Self-confidence is the belief that coachees can use their resources to achieve their goals. Self-confidence and motivation can be related, but high self-confidence does not always lead to higher motivation, and low self-confidence does not always mean low motivation.
Self-Confidence in Coaching: What It Means
Self-confidence is often confused with positive thoughts (for example, affirmations and self-affirmations such as “I’m sure I’ll get it”, “I’m capable”, “I’m going to achieve it”…); however, self-confidence in coaching processes is “knowing the real possibilities in the face of a goal and managing current resources to get the most out of it.”
How to Improve Self-Confidence Through Coaching
Improving self-confidence must begin with a genuine understanding of one’s own potential, with self-awareness. To achieve this, the following considerations are taken into account:
- Joint analysis of the situation and available resources.
- Setting realistic, achievable goals.
- Analyse the difficulties that may arise and how to deal with them.
Coaching Exercises for Self-Knowledge
Below, as an example, we present different coaching exercises (mostly based on group psychotherapy and group dynamics) that, with the aim of influencing personal analysis to achieve self-knowledge, can be useful in coaching practice.
1. The Discoforum: A Self-Awareness Exercise
One of the fundamental principles of coaching is the importance of inner dialogue (self-talk) and the need to reflect on it in order to achieve effective self-awareness. Self-talk can influence emotions and feelings.
Self-talk generates emotions that affect our experiences, what we see, what we hear, and so on. Our thoughts and interpretations can influence our emotions. Thus, when we feel happy, situations may seem more positive, while sadness can influence how we interpret events and evaluate our actions.
Thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, and behaviours are four different categories that we should not confuse but which are interrelated: what we think when something happens to us influences what we feel and vice versa, our feelings affect our behaviour, and our actions influence how we feel, depending on what we think and feel, we have different bodily sensations.
Understanding the difference between these four categories—thoughts, feelings, sensations, and behaviours—is fundamental to self-awareness. To this end, and using different types of music as stimuli, we will attempt to identify the thoughts, feelings, and bodily sensations that arise in each of us, the situations in which we typically experience these thoughts, feelings, and bodily sensations, and how we usually behave in those situations.
A possible script for self-knowledge guided through music:
- What name would you give to the piece of music?
- What do you think when you hear it?
- What emotions are you feeling?
- What bodily sensations do you have?
- In what situations do you usually find yourself like this?
- How do you usually behave in those situations?
Subsequently, through questions, the strategies followed when, for example, we feel bad will be analysed, what thoughts come to mind, what might happen if we behave in such a situation when the emotion is no longer present,…
2. Each Person’s Story: A Personal Reflection Exercise
This involves writing your personal story. The premise is confidentiality, as it will not be shared with the coach. It will only be used as a stimulus in the initial sessions to foster self-awareness.
- It needs to be in writing, and to do this, you must answer several questions:
- Who are you and what do you do?
- I hope you have a good memory.
3. A Dream: Exploring Motivation and Self-Confidence
Motivation and self-confidence are two fundamental tools in the coaching process for achieving the goals of the intervention; however, practice requires other tools and abilities that a coachee must demonstrate, so we encourage you to share your opinions and experiences to enrich others.
Correct the incomplete exercise instructions. Replace the unclear memory question
Also Read: 9 Exercises to Speed Up Metabolism
