It is a simple matter to discern whether one has one, big problem in the center of life, dragging down every area of life. Those who habitually wake up hung over and in strange places generally do know that their core issue is a drinking problem. If they don't, there's usually someone around only too happy to enlighten them. For all those whose problems can't be so immediately determined, a life enrichment coach is often the way to go.

There are trained specialists in this field, or more typically those who started as such, but most have an intuitive sense for the holistic. Even without a license, there will be enough knowledge of diet to recognize a client's bad habits, those things that weaken happiness and sap energy. A coach will be able to recommend the dietary alterations that will contribute to overall success.

Diet is intimately associated with fitness, though it can take some coaching to determine where to mark the line. There are those who need to be told that it is time to give up the daily pack of cigarettes. There are those who might be better off taking karate to work off, or to discipline, underlying aggression, or to become more confident.

It's hard to have a happy life if things aren't right with one's own family, and many people are so deeply nested into habits passed down generation after generation that they could use an informed outsider's advice. First, of course, is our relations with spouses and children, relations which rarely seem perfect. Relations with our own parents, though, can also become a source of tension as they grow older and suffer the strains of old age.

It will surprise few that dating is one area of broadest, but also deepest concern. This is frequently the single most agonizing part of clients' lives, a source of bitterness that can poison success in every other area. Sometimes people need a good coach to inspire them in how to dress better, how to put together an online dating profile, or even to stop worrying when their lack of confidence is out of step with their real attractiveness.

If it isn't love, quite often the problem is money, with a dire need for financial advice a prerequisite to any other form of success. Typically there will be a distinct difference between what life coaching does and that which can better be done by an accountant or true financial analyst. But an accountant might not be the right person to ferret out underlying failings in one's general attitude toward wealth, including all the little ways people drive it away.

Some people need broad emotional counseling, and their enrichment sessions might closely resemble psychotherapy. Many coaches are degreed psychotherapists, and find that background useful. People with such training will be able to recognize the difference between deepset grief and deepset rage, giving them a leg up at diagnosing weaknesses.

Psychological counseling is typically directed at people who are suffering. Coaching, by contrast, is generally for those who at least do not self-diagnose as troubled, but who want more. It can be the best choice for millions.