Written by Meghan Dankovich, guest blogger and certified health coach, under Dr. Shelly Sethi’s blog.
Have you ever worked with a personal trainer? Bought a class pack at your favorite yoga studio? Signed up for cooking classes? Or hired a wedding planner to coordinate your nuptials?
If so, there were likely a few reasons why you did. Convenience. Accountability. Motivation. Desire to learn. Need for help and guidance. Or maybe you simply knew you wouldn’t or couldn’t figure it out on your own.
When it comes to achieving optimal health, working with a Health Coach can provide you with benefits.
Perhaps you’ve been given a plan by a trusted physician but feel overwhelmed in implementing it. Or maybe you know what you need to do but struggle with prioritizing it. Or the truth is you’re frustrated and fed-up. You feel like you’ve tried it all and you just need someone to take the time to hear you out and assess what may have been missed.
These are all valid obstacles and is why health coaching exists.
Here are five reasons working with a certified Health Coach can help you reach your health and wellness goals faster:
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1. Convenience – Health Coaches come to the table with a lot of knowledge that you may not already have about health and wellness. And when they aren’t familiar with something, they actually love to research it for you! Step away from webmd.com; let the coach share, research, translate, and guide you.
2. Accountability – Let’s be honest, we all have a ton of responsibilities and live busy lives. Prioritizing our own health often takes a back seat to everyone and everything else in our worlds. After spending 20 years traveling in the corporate world, my personal mantra became “you have to put your own oxygen mask on first before you can give your best to others”. Have any idea where that came from? Weekly or every other week sessions with a health coach keep your health front and center on your radar and hold you accountable for taking action.
3. Motivation – We all need motivation to forge ahead and alter our behavior, but feeling inspired to make change can be a fleeting thing. Understanding what your “on” buttons are is key and having a partner to help you decipher those buttons and tap into them when needed can make all the difference. It’s one of the reasons why buddy systems, role models, and goal setting work – all things a health coach can be for you. They provide motivation when we struggle to manufacture it for ourselves.
4. Education – Sometimes we lack the confidence to start the journey to greater health and wellness because we are intimidated by what we don’t know. Over the course of your sessions with a health coach you learn so much, get validation for what you think you already knew, and experience lots of what I call “a-ha!” and “huh!” moments. A great sense of empowerment is gained from the tips, resources, facts, self-awareness, and experimentation.
5. Guidance – Life is a trip, literally. With every mile lived our bodies change and adjust. Every choice, behavior, and feeling along the way shapes your journey and makes it unique from everyone else. This is why any approach to your health and well being needs to be holistic and personalized, meaning everything that makes you You – a whole being – needs taken into consideration. A health coach’s role is to provide proper guidance so you can navigate information from outside and inside yourself to proceed with what is best for you.
The next time you find yourself feeling hopeless, frustrated, or overwhelmed about taking action on your health, seek the assistance of a health coach. It’s what we’re here for.