The question of, “do I need coaching”, is one to which I will offer an unconventional answer. You may need coaching if you think you need it. Meaning, if you have something that you really want to explore, then it may help you.  

Coaching is not chocolate 

So, if there is nothing that you want to explore through coaching, well then you don’t need it. Coaching is not like a dose of antibiotics that can be administered against your will, or like a new brand of chocolate that you try just for kicks. You have to fully and wholeheartedly engage in the process. You have to really want to do it. This is why I don’t have an off-the-shelf coaching programme and work with whatever question the person brings. 

After all, it is your life and only you know if there is something you wish to work through. And, if there is nothing —great— you don’t need coaching.  

Coaching for self-improvement is a hoax 

I am also not into this idea of trying to ‘improve the self’. Much of self-improvement is a hoax that only makes people doubt their inherent worth. Of course, if there is a particular personal blockage that stops you from living with inner freedom, let’s investigate it. That’s eminently sensible. But, that’s quite a different matter from trying to improve the self towards some elusive end point. 

Such self-improvement is no different to the conventional trap of chasing happiness and success. Only here, you are chasing self-improvement. It is like the monkey that swings from branch to branch in search of something more appealing. Having exhausted the entire forest, it eventually arrives at where it began. Such is the case with coaching for self-development. If there is any coaching that may be of use here, it is only to make you realise that there is nothing about you that needs improving. 

For even the question do I need coaching for self-improvement brings us face to face with an existential question. Exactly, WHO is trying to improve whom? 

Like medicine

So, the question of “do I need coaching” only makes sense if there is something you are grappling with. Something that you feel is getting in the way of you living more fully. If not, good news for you. You don’t need a coach just because your neighbour has one. It’s not a competition.

In short, the process of coaching can be viewed as a kind of medicine. If you do not have an ailment, you do not need it. Go for a walk and enjoy a coffee! 

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Harsha is a 1:1 coach and independent thinker based in London. He empowers people to find more clarity, confidence and focus in their lives — to cut through the noise, in a world so full of it. Harsha’s new book, Machine Ego: Tragedy of the Modern Mind, is now available in paperback and Kindle through Amazon.