A Coaching Power Tool Created by Alexandra Lopez-McLean
(Transformational Life, FRANCE)
Freedom lets you be the author of your own life. Fear dictates a life of limitations.
Freedom here represents being in harmony with your true core self. To be authentically you without restraint – to be, love and celebrate who you are.
Freedom makes an authentic connection to our true self and activates our potential. It allows us to create meaningful moments and our future which is the expansion of the moment one choice at a time.
Freedom is uplifting and offers us infinite possibilities to evolve, grow and develop. Freedom does not want to settle for second best it wants to respond to thoughts and experiences and give wings to them. Freedom wants to give life to our dreams. Freedom is a virtuous circle that seeks clarity which engenders courage and builds self-confidence.
Freedom is oxygen to the soul. … Moshe Dayan
Fear is a personal inner rebellion reacting against all change and the possibility of something unknown and new. When fear permeates our thoughts its toxicity also contaminates our relationships with others in both our professional and personal lives.
Fear on the surface can look like it is protecting us when really it is panicking for its own survival. Fear does not protect, it imposes a prison of limitations in order to suppress us into submission.
Fear can manifest itself physically in the pit of our stomachs. Fear can terrorise our thoughts with underlying beliefs we might not even be aware of that we have harboured over the years.
Fear thrives on negative self-talk, doubt, anxiety, low self-esteem, avoidance, lack of confidence, hopelessness, conformity, being controlled, being judged; to name but a few.
Fear is a vicious circle that thrives on confusion which paralyses and destroys selfconfidence.
Everything you want is on the other side of fear. … Jack Canfield
Case Study
The character portrayed in this case study has been given a fictitious name so as to respect confidentiality and to protect the dignity and identity of the individual concerned.
Max is an experienced educator who believes at the heart of any class what matters is the warmth of the human relationship forged and bonded together by daily life between educator and students.
Max has a holistic approach to education. He respects his students as fellow human beings and does not consider himself superior to him. Max encourages his students to think outside the box. In his class his students feel safe enough to take the risk of expressing themselves and have their voices heard, valued and appreciated. Max believes that this is crucial for their growth and development as happy, confident, whole human beings.
During his annual appraisal it was acknowledged that throughout the academic year Max was praised by students and parents alike, as well as being a great team player. However, Max’s boss added that he found him too independent and that it would be in his interest to fit into the mould like everyone else at work. Max was given an ultimatum that if he did not fit into the mould there would be repercussions for him and promotion would be impossible. Max’s heart sank as he left the appraisal. It triggered within him a volatile cocktail of fear based emotions.
Max wanted to find his path again and decided the only way to set himself free against the constraints of a controlling boss was to seek out a coach.
The coaching space left Max feeling encouraged and empowered as he began to clarify specifically what mattered to him. Mirroring back to Max helped him to discover that he had very strong personal values that mattered deeply to him.
Max was pleasantly surprised and relieved about the powerful affect his coaching sessions had on him.
Through role play Max felt empowered and wanted to change the outcome by letting go of his fears of what was going to happen if he did not change. Max came to a crucial point whereby his fear dissolved as the answers within him began to rise and come to the surface. Max now saw that the initial criticism of being too independent as a compliment and embraced it as being a positive part of who he was. Max acknowledged the issue was not about him being too independent but about his boss wanting to control him.
Out of is fearful confusion Max chose to commit to supporting his freedom by taking action. Max chose to visualise what direction he wanted his life to go. He held this vision and set realistic meaningful goals to move him forward. The more Max challenged and let go of his fears the freer and freer he became.
Max acknowledged freedom as his core value and being aligned with his values brought him harmony and peace. Max felt light hearted again and could tangibly see a brighter new future starting his own business which would correspond to his core values. This transformation enabled Max’s confidence to soar.
