Should you hire a wellness coach? Maybe. Maybe not.
I thought about this a lot before turning 40. Why are you thinking about it?
Here’s the question I asked myself which helped me make the decision, “Is this the body you want to bring with you into the next stage of your life?” My answer was, “no.”
It wasn’t that I was sick, it was that I’d been roughly 15 pounds overweight for roughly 10 years. I knew that what I was doing (my lifestyle) was going to keep giving me what I’d been getting. I recognized I needed some help making changes, so I hired a wellness coach.
Being healthy is an interesting thing. I mean, how hard could it really be? You just start eating “healthy” and exercise. Simple.
Not so fast.
While this may be true for some people, it’s not true for a lot of people. In fact, almost 42% of Americans are obese. So, while there may be some aspects of a healthy lifestyle that are intuitive, there are many aspects which are not.
Couple that with the problem of information. There’s way too much of it. With diet and exercise, there’s a never-ending stream of new diets or workouts. We’re drowning in information and starving for wisdom.
Most of us just want to be healthy. What do you want?
My goal here is to help you determine if working with a wellness coach is right for you.
Here’s what we’ll cover:
Let’s get started.
What does a wellness coach do?
A wellness coach works with their clients to improve their overall health and wellbeing. They help remove obstacles and develop beneficial habits. Commonly, they’ll help you in these areas:
A wellness coach takes a broad-based approach to help with your overall level of health and life satisfaction.
Should you hire one?
I’d like to help you self-diagnose whether or not you should work with a wellness coach. By thinking about and answering these questions, you’ll get closer to your answer. Spend some time on each one and actually writing down your answers can really help.
What’s the biggest thing you’re struggling with?
What’s the problem(s) you’re consistently facing that, up to this point, you’ve been unable to solve? For me, it was being overweight. When I started working with a coach, I recognized there were more contributing factors than I realized. Many people have an overall dissatisfaction with their lives. They’re grateful for what they have, but still feel like there’s more that they’re missing out on.
How have you tried to improve your health in the past?
Have you tried to fix the problem on your own? Have you worked with a coach in the past? I know I certainly tried a lot of different things that just didn’t stick.
How did you go about it (be as specific as possible)?
If you’ve tried to solve your problem, what have you done? Have you watched YouTube videos or read blog posts? Talked to friends? Saw a medical professional? What specifically have you done to overcome your problem?
How long have you been feeling like you need to make a change?
Our bodies, mine included, are constantly reminding us when we’re overweight or unhealthy. When thinking about what you’re struggling with, how long have you been thinking and feeling like a change is needed? I spent 10 years knowing something needed to happen.
Have you tried anything that worked?
Of all the new learnings and or interventions you’ve tried, did anything work?
How has poor health impacted you (monetarily, psychologically, physiologically)?
Everything has a cost. Sometimes, the cost is clear. Other times, it’s a lot harder to know or to quantify. When thinking about your problem, what do you think the total cost has been?
How frustrated are you right now?
Are you sick and tired of being sick and tired? Too often, it takes hitting rock bottom for us to make changes. On a level of 1 to 10, 10 being most frustrated, where are you? If you’re less than a 7, maybe you should keep working on your own to solve your problem. If you’re a 7 or higher, it could be time to work with someone.
Framework for making a change
As you’re making your decision, here are some additional things to consider. Here’s a simple framework for making any change in your life:
DIY
Like we talked about earlier, there’s a lot of information out there, and it’s certainly possible for you to learn what you need to know on your own. The trick here is actually making it real in your life.
Invest
The next level is investing in a course or info-product. When you do this, you benefit from someone’s expertise. While you won’t be interacting with them one-on-one, you can still benefit greatly.
Partner
Finally, when you hire a professional, you benefit not only from their expertise, but also their wisdom. Since you’ll get direct access and interaction, they’ll be able to help you with your personal situation. Clearly, this is the best way to make most changes, but that doesn’t mean it’s best for your current situation.
Your knowledge and desire
How well do you know what needs to be done? What’s your current level of literacy on the topic? If you’re a 10 out of 10 on the knowledge scale, that’s a great start. If you’re a 4, you need to figure out where you can get the information you need.
Making a change also comes down to desire. How much time, energy and attention do you want to spend on this problem? There’s not a right or wrong answer here. This is a really important topic, so it’s important for you to be as honest with yourself as possible.
If you have zero interest in doing what’s required to solve your problem, you’ll need outside help.
Who you’re going to be
I mentioned at the beginning asking myself, “Is this the body you want to bring with you into the stage of your life?”
What questions do you need to ask yourself?
The only way to live how you want, is to know how you want to live. Thinking about how you want your life to look in three, 10, and 20 years from now is a really important exercise.
How do you want to show up for yourself and your loved ones? What do you want to do with your time? What do you want life to look like?
To help you in this process, you can access our Goals course for free. It will help you get clarity on your future.
We’ve got one shot at life, and the sooner we start living healthy and happy, the better.
You can connect with one of our Certified Coaches for a no-cost call.
Good luck on your wellness journey, I hope I’ve helped you in your decision making process!
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