How a Personal Coach Can Help You Make the Most of Life After Graduation

After 16 long years of studying and taking exams, you finally get to walk across that very important stage. You have just graduated, and you're an adult. And now what? This is a very important transition phase in your life. For the last 16 years, everything was planned out for you. But now, you are the only one who's responsible for the direction of your life. You might feel the pressure, of course, but you should be excited also to make important decisions in your life and career.

Read the following tips to get an idea about how you can make your life more meaningful:

1. Be prepared and have a plan

You are now the primary decision-maker in your life, which means you have a huge responsibility on your shoulders. While it's ideal that you be prepared for this moment in your life, you have to understand also that nobody can be fully prepared for life. It's because life is a complex series of circumstances, decisions, situations, choices, and consequences. Thus, it's vital that you have a plan on how to approach life and what to do about it.

2. Stick with the choices you make

There will not be a day in your life when you don't need to make a choice. And these choices will in one way or another affect different aspects of your life. Thus, you need to make smart choices and be sure to stick with them. You must be decisive, persistent, and choose with conviction.

3. Don't be scared to be bold

Life is a risk, so you should just play along. For you to be successful in life, you need to be ready to take risks. Take note, however, that you shouldn't be stupid in choosing what risks to take. You have to determine the risks that are worth taking. Lastly, remember that you won't be able to live lie to the fullest if you always take the easy way out. 

4. Be a giver

If you choose to invest only in yourself, you can't expect your investment to live on when you die. On the other hand, if you decide to invest in others, all your investment will remain even after you're gone.

5. Find a mentor

After you graduate, you'd be surprised to know how little you actually know about life. Many things will confuse you, and it could be really hard for you to make certain career and life decisions. What you should do is ask for advice or seek counsel. Do not hesitate to get a personal coach or a career coach who will give you the guidance you need to make important and good decisions both in your personal and career life.

Personal Coach: Common Hindrances to Good Decision-Making

Whether on a personal or an organizational level, decisions need to be implemented. Thus, it's vital that you, as a leader, be personally committed to the decision. You also need to be able to persuade other people of the merits of your decision so that you may get their support.

But decision-making isn't always easy. In fact, there are a number of things that can prevent you from making good decisions. Below are some of them:

Not having enough information.

Without sufficient information, it would be like you're making a decision based on nothing. You have to be responsible for gathering the necessary information that will enable you to make the right choices. If you are pressed for time, identify which information is most vital for your decision-making.

Having too much information.

When you have too much information that is conflicting, it will be impossible for you to see what has to be done. This is often referred to as analysis paralysis, which is sometimes used as a tactic to cause delays in organizational decision-making. You can solve this problem by gathering everyone involved so you can all together decide which information is important.

Too many people are involved.

It could be difficult to make decisions by committee. Every member will have their own views, opinions, and even values. Although it's important that you take into account the opinions of each person involved, you need to take responsibility for making the final decision.

There are vested interests.

Vested interests are not always expressed clearly, but they could become blockage to a group's ability to make a decision. In these cases, it would help to look into the rational aspects with all stakeholders. It is also a good idea to have an external facilitator who will support the process.

Emotional attachments.

Many decisions involve the need for change, and many people find it hard to deal with changes. If you are to make a personal decision and you are attached to the status quo, you need to assess the situation very carefully so that you could weigh the pros and cons of your possible decision.

No emotional attachment at all.

It would be hard to make a decision on something that you don't care about. In such cases, you have to use logical and practical reasoning so you could come up with a decision that will yield positive results for the parties involved, which don't necessarily include you.

Conclusion

There are a number of decision making techniques that you can use, whether you have to make personal or professional decisions. If you're still having a hard time deciding for yourself or for your department, you could always run to a personal coach for help. A personal coach will not make the decision for you, but he or she will assist you in coming up with right decisions.