This was originally published as a bonus article in the Coaching Confidence weekly email during February 2011. To start getting your very own copy each week enter your details under “Don’t miss a thing!” to the right of this page.

Laughing babies

You may have seen a YouTube clip of a baby laughing as his Dad rips up some paper.

It’s a clip that as I type this has been watched nearly 6 million times directly. It’s also one that has been picked up by various news sources so the actual number of people who will have seen the 8 month year old giggling away will actually be higher.

In the clip you can hear his Dad start to laugh along with his son as he continues to rip up the paper. The paper he is ripping up to such amusement is actually a job rejection letter.

It reminded me of a technique that some of my clients have used when going into a situation that they have felt was really important and were putting pressure on themselves that really wasn’t useful.

Prior to going into or taking a particular action all they did was to take a moment out from focusing upon how important they thought the future event was to their existence. Instead, I asked them to spend a few moments connecting with something that as they think of it brings a smile to their face.

Different people choose to connect with those thoughts and feelings in different manners. As a coach, I invite you to consider some of the options you have to guide someone to do this.

I will also share one of the ways I can teach to a client to play with. This is based loosely upon the Heart Math Institutes work; visit here to find out more about them here)

1. Put your hand physically over your heart,

2. Take a breath in and imagine breathing into your heart (We’re just playing so don’t over think this step!)

3. Hold your breath for a moment and then let it go

4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 for a few cycles while still focusing upon breathing into your heart. (If you find that you imagine any colour etc involved with breathing into your hear, that’s OK too)

5. While still breathing into your heart, think of someone or something that you love, someone that loves you or just something that when you think of it you find yourself automatically grinning about – maybe it’s laughing babies, or little kittens or puppy dogs.

Before I start listing items that could come straight from the lyrics of the sound of Music’s “My favourite things”, I’m going to say that there is no judgement about what thought you are selecting here. Just pick the one that works for you!

6. When you are ready, bring your attention back to your surroundings and continue with the action or event that you used to feel so pressured about.

Many people report that this approach helps to put things into a different perspective for them. I know people who have used this before going into make a presentation, an assessment situation, before picking up the phone to make a sales call etc.

About the Author

Jen Waller is on a mission to support, nurture and encourage coaching skills and talents from non-coach to coach and beyond.

She has created a free 7 day e-course about how to create your own unique coaching welcome pack that works for you and your clients. Get your copy here.