I had a coaching session with a smart, driven client. He works in a large multinational company and is involved in many important projects. A high performer, no doubt. But what brought him to our session was something unexpected: his fear of swimming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As summer vacation approached, this fear became louder in his mind, not letting him rest. Whether it\u2019s the sea, a small pool, or simply water on the floor in general, this fear blocks him almost completely\u2014even just touching the water with his foot could become difficult sometimes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We started the session. I asked: So, we dove in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the first part of the conversation, we explored his dream and long-term vision\u2014where he sees himself in three years or more. Despite having a bold, inspiring dream, the fear of swimming quickly showed up again, almost taking over the space. Only a small spark of hope remained that this fear could be conquered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I gently asked: He shared many powerful benefits he could imagine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To align even better with his session goal, I asked: I asked for permission to explore more deeply what he was feeling. This simple step often helps clients start to really see themselves<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He responded clearly: I shared what I was feeling too\u2014a slight tension in my own body. Then I gave him space to continue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After a short silence, he added: We explored his most recent experience around swimming\u2014especially connected to pools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As we talked, he began recognizing a pattern\u2014how his thoughts amplify the fear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That was just the first step.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then, I introduced a small exercise to help him \u201csee\u201d how our thoughts influence our feelings:<\/p>\n\n\n\n I asked him to imagine a 10 cm wide, 2-meter-long wood bar on the floor. Then I changed the scenario: \u201cExactly.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n He paused, then said something beautiful: At the end of the session, I asked him to reflect: He took a small but meaningful step by watching Avatar with his best friend to see how easily the characters swim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sometimes, it seems like we can feel both fear and courage at the same time. But as one grows stronger and clearer, the other becomes smaller.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s up to us to choose what we focus on more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, I ask you now: Professional coaching can support amazing people in observing themselves deeply and discovering their own unique way to train their courage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I had a coaching session with a smart, driven client. He works in a large multinational company and is involved in many important projects. A high performer, no doubt. But what brought him to our session was something unexpected: his fear of swimming. As summer vacation approached, this fear became louder in his mind, not letting him rest. Whether it\u2019s the sea, a small pool, or simply water on the floor in general, this fear blocks him almost completely\u2014even just touching the water with his foot could become difficult sometimes. We started the session. I asked:\u201cWhat kind of conversation would you like today?\u201dHis answer was direct and confident:\u201cI\u2019d like a strong, professional coaching conversation\u2014with challenges and deep reflections.\u201d So, we dove in. In the first part of the conversation, we explored his dream and long-term vision\u2014where he sees himself in three years or more. Despite having a bold, inspiring dream, the fear of swimming quickly showed up again, almost taking over the space. Only a small spark of hope remained that this fear could be conquered. I gently asked:\u201cHow would your life\u2014both personal and professional\u2014change if you had no fear of swimming?\u201d He shared many powerful benefits he could imagine. To align even better with his session goal, I asked:\u201cIn today\u2019s session, do you want us to look at your swimming fear specifically, or go deeper into another idea you just mentioned?\u201dHe smiled and replied:\u201cYes, yes! I was thinking the same thing\u2014let\u2019s look at the fear.\u201d I asked for permission to explore more deeply what he was feeling.First, I invited him to pause and reflect:\u201cWhat do you feel right now, just talking about this fear?\u201d This simple step often helps clients start to really see themselves. He responded clearly:\u201cI feel fear in my body. I think we all carry fears like this in some way.\u201d I shared what I was feeling too\u2014a slight tension in my own body. Then I gave him space to continue. After a short silence, he added:\u201cActually, I think what scares me most is the pool.\u201d We explored his most recent experience around swimming\u2014especially connected to pools. As we talked, he began recognizing a pattern\u2014how his thoughts amplify the fear. That was just the first step. Then, I introduced a small exercise to help him \u201csee\u201d how our thoughts influence our feelings: I asked him to imagine a 10 cm wide, 2-meter-long wood bar on the floor.\u201cIf I asked you to walk on it, how would you feel?\u201d\u201cVery good! That would be fun\u2014I used to do that as a kid!\u201d Then I changed the scenario:\u201cNow imagine the same bar is one meter above the floor, like in a gymnastics contest. How would you feel walking on it now?\u201d\u201cWow! I\u2019d be scared\u2014afraid I might fall or get hurt.\u201d \u201cExactly.\u201d He paused, then said something beautiful:\u201cI think I feel both fear and courage at the same time. I used to see them as separate things.\u201d At the end of the session, I asked him to reflect:\u201cWhat\u2019s clearer for you now? And after a while, What can you accept more about yourself today, and would be useful from now on?\u201d He took a small but meaningful step by watching Avatar with his best friend to see how easily the characters swim. Sometimes, it seems like we can feel both fear and courage at the same time. But as one grows stronger and clearer, the other becomes smaller. It\u2019s up to us to choose what we focus on more. So, I ask you now:In your dream, in your vision\u2014how are you training your courage? Professional coaching can support amazing people in observing themselves deeply and discovering their own unique way to train their courage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":250,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,20,19],"tags":[5,30,27,21,22,28,24,29],"class_list":["post-249","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-coaching","category-leadership","tag-coaching","tag-emotional-intelligence","tag-fear-and-courage","tag-growth-mindset","tag-leadership-2","tag-mindset-shift","tag-personal-development","tag-self-awareness"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vlaraone.com\/gc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vlaraone.com\/gc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vlaraone.com\/gc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vlaraone.com\/gc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vlaraone.com\/gc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=249"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/vlaraone.com\/gc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":251,"href":"https:\/\/vlaraone.com\/gc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249\/revisions\/251"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vlaraone.com\/gc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/250"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vlaraone.com\/gc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=249"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vlaraone.com\/gc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=249"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vlaraone.com\/gc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=249"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\u201cWhat kind of conversation would you like today?\u201d<\/strong>
His answer was direct and confident:
\u201cI\u2019d like a strong, professional coaching conversation\u2014with challenges and deep reflections.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHow would your life\u2014both personal and professional\u2014change if you had no fear of swimming?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn today\u2019s session, do you want us to look at your swimming fear specifically, or go deeper into another idea you just mentioned?\u201d<\/strong>
He smiled and replied:
\u201cYes, yes! I was thinking the same thing\u2014let\u2019s look at the fear.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
First, I invited him to pause and reflect:
\u201cWhat do you feel right now, just talking about this fear?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI feel fear in my body. I think we all carry fears like this in some way.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cActually, I think what scares me most is the pool.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf I asked you to walk on it, how would you feel?\u201d<\/strong>
\u201cVery good! That would be fun\u2014I used to do that as a kid!\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNow imagine the same bar is one meter above the floor, like in a gymnastics contest. How would you feel walking on it now?\u201d<\/strong>
\u201cWow! I\u2019d be scared\u2014afraid I might fall or get hurt.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think I feel both fear and courage at the same time. I used to see them as separate things.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s clearer for you now? <\/strong>And after a while, What can you accept more about yourself today, and would be useful from now on?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
In your dream, in your vision\u2014how are you training your courage?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n