{"id":10126,"date":"2012-01-08T06:03:57","date_gmt":"2012-01-08T14:03:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/coachestrainingblog.com\/becomeacoach\/?p=10126"},"modified":"2016-08-28T09:56:06","modified_gmt":"2016-08-28T17:56:06","slug":"socrates-was-a-personal-life-coach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coachestrainingblog.com\/becomeacoach\/socrates-was-a-personal-life-coach\/","title":{"rendered":"Socrates was a Personal Life Coach"},"content":{"rendered":"

The great Greek philosopher, Socrates, did not go down in history as a personal life coach<\/a><\/strong>, but he left us many pearls of wisdom that apply when coaching clients to achieve happiness, success, and personal satisfaction. Perhaps he should be considered the original personal life coach!<\/span><\/p>\n

Socrates said, \u201cthe unexamined life is not worth living.\u201d Couldn\u2019t that apply to the job description of a PERSONAL LIFE COACH?<\/strong> One of the most basic components of your practice should be to ask your clients: Let\u2019s examine your life and see where we can make changes. That Socrates fellow knew what he was talking about, whether he had a personal life coaching certification or not!<\/p>\n

Socrates could also be a pain in the butt; he was quite fond of asking \u201cwhy?\u201d over and over and again, just like an annoying little kid. This method of asking questions became the basis for the Socratic method of teaching. The \u201cwhy\u201d questions were proposed in an effort to get people to think about their lives, their surroundings, their world. The Socratic method of teaching gives students, or clients, questions, not answers. Socrates taught people to probe, examine, and dissect their lives. Just like a coach should do.<\/p>\n

You should be asking your clients, \u201cwhy?\u201d \u201cWhy did you do that?\u201d Why do you think that will happen?\u201d Why are you afraid to try that?\u201d \u201cWhy not try something new?\u201d Why do you feel happy, or sad, or afraid, or confident?\u201d There are millions of \u201cwhy\u201d questions that will provoke discussions, inquiries, and introspection.<\/p>\n

Socrates also recognized the importance of dialogue. Dialogue with a friend, a co-worker, a family member, a spouse, or a\u2026coach, eliminates blind spots and leads to breakthroughs. As a coaching professional, one of the most important elements of your practice is to inspire and encourage dialogue.<\/p>\n

4 Reasons Socrates Was the First Personal Life Coach<\/h3>\n