Life Coaching is a cocreative relationship where the coach and client work together long term to set goals, create an action plan, and overcome obstacles. Although people benefit the most from Life Coaching by committing to regular sessions over a period of a minimum of 6 months, it’s also affective over the short term to help someone gain clarity on a situation in their life.

Being that Life Coaching is a cocreative relationship, in order for someone to gain the most benefit from their Life Coaching session, it’s important that they be fully present and prepared.

Here are 5 ways to obtain the most benefit from your Life Coaching session:

1. Take your Life Coaching session seriously. This may sound obvious, but in order to do this it’s important to clear your schedule for your sessions. Make sure you mark them on your calendar, be on time for your appointment, and leave some time prior to each session to prepare. You’ll want to handle all potential distractions prior to your session - take the dog out, go to the bathroom, turn off or unplug any other telephones in the house, and let your family know not to disturb you.

2. Have a pad or journal specifically for your Coaching sessions  Make sure you have it in front of you, along with a couple of pens (incase one runs out of ink), and a glass of water prior to your call. Although you’ll want to stay fully present during the session, you may want to jot down any insights that come to you during the call. At times, your Coach will want to do a process with you which requires that you write some things down during the call. At the end of your session your Coach will go either do a quick review of what was covered during the session or have you write down assignments to do prior to your next coaching session.

3. Set an intention for your call. What do you want to get out of this particular Coaching session? Although your Life Coach will help you gain more clarity during your session, it’s important to have an intention for your call. Try to be as specific as possible, rather than just saying “I want to be happy”, think about what that means to you. Do you want more time to spend with your partner or your children? Do you feel unfulfilled because you spend too much time doing things for others and want a career or hobby of your own? Spend a little quiet time asking yourself some questions prior to the call so that you are able to maximize the benefits of your Coaching session. This way, rather than spending the hour trying to figure out what happiness means to you, your Coach can help you set a goal and create an action plan to get you to your goal of happiness. If you have no clue what makes you happy, which can happen after a major life transition or event, then don’t worry in this case because your Coach will help you gain more clarity.

4. Be open with your Coach. Coaching is more effective when you are candid, open, and brave. If you try to supress how you are really feeling or are afraid to share what your big dream is, then you are hindering the Life Coaching session. Be willing to share everything with your Coach; nothing is too big or too small to bring up in your session. When you hold back, you are holding back on yourself and you are not allowing your Coach to guide you as much as they could.

5. Own the Coaching. One of the main reasons for Life Coaching is to unlock your own personal power and inner wisdom in order to create a life of personal freedom. This is most likely to happen when you own your choices. It’s important to do your assignments in between sessions to lock in the learning and to move you forward. The way you choose to use your time in between sessions is fully your responsibility.

Following these guidelines will help you to obtain the best results from your Coaching sessions and will move you closer to your goals and dreams in a much shorter time.