Usually, we face two kinds of problems in our careers and businesses.
The first is when you have the skills to swim but are scared of going into the deep waters.
The second is when you don’t know how to swim and you’re required to jump into those waters.
In the first case, you know how to swim, and you have the skills—you can swim nonstop for thirty minutes in six-foot-deep waters. But, when you’re required to do the same in sixty-foot-deep waters—you panic!
You dread going deeper not because you don’t have the skills, but because you feel it is too dangerous. You are unsure, not confident, apprehensive, and nervous about doing that task.
Why?
Because the danger is in your head, in the way you have habituated your mind to think, in the way your narratives are built. Think about it—is swimming in six-foot-deep waters really different than swimming in sixty-foot-deep waters (presuming you already know swimming, and you’re less than six feet tall)?
For this particular problem, you need to find a coach who can help you reshape the narratives in your head. You don’t need a coach to teach you better swimming, but a coach who can help you cultivate broader mental narratives.
For the other kind of problem where you need to jump into the waters without knowing how to swim—you need to find a swimming coach.
To really know what kind of coach you need, learn to uncover the “right” underlying problem. Unless you can clearly identify the problem, the coaching you are going after might not be the right kind.