At the gym yesterday, it was obvious that everyone had made some type of New Years health coaching goal.  The place was packed, as I knew they would be.  At least for the next month, when things taper off.  I was thinking about what it takes to become a health coach who keeps their clients on track, because by summer, only the dedicated and committed will still be at the gym.  If you are to become a health coach who really makes a difference, you need to know what separates those who stick with their health coaching goals and those who quit.

When You Become a Health Coach You Need to Figure Out What Motivates Your Clients

.The first tool you’ll need to become a health coach who gets lasting results is to see what motivates your clients.  In health coaching, most clients are more committed to being comfortable than to doing what it takes to meet their goals.  I noticed my own commitment to comfort over the holidays when my mentor suggested a 10-day cleanse to get rid of a lingering cold.  I had family coming into town, and the thought of dealing with the cold was easier than dealing with my family’s reaction.

A New Peer Group Can be Essential for Those Seeking Health Coaching

.Which brings us to the next tool you’ll need to become a health coach who gets lasting results: an empowering peer group.  For most who seek health coaching in order to transform their health in a major way, they’ll need a new peer group.  If I’m not at the gym for more than a few days, people ask where I’ve been.  If I’m slacking off during the class, the trainers and my peers are on top of me.  That’s empowering.  But most people have to deal with friends or family who sabotage their efforts instead.

To Get Lasting Results as You Become a Health Coach You Must Help Your Clients Change Their Beliefs

.And finally to become a health coach who gets lasting results you must help people change their beliefs.  If people feel they are doomed to fail in achieving their health coaching goals, they won’t get started.  If they don’t feel they deserve good health they will sabotage their efforts.  And if they don’t acknowledge their efforts and reward themselves they will loose hope.  As their health coach it is up to you to find out, not only their stated beliefs that have kept them from achieving their goals in the past, but their unstated or underlying belief that they don’t even acknowledge to themselves.

Without the right tools it’s almost impossible to become a health coach who gets lasting results.  Health coaching is much more than goal setting, accountability and ‘how-to’ strategy.  It’s really about making an internal transformation in who your clients see themselves and who they become.

Colette Seymann

JTS Advisors Bi-Designated Strategy and Accountability Coach