Can Personal Development & Life Coaching Courses Help You?

Personal development and life coaching courses are everywhere you turn. They are a hot product on the market, and it seems that everyone is jumping on the bandwagon for self-improvement.

For all of the courses and advice you can pay for, is it worth the money? Does taking a class or working with a life coach evoke change in people? Are self-help programs beneficial? Some would argue yes, while others would argue against it. The truth of the matter is this: whatever course or coaching program you take, you only get out of it what you put in.

Many individuals are participating in these classes to discover who they are and where they are Going in life. Of the many courses being made available, we are going to focus on two different categories: Lectures and Workshops and Tactile Learning. 

Lectures and Life Coaching Workshops

These types of classes can be highly enjoyable because they are designed to inspire and motivate you. They are usually shorter in duration, and a speaker shares experiences and ideas around the topic you have signed up to learn about.

Often, these classes come with a workbook, and you may be doing some group work, or filling out the booklet when directed. They are great classes for people that just want to sit back, take everything in, and decide what their next step in life is.  

You are given guidance and action steps, and it is your choice whether to exercise it or not. Many of these courses have value because they do provide ideas, and they provoke thought that may spur you into action.

However, they rarely evoke long term change. If your goal is to learn some new concepts and to be left to your own devices, then you will get great value. However, if your goal is to get a swift kick in the backside and to get a running head start to get these moving in your life, these classes rarely hold a lot of value for that purpose, which is why it’s better to work with a life coach directly. A lecture or workshop is as effective as reading a great book on the subject you went to see, except someone credible read the book to you instead.

Tactile Learning & One On One Coaching

These types of classes are much more beneficial because they are hands-on. They are more expensive, but they are less about the workbook and more about getting on your feet and doing what needs to be done during class time. You are not left to your own devices to put change into practice. You are on your feet, and making it happen, and going through the excitement, adrenaline rush, and sometimes fear and discomfort that comes with trying something new.

“At our coaching workshops, we believe that it is essential that each of our participants use experiential learning to grasp the concept truly we are teaching” says Sam Miller, a life coach from the Coaching Institute. “Without actually putting the information to use, it is challenging to digest such esoteric and large concepts. The mind can only do so much, which is why you must apply the information in some physical way.”

However, it should be noted that you are not forced to participate, but they make it hard to sit in the sidelines. These life coaching and personal development courses are more uncomfortable, but you walk out knowing that you can do, how it makes you feel, and you know what needs to be done.

More importantly, you have the experience and credentials of having done what was asked of you by the facilitator. Great examples of this are Dale Carnegie Training, Toastmasters Public Speaking Groups and Personal Best Seminars. Even though these classes were more expensive, you will walk out, achieving what you went there to do.