Just as a sports team or an Olympic medallist relies heavily on a coach to succeed, those of us who are in need of some help with our life choices can also benefit from a coach.But rather than someone who will dictate how many laps to do a day, a life coach can assist you in making healthy decisions to help you make the best out of your life.“If you are feeling any sense of entrapment, whether in a bad marriage or in your job, that thinking that you have no choice can be totally disempowering,” says Julia Pitt, a life coach who has recently started practicing on the Island.But Ms Pitt says that we always have a choice even if it may seem like there is no way out of a situation.“We may feel discouraged, or we feel like we don’t have the time, we may procrastinate or we may have been told that what we want to do is impossible. We will come up with a million reasons why we don’t do something,” she says.That is where a life coach may be helpful and can step in and guide us to see the many choices that we can make.“It’s great to make a list of all the things you could do,” explains Ms Pitt. “What would be possible if money and time were not an issue? Some may be far out but you push your brain and a few options start to come out. You can see from this list you’ve created a possible answer that can be very revealing. In the sessions we then break that down step by step. A lot of the times, though, it’s just knowing that you have that choice that is empowering.”A life coach can act as a mirror for clients to listen in a non-judgemental environment, says Ms Pitt.“Clients can become aware of their self talk and patterns of behaviour and a coach can help identify what is holding them back. A coach also challenges them and provides a level of accountability. It gives people the space to verbalise the things that they want to change and get their ideas into the physical world.”While coaching does rely on some personal responsibility to see that a situation we are in is not the best, there are many health reasons that are associated with poor decision-making that can be a large motivating factor to make changes in our lives.“The negatives of not being able to see that you have choices include anxiety, stress and failure when you feel like you have no choice and brings out all these negative responses which can lead to depression and just a total shutting down especially if it is a situation where you feel like you have to do something because you have no choice.“Sometimes people get into these life habits and we make decisions on auto-pilot without really thinking them through and just fall into the same thing over and over again. We wake up in the morning with a tightness in our chest or a knot in our stomach but it doesn’t have to be that way,” she says.And just knowing that you have a choice and that you are willing to start making changes can be enough to take a different perspective to the way you’ve always been doing things.“When you feel as if you at least have options to work with it can be enough to get through the day. If you don’t like your job but you’ve decided to change your attitude or work better with your co-workers or take a course just having that list can lift that sense of entrapment,” she says.As the options become clearer it is easier to remind yourself that there is a choice and a different way to approach each situation.Ms Pitt adds, “People think there is just one way to lose weight but if you have a list of things that you can do differently it means you have personalised way to try something what suits you right and what is going to work for your lifestyle. You are an expert in your own life.“Life coaching works for every part of our life including career change, general well-being, financial, spiritual and relationships.”For more information visit www.juliapittcoaching.com.