game. We can all hire a coach.

We all have goals. We all have ambitions. We all have deep desires. Also, we all have the same potential to grow as every single one of the highest performers in their respective fields.

Executives and athletes are just smart enough to know that they need guidance to help fill certain gaps in their performance. They know that they can break through perceived limits a lot faster with a coach.

Myth #6: Life coaches have perfect lives and have it all figured out.

We all put up highlight reels of our lives on the web. It’s no different for life coaches. In fact, they’d obviously need to focus on the positive as part of their marketing.

But our coaches are human, too. Remind yourself that they make mistakes to give yourself permission to do the same.

Myth #7: Coaching takes a really long time.

Often, the one of the biggest fears clients come to me with is something along the lines of, “I’m almost 40. How is an 8-week program going to undo decades of bad habits and limiting beliefs?”

The myth is thinking that, because it took 20 years to get here, it’s going to take another 20 to get out of it.

Coaching collapses time because you’re doing very intentional, focused work. Not to mention the fact that you have accountability and support.

All of the things keeping you stuck—that whole castle you’ve built on an illusion of who you think you are, starts to fall apart really, really quickly.

Learn more about me and my coaching services:

Free resource: 10 Ways to Spark Your Self Love Journey

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