posted by Rick
Coaching is about change and more importantly about courage. I have noticed that most of the clients I coach don’t see themselves as courageous or understand what courage really means. When I talk about courage with individuals pursuing change through the coaching process, I stress the following:
- Courage is not defined as a lack of fear
- Courage means doing something in spite of your fear
- It is not courageous to do something that we are not afraid of doing. If we are afraid and still do it we are doing the hero’s task.
Author Susan McMahon in her book: The “Portable Therapist” makes the point that: “Being afraid is being human. Your fear is your feeling; your behavior determines your character”. Courage and change go hand in hand. Individuals facing change, even good change, are naturally, at times, afraid. What is critical to the individual pursuing any goal is to realize that your fear is your feeling; your behavior around your fear determines your character. Many times individuals pursuing change through coaching do not acknowledge or even realize their courageousness. It is one of the tasks of coaching to open client’s eyes to their courageousness. Individuals at times get stuck by the fact that they have feelings of fear or trepidation and equate this with weakness or powerlessness. The meditation I have above my desk from the aforementioned book by Susan McMahan states in part that: “Being afraid of being afraid can produce the exact outcome that one was trying to avoid in the beginning. The more we do when we are afraid the less fear we have. Acknowledge you fear, accept it without criticism, be gentle with yourself because you are afraid, and then do what you have to do anyway.” Know that going through the fear is the true act of courage the way of the hero.”
Filed under: My Plan After 50 Musings, Resilience | Tagged: change through coaching, courage
