International Coach Academy

Coach Training School

  • LANGUAGES
    • English
    • Chinese
    • Italian
  • COMMUNITY
    • Africa
    • Australia
    • Canada
    • Egypt
    • France
    • Germany
    • Greece
    • Hong Kong
    • India
    • Italy
    • Japan
    • Jordan
    • Lebanon
    • New Zealand
    • Singapore
    • Switzerland
    • Taiwan
    • Trinidad Tobago
    • UAE
    • UK
    • USA
  • Contact Us
  • OUR SCHOOL
    • Training Methodology
    • Coach Certification
    • Why Choose ICA?
    • Our Story
    • Our Team
    • Our Alumni
  • PROGRAMS
    • Become a Coach
    • Add Coach Skills
    • Advanced (ACP)
    • Professional (CPC)
    • Vocational (VCP)
    • Workplace (WCC)
    • Life Design
    • Bridging Pathways
    • Group Coach
  • STUDENT LIFE
    • Inside the Classroom
    • Study Schedule
    • Coaching Confidence
    • Your Niche and Model
    • Portfolio Creation
    • Unparallaled Support
  • COACH LIFE
    • ICA Coach Alumni
    • Get A Niche
      • Life Coaching
      • Health Wellness Coaching
      • Leadership Coaching
      • Business Coaching
    • Getting Clients
    • Coaching Demonstrations
    • Coaching Tips
    • Day in the Life of a Coach
    • Community Library
  • FLIPIT
    • A Framework for Change
    • Certified Group Coaching (CCE)
      • FlipIt Facilitation License
    • ICA Power Tools
      • Graduate Power Tools
  • BLOG
    • Graduation Yearbooks
    • Coach Portfolio
      • Power Tools
      • Resources
    • Articles
    • Podcasts
  • Join Login
You are here: Home » COACH PORTFOLIOS » Power Tools » Power Tool: Courage vs. Fear

Power Tool: Courage vs. Fear

2013/12/19

A Coaching Power Tool created by Boris Drizin
(Executive, Business, Leadership  Coaching, BRAZIL)

In the coaching conversation the intention of the Coach is to have the Client leave the conversation feeling freed up, with more hope, more confident in himself and in his competence, with more creative ideas, with a clearer view on possibilities and empowered to act.

What Power Tools can the Coach deploy in order to achieve the above goals?

Besides the two fundamental key concepts or goals of coaching  – Awareness and Responsibility(*1) – the Coach must also work with the Client on two related issues: Courage and Fear:  how can the Coach help the Client increase his courage and diminish his fears.

Or in other words, how can the Coach help the Client …

  • Face adversity with courage and determination?
  • Face adversity with courage, serenity and wisdom?
  • Act proactively without being hindered by fear?
  • Overcome fearful situations without getting immobilized by fear?
  • Cope with his fears in a mature and productive way?
  • Take the risk whenever needed?

Understanding the Virtue of Courage and the Emotion of Fear

According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, Courage is “mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty.

The word Courage implies firmness of mind and will in the face of danger or extreme difficulty. It suggests an ingrained capacity for meeting strain or difficulty with fortitude and resilience. It also suggests a quality of temperament enabling one to hold one’s own or keep up one’s morale when opposed or threatened.

The Merriam Webster Medical Definition of Fear is “an unpleasant often strong emotion caused by anticipation or awareness of danger and accompanied by increased autonomic activity”.

Fear is a powerful and primitive human emotion. It alerts us to the presence of danger and was critical in keeping our ancestors alive. Fear has been and still is essential to our survival.

Margaret Wheatley reminds us that “Fear has a lot of positive attributes when you think about it. First of all, it gives us adrenaline. So it gives us the energy we need, the surging we need, to really do things that, then, look courageous. So, fear could be a good thing.” (*2). Fear connects us with the world and is a good companion when you use it properly.

When we are frightened we have trouble thinking and acting consciously. We lose our minds in large part due to the huge physiological reaction that fear causes – our bodies and our minds are flooded and overwhelmed physically.

When fear appears, and we recognize and acknowledge it, and understand its meaning, it helps us solve the situation in which the fear arose. It helps us to do the right thing in a tight spot. But when we fail to relate to fear effectively, then fear can paralyze us and make us lose touch with our common sense. Fear when not dealt in a healthy manner may hold people back from achieving the things they need and want in life.

While COURAGE is a virtue or quality (*3), FEAR is an emotion (*4).  A Quality can be developed, while an Emotion is something beyond our control. It just happens. We can’t avoid the Emotion of Fear; we can only train ourselves to respond appropriately to the emotion that emerges.

When fear nocks at your door, don’t react immediately to the emotion. Train yourself to respond appropriately to the emotion, by understanding and acknowledging the meaning and reason of the emotion of fear. Ask yourself: “What or whom I am afraid of?” “What danger exists, real or imaginary, that I am facing?”  “What is at stake? “What or who is the threat?”. Accept the emotion of fear without struggling with it. Acknowledge it and understand what it is saying to you.

Related Posts

  • The Business World’s Influence In Coaching PerformanceThe Business World’s Influence In Coaching Performance
  • Research Paper: Coaching for Sustained Change in Organizations
  • Natalia Bogoyavlenskaya Power Tool Avoidance vs ExplorationPower Tool: Avoidance vs. Exploration
  • Coaching Model: BOLD ExecutiveCoaching Model: BOLD Executive
  • Coaching Model: 7 Ps BusinessCoaching Model: 7 Ps Business
  • [Audio Replay] Trends in Corporate Coaching[Audio Replay] Trends in Corporate Coaching
Pages: 1 2 3 4 5

Filed Under: Power Tools Tagged With: boris drizin, business coaching, courage vs fear, executive coaching, virtue of courage

International Coach Academy

Categories

International Office

PO Box 3190 Mentone East,
Melbourne AUSTRALIA, 3194

ABN: 83 094 039 577

Contact Us Online

Ask Us A Question

Click HERE

Terms

Terms and condition
Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2021 · International Coach Academy ·

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Non-necessary

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.

SAVE & ACCEPT