I have been coaching individuals and teams for more than 10 years. There have been numerous occasions where I felt that coaching is the right tool to help people grow. There have been times however where I felt that it is not going to work, and another approach is needed to tackle the issue. I thought to share some examples to help you judge on your own whether you could benefit from coaching.
You feel “so busy” all the time. Do you always complain about how overwhelmed you are and cannot find the time for a session? Are you cancelling or rescheduling already booked sessions via last-minute notifications? If you cannot find the time to tackle your challenges, how do you expect them to be solved? It is just about commitment, if you do not feel committed to improving your life or career you would better not start.
You blame others about your current situation. Are you angry about your current coach (or therapist) and want to change for that reason? Think twice before you move on. What made you angry about him/her? How can you be so sure that you will not get angry with the new coach? Why do you think therapy is not right for you and want to move to another format (such as coaching)? Blaming others (for incompetency or limited care) is usually the “easy way” to go, the excuse you need for not changing, for not following up, for not committing to change.
You feel hesitant to sign the coaching agreement or not willing to pay on time. Do you feel that your coach does everything on time and as agreed and you cannot keep up on your own promises? At the end of the day, it is a matter of basic accountability. If you fail at this stage, you will not be able to be as accountable as you should in more demanding cases, where accountability is the way and absolute prerequisite to change.
You don't trust the coaching process. Are you willing to try and follow (at least for some time) the practices requested by your coach? Coaching is all about identifying limiting beliefs, fears and any other reasons that stop you from going forward and taking actions to overcome them. If you are not wiling to take those actions, it will be hard to realize that you cannot change.
A capable and well-trained Coach will spot those signs and revert for clarifications. The faster you convince yourself about the commitment and accountability you need to demonstrate, the more resilient and sustainable change will be for you. It’s totally up to you, not anyone else.
Hope that helps. At the end of the day, if you decide to invest in you (in monetary and time terms) you also need to decide what your objective will be for this investment. If your objective is to "change" and "grow", coaching is the right format to support you towards this direction.