When is coaching a good choice?

I would like to demonstrate when coaching is a good choice on the following hypothetical scenarios:

1.

You are feeling that you are doing quite well in life: you have an office job from 9am till 5pm, you have a nice spouse and some nice friends with whom you go out for some drinks time to time, and let`s say you also have a dog, who you care for very much. So imagine that you are living nicely like this for some time, but then your past dream to have your own business was coming to your mind more often recently but you try not paying attention to it much. Interestingly, in the same time you start to experience some negative events in your workplace, which makes you think more about your past dream. This dream was more and more coming to your mind and you start considering to do something about it, although you are not sure what is that you would like to do or what is that you are good in; you are questioning yourself “is there actually something special I could offer” “what are my strengths and skills” and thinking to ask for support, but from who, as everyone is so busy with their own life. You feel that your spouse would surely support you but working too much and not particularly have that much time to fully develop this idea/dream with you.

You know that a therapist is definitely not the right person as what you are facing with is not a trauma or pain which needs to be healed. You also feel that a mentor, an expert or a consultant is also not a right person to you yet as this idea is so hidden inside you that is not fully developed yet. So you feel that you would like someone who you can have an adult to adult collaborative relationship, a safe and non-judgmental space to open up and express yourself freely; you would like someone who will help you with developing your vision, who will be supporting you in discovering your strengths, values and creating steps with you towards your goal and who will be there with you when facing obstacles and who will harness, empower and enable you to face with those challenges. So you feel that Coaching will be right for you.

2.

Out of the blue you find yourself in the middle of a pandemic and the way you have lived your life and existed has turned upside down. This resulted after some time that you started questioning yourself and everything around. And because of this flip and chaos around you, you started to question that the way you have always lived was still actually right for you. You started to question your interest, your values; moral questions crossed your mind; you were thinking if the goal you have set yourself in the past are still accurate; if the job you are in is still the one you enjoy; you were thinking about the meaning of your life and what is important to you.

You feel that as a result of these thoughts and emotions as well as external factors you would very much need someone who you can discuss all these, who could support you in regaining your balance again and finding your new self and become resilient and get your own answers so you can get out from this situation successfully.

You have many friends and family you can talk about this, but so far they have all expressed different opinion about this situation and you find that they are rather destructive than empowering you or being open about your new and perhaps unusual questions. You thought about calling a helpline where you could just vent what you have all inside you and you also thought of going to counselling, but non of these really felt right for you. You find this situation complex, you don`t feel that anything wrong with you, but you just feel like to gain more understanding about who you are and reach toward something new and exciting you have never thought of. So when you read about coaching in an article on Positive Psychology you really felt that yes, this is what I need.

The coach is a professional who will be working according to your agenda, focusing on you and on your aims. The coach is providing a safe place for you, is empathic, a good listener who has the tools to also challenge your beliefs and thoughts in order to bring to the surface of your true answers, by which you will be gaining awareness, and with awareness comes choice. The coach is not a therapist who will diagnose you and provide treatment plans accordingly. The coach is not an adviser either, to tell you what to do. But the coach is there building on your strengths and developing your weaknesses, motivating, encouraging and enabling you to be able to embrace your present and create your future.