With a roller coaster, or a bungee jump, people face a major personal challenge that may require them to overcome their fears.  The risk is perceived rather than actual, as the activity has been assessed, safety checked and proven. However, people may tell themselves and others that they can’t do it so there is a mental barrier to overcome.  Once achieved there is a sense of exhilaration and achievement and people enjoy the ride.

Examples of questions you might use when coaching around overcoming fear.

– Often life is like a roller coaster ride or a jump into the unknown (a leap of faith). How do you overcome internal fears that prevent you from doing something?

– What helps you to overcome these fears? What do you do to improve your confidence? How do you minimise the risks? What kind of coping mechanisms do you put in place to help in these situations?

– What is your attitude to situations that you find very difficult initially?

– How is problem solving tackled? How to you seek solutions to problems?

– What do you do when you try something despite your fears?

– What is your reaction to not trying something? How much do you give into others? How much persuasion is required? What is your reaction to not trying – within yourself and to others?

– Once you have tried something and found that you enjoyed it, do you go back and try again?

– How can you harness the energy and excitement that you get from completing this kind of daunting task?

One of a series of 18 images from the coaching toolbox – Images of Resilience – available from RSVP Design.

Images of Resilience is a collection of metaphor cards representing a range of experiences and emotions linked to the theme of resilience. They explore different facets and connections with stress, change, challenge and learning.

Each image is accompanied with a range of suggested coaching questions to explore situations where resilience is needed, and the qualities or skills that can be developed to strengthen resilience.