A lot of times we let fear stop us from making progress with what we want… and more commonly, we don’t even realize when it’s happening.
W. Clement Stone put it like this– “Thinking will not overcome fear, but action will”
Now, you might be saying to yourself, “Toku, tell me something I don’t know”
And I know you’ll especially be thinking this if you’re a coach because as coaches we are specifically trained to help people recognize where fear is holding them back. We build our careers off of getting people to take that great leap toward what they want most, and work for it in spite of these fears…
But here’s the hard truth of the matter:
Fear can manifest in an infinite amount of ways. Many times, fear is hidden behind seemingly innocent notions of reservation or hesitation before taking action. Thus, making certain proponents of fear hard to recognize (even for the most savvy coaches).
The reality is that many coaches fall subject to fear-based obstacles without even knowing it. They’ll call what they’re doing “prep-work” or “training” when really it’s just an excuse to keep them from the scary reality of actually DOING the work.
In the monastery, we called “doing”, practice. We focused our attention on the practice of meditation, and on the practice of compassion. Time and time again, we would come back to this practice. No excuses, no wasting time “preparing” before actually meditating… But rather, we were committed to throwing ourselves fully into the becoming.
In the case of the monastery, our goal was to become the awakening for which we were seeking. It didn’t matter if we woke up one morning “not really feeling it” because we knew that this feeling had nothing to do with our ability to actually do the work of coming back to our practice each day.
When it comes to meditation, one must not focus on the outcome or the “desired enlightenment” as the reason for practicing. Instead, you are taught to only focus on your practice, on the action itself. In yoga, this is referred to as Abhyasa Vairagya, or to practice wholeheartedly without attachment to the outcome.
Whether we are working on shifting mindset, state of being, meditating, manifestation, energetics, any of it, or all of it.
All comes to bear in the realm of action.
It is single-handedly the action (or practice) that is what determines success.
Now you might be thinking, “What if I make a mistake? Or what if I steer someone in the wrong direction? Does this mean that I can step on people or manipulate them in order to become a successful coach?” “Are you saying I should just do whatever it takes even if it’s unethical?
No, that is not at all what I am saying.
What I will say though, is that sometimes you’re going to make mistakes as a coach. Sometimes you’re going to be self-serving, or you’re going to get people to say yes for the wrong reasons. Sometimes you’re going to do bad coaching.
None of this can be avoided. It is both a natural and necessary part of the process of becoming a successful coach. Of learning the ins and outs of how to communicate with people and work with them for their personal benefit, as well as your own.
It’s precisely why you should have a coach and fellow peers in your corner, to make sure you’re staying on the right path. People who will check you and call you out if (and when) you get lost in your ego.
You DO need support in order to stand for your values… But inaction is never a stand for your values.
If we only had coaches who are so concerned with their ethics that they avoid taking any clients, that’s not going to help anyone. In fact, it just makes things worse.
Imposter syndrome plagues the best of us, as well as the worst of us. But it takes a brave few to recognize imposter syndrome for what it is, and push through regardless.
What we really need in the field, are more coaches who:
- Are willing to practice whatever it takes to get people enrolled in possibility
- Are willing to do the work to enroll people with integrity, honor, and courage.
That’s what I taught in the coaching dojo, and that’s exactly what I teach in my Mastermind.
If this sounds like something you’re interested in, do not hesitate to reach out for more information. It’s time to stop preparing, and start DOING! Are you brave enough to DO?
