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Writer's pictureJana Field

Life Coaching - 13 Principles That Guide Life Coaches

Updated: Jan 8



A well-trained life coach operates on certain assumptions when working with any client. One thing I can tell you for sure, as a life coach myself, is that every person who comes into my healing room is unique and special. And, they’re not broken. They may think they are – but I assure you they’re not.


Everyone has an incredible Source within themselves and sometimes we lose that along the way. Somewhere deep inside of us, there’s a bright light burning fiercely, just waiting for us to get out of our own way and accept the power that is within us.


The hardest thing about finding our own Source is not knowing how to shift stuff that doesn’t belong to us. You know – those stories, expectations, and demands dumped on us. Oftentimes, because this starts when we come into the world as babies, we have very little defense against these demands.


Slowly but surely, our Source gets smothered and we’re left with an image the world wants to see of us (and what we believe the world wants to see).


So, what are the principles of life coaching? Why do you need to know about them? On what basis does a life coach operate? Read on to discover what truly passionate life coaches believe about their own clients when they walk into our consulting rooms. And, how they can help you find your Source again.


1. You Have the Choice

Life coaching is all about making choices. Think of the day you decided to find a life coach – that was YOU making a choice. With life coaching, life coaches empower their clients to find new choices and the resources to implement them.


2. The Past Doesn’t Need to Determine the Future

Up to now, you may have been living your life dictated by past events and outcomes. If you choose to not change how you react to the past, your future will be determined by your past. In life coaching, you discover what past events and outcomes have led you to your current circumstances.


You unpack what doesn’t serve you positively from your past, observe, and then move forward – with new empowering beliefs that do serve you.


3. There Are No Mistakes

Life coaches believe that there are no failures. We also believe there are no mistakes. Instead, everything is a lesson, something you can learn from. Rather, than what may be perceived as mistakes and failures, life coaching shows you how to recognize the potential, and positive feedback from these events. Only then can learning take place and you can move forward.





4. It’s Your Responsibility to Get the Response You Want

In life coaching, you’ll discover that only YOU are responsible for the response you want. In other words, if you’re not getting the response you want (be it in a conversation, an event, or a life experience), then it’s up to you to change your approach.


This may take some time but when you take the right approach you get the right response.


5. You Are Whole and Complete

Life coaches firmly believe that each and every one of us is whole and complete. No one is broken which means no one needs fixing (this is very difficult for people to hear when they want to “fix” someone because they’re doing the “wrong” thing).


Instead, people can be empowered to recognize their own uniqueness and capabilities and build themselves up. A good life coach will help you discover that you do have all the resources and skills you need to make the change you want to see happening in your life.


6. You Can Make the Right Decisions

When you discover that you do have all the answers within you, then you can make the best decisions. It’s about learning to tap into your inner resources and talents and using them to guide you in all situations. And, trusting yourself.





7. As Within, So Without

Life coaching will show you that whatever is going on inside of you, is being reflected in your external world. Life coaches understand this principle and how powerful it is when empowering clients to change their external world. Work first within and the results will show in the outside world.


Your behavior or action is the result of the process going on within yourself.


8. Your Reality is Different From Another’s Reality

How you perceive the world is very different from how another perceives it to be. You can both be at exactly the same event but while you saw it as a completely negative experience, another person will have gained some valuable lessons.


Your reality may be real to you – but it’s not real to someone else.


9. Flexibility, Flexibility, Flexibility

We are taught at New Insights that “flexibility is king”! The more flexible and adaptable you are with your behavioral traits, the more you’re able to change. And, what’s more, you get to control the situation.


It’s similar to having an open mindset and a fixed mindset. If you persist with a fixed mindset, you ain’t going to see any changes happening anytime soon!


10. Listen to the Body

We believe that listening to the body is where you get the clearest messages. It’s the same when observing someone. Words don’t necessarily portray the truth whereas body behavior gives away a lot of information.


Learn to listen to your own body but also learn to observe what other people are saying through their body language.


11. Communication is Both Conscious and Unconscious

Everyone communicates on two levels – the conscious level and the unconscious level. If you can become more aware of what’s happening on the unconscious level, you’ll have a better understanding of what’s been communicated (and this often comes through in body language hence why you need to listen to the body).





12. You Are Driven By Both Pain and Pleasure

Life coaching works on the principle that people’s behaviors are driven by either pain or pleasure. Your positive intention is to achieve something, bad or good, and this intent is driven by the need to feel pain…or pleasure.


13. You Operate According to Your “Map” of the World

We all operate in this world according to our own “perceptual map” or view of the world. This brings you back to what is your reality and what is another’s reality. How your mind views the way the world works will determine how you behave, both positively and negatively.


Guard your thoughts carefully!


Final Thoughts

Life coaching is all about empowering people to make the positive change they want to see in their own lives. A good life coach understands this and uses the abovementioned principles to guide them when working with their clients.


By guiding our clients through a change process, we can show them what incredible beings they actually are. I’ve witnessed this myself, over and over again. A client will walk into my healing room, convinced that they’re “useless”, “ugly”, “unlovable”, “incapable of making the right decisions” (the list goes on) and I assure them that they have everything they need to make the change – from within.


When you’re ready to embark on a journey of change, take the first step and give me a call. You won’t regret it! (Check out my testimonial page if you need some convincing).


This post was updated on May 10, 2023.




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