illusion

Challenging Illusions: Thought-Provoking Questions for Coaches

 in quote  tagged coach / coaches / coaching / F. Scott Fitzgerald / illusion / questions / quote / Thought
The image shows an intricate pattern of tiles on the ground, creating a visually striking geometric design. The tiles are arranged in a way that forms an optical illusion of three-dimensional cubes or a zigzag pattern, depending on the viewer's perspective. The tiles are in shades of gray and off-white, enhancing the illusion of depth and dimension. The text reads: "Then I grew up, and the beauty of succulent illusions fell away from me." (F. Scott Fitzgerald)

The quote of the day is:

“Then I grew up, and the beauty of succulent illusions fell away from me.” (F. Scott Fitzgerald)

Questions For Coaches:

  • What do you think the relationship between coaching and being realistic is?
  • What role did illusions play in your earlier life, and how do you view them now?
  • Using an example of something you’d like to see more about, if you look at it as an adult, what do you notice? If you look at it from a child like perspective, now what do you notice?

Bonus Questions:

  • How have your perceptions of reality changed as you’ve matured?
  • How do you differentiate between thoughts created by your mind and the true essence of your experiences?
  • What business beliefs or ideals did you hold when you started your coaching practice, and how have they changed?

About Jen Waller

Jen Waller

Jen Waller is a transformative coach dedicated to empowering individuals to get out of their own way and make a meaningful impact in the world. With an impactful, nurturing coaching style, Jen supports clients in unlocking their potential and achieving their goals. As an experienced coach and trainer, she guides clients from self-doubt to success.

Discover how Jen can support you to get out of your own way here

Are you a magician? 1

 in Coaching  tagged behaviour / business coach / business coaching / coach / coaches / coaching / coaching content / coaching courses / coaching preparation / coaching qualifications / coaching skills / coaching techniques / coaching training / coaching welcome pack / executive coach / Free resource / illusion / leadership coaching / life coach / life coaches / life coaching / Lord Byron / magic / magical / performance coaching / personal coach / personal development / Thought

“The power of Thought, the magic of the mind!”
(Lord Byron)

A few coaching sessions ago, after the use of a carefully chosen comment, one of my clients accused me of performing magic. Now this isn’t the first time I’ve been accused of doing magic, being a witch or generally possessing supernatural skills during a coaching session.

I’m certainly not claiming to be unique in this – I know I’ve commented to my coaches in the past that if they had lived in a different era they may have been burnt at the stake!

I would like to offer that this isn’t magic, but it can be a magical experience. As a coach I’m not creating an illusion, if anything I’m often challenging illusions that individuals have created for themselves.

One of the things that I am listening for when I coach is the beliefs and the stories that an individual are telling themselves when they describe a situation.

Sometimes, a client will tell me directly, perhaps prompted by a question or a comment from myself as a coach.

On other occasions it’s implied by what they have said – it’s what must be presupposed for a statement or a comment to be true. I’m often looking for what someone must think is true for the experience they are describing to be real for them.

I mentioned challenging illusions earlier and I think that a stumbling block for a coach can be if you “buy into” a client’s illusion and treat it as true. If you do that then you are reducing the number of options that you may take with that client and potentially reducing the effectiveness of your work with that client.

It’s one thing if there is a conscious decision that a different route of questions is where you want to head. It’s another matter all together if that alternative direction of questioning is never even considered.

One of the concerns I can hear from those beginning gaining coaching experience is about what they can do if they ever find themselves stuck for what to say or ask next. While there are several things that you can do, if you ever find yourself “stuck” for the next question then you may want to consider the possibility that you have bought into your clients illusion. It may be that the thing that has you stuck for a question/comment is exactly the same thing that is tripping up your client.