Pros and Cons of Coaching that You Must Know Before You Start

There are only pros and upsides to hiring a life coach only if you want to actually make a change in your life. 

However, you do have to be ready. 

Because if you aren’t ready, there are 5 main pros and cons of coaching that you may experience (these cons can also be pros, depending on how you look at them), which hinge on whether or not you’re ready to make a change. 

Top 5 Pros and Cons of Coaching

1. Coaching will change everything you currently know about your life and the current beliefs you have. 

This is a huge change to everything and if you are not ready, it can be really challenging and can be a bit of a con for some people. 

Especially if you have a tendency to stick to what you know, this can be quite a big leap. 

Clients that I have had, who have the most resistance are people in higher positions, who are rarely challenged and who want a very specific outcome to a problem. 

This is because holding on to a specific outcome on anything only leaves room for one outcome. 

And if you only think of one possible way, you are cutting yourself off from all the possibilities that are available to you and the outcome of your plans. 

But also, being so closed minded means that there are a lot of outcomes that you may not have prepared for, which can lead to disappointment, which means that you don’t want to try again. 

You see when you are looking to have new outcomes and create a new way of life you will need to understand this can happen in any way at any time. 

One pro of coaching is that it can really support shifting people from a closed mind to a growth mindset. 

There are so many options available to you, and being happy isn’t always connected to doing things the way you think they should be done. 

To help yourself, having a plan but not sticking to how the outcome arises is a really helpful mindset to have. 

2. You’ll Need New Friends 

One big pro of coaching is that you’ll start to grow in new ways, which means you soon realise that you want to talk to people about this new path you are on. 

And if those people in your life don’t understand, you may have to find new friends which can feel like a bit of a con as part of your coaching journey. 

I remember this really clearly, whilst I was starting a new online business I needed all the support I could get. This was crazy because at the time I loved all of my friends dearly. 

But I felt the distance when I started to discuss my business and the struggles I was going through. 

This journey has most definitely allowed me to make whole new connections globally because there are so many women who struggle with the same thing. 

You realise that your circle needs to be one that you can lean on and just pour into as and when you hit a block. 

To this day it still annoys me that there is no New Biz party that anyone throws when you start a new business, as it is such a huge step in most people’s lives.  

Through the years I have realised that I’m no longer into small talk or benign conversations that mean nothing, and this happens to most people I coach. 

As when you really find your passion, and you really go for it, nothing else really matters. 

I used to be such a girly girl and conversations about hair and make up and fashion were amazing. 

But now, I still love all of those things but cannot have conversations that are not inspiring or creating a new opinion. 

Indeed to have deep and meaningful conversations. I am no longer the person that enjoys small talk because it’s simple. 

Yes it’s tough to talk about real emotions and be honest about how you feel, but with the right friends it’s so easy.

3. You’ll Understand Less About Everything

Once you begin to discover what you are truly capable of, you then realise all that you still have to learn. 

This is naturally a pro and a good thing as it means you are on a journey of growth. 

However, if you want to feel intelligent and knowledgeable without questioning everything then you may view this as a con and coaching may not be for you. 

This happens to everyone who starts to learn anything. 

You understand the depths of the topic. 

Take coaching for example. There are so many limiting beliefs and fears and tools you can use to support you eliminating them. 

But then there are many ways you can do this, and finding the right one that works for you. 

Then there are so many other topics that are related to expanding your perception of the world like manifestation, and viewing people through emotional intelligence and supporting yourself through biohacking, it goes on and on. 

Your development never ends. 

But sometimes this can make you realise there is so much you need to know. 

However, you need to switch this through to viewing it as a pro, as the more you know the more intelligent you are, and the more you can help support other people with your new knowledge. 

4. As you learn more about yourself, things as you’ve always known them will change

Some people love to stay exactly as they are. After all, ignorance is bliss. 

Hiring a coach will change all of this, of course. 

You see, coaching highlights all of who you are, the good, bad and the ugly. So if you are not ready to see how you are self sabotaging your plans or how your beliefs are no longer serving your best self, then you may view this as a con and coaching is not for you.

You are the sum of all of your experiences, and you’ve held on to stories and beliefs that are no longer serving your highest good. 

In fact some of your beliefs are actually holding you back. 

This is the truth and it can be a con of coaching because for some people it is really tough to get their head around. 

As humans we like to believe we are right all the time. So when someone like a coach comes along and asks why your beliefs are your beliefs, it can feel like a personal attack, when in reality it is the belief that they are questioning not you as a human. 

So if you are not ready to see yourself in a new light, coaching is not for you. 

5. You may not want to pass your new understanding on to other people 

I heard this saying a while back, “We have two hands, one is for learning from people who have been where you are going, and the other is for sharing with others who are behind you in their journey”. 

One of the biggest pros of coaching and things that I love about the coaching community is that it is filled with people who support each other, and who are always there to share their knowledge any way they can. 

So if you are not this person that is not ready to share, this could be a con for you and you should stick to what you already know. 

Once you start being coached and developing a new life you want to share it with your loved ones, because it is so freeing. 

All the lessons are so simple but also relieve so much stress and anxiety in people you will automatically want to share as it is so useful in everyday life – and this is a massive pro! 

I hope these pros and cons of coaching were helpful for you in determining whether life coaching is the right choice for you.

If you are ready to leave all of this behind, and want to make real change in your life, book a call with me. 

Arisha. x