When searching for a coach, know the similarities and the differences. There are countless coaches: Success, Business, Leadership, Music, Life, etc. You name a specific category you will probably have no trouble finding a coach. There are certainly no shortages of professionals who are willing to help individuals in all age groups and working in any profession.
A Life Coach is the most popular and is typically the one most sought after because they advertise to help in many different areas of life: relationships, career, health, etc., and they probably have a few degrees and many certificates hanging on their office wall highlighting their knowledge.
When engaged, they will learn your lifestyle, understand your goals, hobbies, and evaluate your strengths and weaknesses. They will also help you devise a life plan and then present you with a bill. Developing a plan is a good thing but that’s not the biggest challenge. The main obstacle to success is trying to hold you accountable and holding you accountable to consistently execute that plan is where the problems begin. Unfortunately, you probably have very little to no discipline to hold yourself accountable every day. Development and execution are different—like night and day. And consistently executing is extremely difficult. And that’s putting it mildly. Unfortunately, a Life Coach is not chartered to hold you accountable 7 days a week. They typically work 9-5 Monday-Friday.
Because you’ve been unstructured most of your adult life and procrastinate severely you will need a coach that can not only design the appropriate strategy but one who can also hold you accountable every day. Below are the responsibilities and key characteristics of the Discipline Coach.
The Discipline Coach’s Main Responsibilities (for their clients)
Truly understand an individual’s strengths and weaknesses
Understand their minor and major goals
Help them establish a REALISTIC set of goals with milestones
Design the appropriate strategy for a productive and successful life
24×7 Accountability for goal completion
Training Minds (Develop Mental Toughness)
Helping to Overcome Emergencies
Continuously (proactively) Strategizing
Logging Progress
The first step for the Discipline Coach is to understand your goals, daily routine, hobbies, strengths, and weaknesses. A majority of the issues will pertain to self-discipline: time management, goal management, focus, motivation, urgency, etc. Just be forewarned that it won’t be a pretty picture. In other words, a very unproductive and unfulfilling life (to date). For example, most people waste approximately 4-6 hours a day on social media and surfing the Internet aimlessly. They also procrastinate endlessly and then wonder why they can’t accomplish their goals.
Once they gain a good understanding of your bleak lifestyle it’s time to design the appropriate strategy. A strategy that will help you achieve your goals by addressing your weaknesses and capitalizing on your strengths. One of the most important areas that need to be addressed is structure (AM & PM Routine, a to-do list, and being organized every day).
Don’t try to hold yourself accountable in the beginning, it won’t work. You haven’t been able to execute your entire life. Nothing has changed yet.
The Discipline Coach will hold you accountable to your tasks, obligations and goals seven days a week. Seven days a week? YES, there is no other way to ensure consistent execution but to make this a daily ritual. But for how long? The duration for holding you accountable could take several months, every individual is unique and has their own set of challenges and level of passion and urgency to succeed. You will need professional assistance to train your mind to hold yourself accountable over time.
Even the best laid out plans need to change occasionally. Your original strategy may have to be tweaked to accommodate your new situation. Sh.. always happens (it’s not IF it’s WHEN) the Discipline Coach should proactively be strategizing with their clients every week. He/She is always thinking of more efficient ways for you to accomplish your goals.
It’s important to log progress on a daily basis. This is an area most individuals take for granted and rarely follow through.
The Discipline Coach’s Key Characteristics
Walk-the-talk
Partnering (dual ownership of client’s goals)
Passionate for Success
The key characteristics of The Discipline Coach are: First and foremost, they walk-the-talk. They are also very structured, highly efficient and successful.
The Discipline Coach feels your pain when you’re ineffective (don’t complete your goals and when you’re unproductive). They are passionate about your success. They become life-partners with you to do whatever it takes to be productive. This could mean calling or texting you multiple times even on the weekend to ensure that you remain structured and adhere to your to-do list. Their mentality is: “if you fail—I fail.”
Hire a Discipline Coach for success and happiness.
