CONFUSED about your career and in need of a change? Feeling demotivated, directionless and unable to get out of a rut? These questions aren’t only the domain of 40-somethings facing a mid-life crisis, but a very real issue for those just starting out in their careers or even students who haven’t hit the working world yet.

Despite the stereotypical jokes about avo on toast and a sense of entitlement aimed at millennials, they do face unique challenges. Technology and social media have piled on the pressure to be more, do more and live a life that is hard to maintain without losing one’s sanity. There is also more choice, creating another avenue for anxiety. Many young people don’t know where to start or what decision to make, so they get stuck and then struggle to get unstuck.

That’s where life coaching comes into play. Unlike traditional psychotherapy, which mainly focuses on resolving past traumas to improve behaviour and relationships, life coaching uses your present situation as a starting point and creates an action plan so that you can achieve your goals. Of course, therapy has its very important place, but life coaching tackles a different self-improvement angle: helping clarify the destination you want to reach and mapping out the stepping stones of how to get there.

The life coach’s job is to take the client on a journey of self-discovery, often by using a variety of visualisation exercises and asking the right questions to help their client uncover what they’d like to achieve out of their career and life. But that’s only half the story – magic also happens when the life coach helps clients put their plan into action, keeping them accountable for their progress.

A life coach can offer a 20-something guidance on how to envisage and create a life that is true to themselves and brings them joy. If you’re going to be working for 40 years, it makes a huge amount of sense to figure that out as early as possible rather than wasting years following an unfulfilling path. Ultimately, the process of life coaching is about igniting self-confidence, which creates a beautiful domino effect. Increased self-confidence can help you with making better life decisions, improving your communication skills and having the confidence to put yourself out there to create more opportunities. That’s win-win all the way.

Yumna Aysen is a motivational speaker and life coach. For more information, visit Oh Yes It’s Yumi

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