What’s masquerading beneath “trust”

Sometimes in coaching conversations, I notice how words like 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵 can become a catch-all.
“I just need to trust myself more,” a client might say.

But when we look closely, something more concrete often emerges.

In a recent conversation, what appeared at first to be a lack of self-trust revealed itself to be 𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘺. Whenever a situation stretched beyond the client’s comfort zone of certainty, ingrained behaviors would kick in.

That shift in naming changed everything.

Instead of staying stuck in a vague sense of self-doubt, they had new perspectives to move out of a challenging situation through questions like

• What’s uncertain (and out of my control)?

• What aspects can be clarified or made more certain?

• What become possible when I accept uncertainty rather than resist it?

When we can name our emotions more precisely, we open up new pathways for action.