Hiring a life coach is one of the best things you can do if you feel as if you are stuck in a rut or struggling to achieve any goals you set for yourself. This is because life coaches use a variety of tools and techniques that have been developed to help you break barriers, stay accountable, and surpass your expectations.

The purpose of this article is to help you get a better understanding of the different tools a life coach will use to help you to reach your goals. I’ve done my best to scour the web to find some of the best free and paid tools out there that are commonly used by life coaches.

Whether you’re a life coach looking for some new tools or just someone in need of an extra kick-in-the-ass, here is a compiled list of tools to check out.

The Wheel of Life

This tool is a staple for life coaches. It’s an excellent device for identifying how balanced (or unbalanced) your life is. With this tool, you’re easily able to identify which areas you should focus on to improve the stability of your “wheel.” The 8 areas, which you can choose to use or customize your own, are family & friends, romance, fun & recreation, health, money, personal growth, physical environment, and career. If your life is more balanced, you’ll be more stable and better suited to achieving your goals.

Tolerations Tool

This tool and the following tool are both very similar. This tool is a list-type tool that helps users identify the things in their lives that they are willing to tolerate. Tolerating too many things in our lives can drain energy and pull us away from the things we want or need to focus on. The key here is to identify the issues then work on removing the things we tolerate so that we can focus on our more important goals.

Energy Zappers

Similar to the above tool, Energy Zappers help to identify the specific things that are zapping our energy. The difference here is that this is a paid tool.

Detox Your Toxic Relationships

This tool is very similar to the two previously mentioned tools as it helps to remove something that can zap a person’s energy. The difference here is that this tool focuses on relationships. All of us have at least one toxic relationship in our lives and unfortunately when it comes to friends, family, and colleagues, sometimes we might not have much choice about it. The good thing about this tool is it not only identifies the toxic relationships but also the energizing ones. The goal here is to surround yourself with people who are going to lift you up, not bring you down.

Big Rocks and Little Rocks

This is another paid tool, but it’s a personal favorite of mine. Big rocks and little rocks refer to the important tasks (big rocks) and the details (little rocks) that most people tend to get caught up in. The tool helps you identify what you should be working on to ensure the important tasks are completed first before dealing with the everyday pebbles that come up. Usually, the big rocks are the things that help bring you one step closer to your goals.

The rest of the tools that I’ve found here are more generalized and therefore don’t have any specific links to them. However, they are still awesome tools and exercises to go through that will help you achieve your goals.

Self-love tool

This tool helps get you in the right mindset for taking on your days. Here’s how it works: first get a blank sheet of paper and list at least twelve things that make you special. Then list at least twenty or so personal achievements and successes in your life. These can be big things or even little things like learning to use the big boy potty. Next, list at least twenty things that you excel at: sports, video games, talking with people, relationships, fitness, or anything else you can think of. Finally, write down 5-10 physical qualities you possess. Choose one of the physical qualities that makes you feel attractive.  Save this list and put it near your bedside so that each morning and night you can read it to yourself for a week. This trains your brain to think positively which gets you ready to accomplish your goals.

Goal-setting worksheets

These are painfully obvious tools that every life coach must have in his or her repertoire. Basically, the details of the worksheets might vary, but the content of the worksheets is generally the same. First think about what you want in life and don’t have. Then think about what you do have but don’t want. Write those down. Next focus on your top three priorities. Then write down where you want to be in 10 years, and do the same with 5 years and 1 year. The goal here is to eventually identify your goals, both long-term and short-term, and then identify specific actions you can take today to start making progress towards them. Make sure to check out my article on the Huffington Post on how to set and go after your life goals.

Journaling

This last tool is another favorite of mine and something I’m personally working on being more consistent with. The concept of a journal is simple: you write down some notes, either in the morning or at night, or both, about your day. This helps you keep a daily log of your accomplishments, setbacks, moods, and so much more on any given day. If you’re stuck and wondering why you’ve been slacking on achieving your goals, referring back to your journal can be an eye-opener as to what’s been holding you back.