While very closely related, "fear" and "anxiety" are two distinct human responses. Fear is an Old English word meaning "sudden calamity" or "danger." It really is a cognitive activity that we chose to do. It is the intellectual appraisal of a perceived or real life threatening event. Anxiety, on the other hand, stems from an ancient Latin word meaning agitation or distress. Anxiety is the emotional response (tension, palpitations, worry, nerves, perspiration) to the cognitive appraisal of a life-threatening or perceived-to-be-threatening event. Both of these responses can cause people to stay away from coaches and other health-care professionals. Perhaps reading about them under the following headings will help you to see the value of overcoming your fears and anxieties.

I'M SMART!
"I should be able to figure this out for myself!"
Can you set your own leg when you break it? Many of us are stubbornly independent but in this highly specialized society sooner or later we all have to admit we need help. Smart is a relative term. We're all smart. We are just smart at different things, and sometimes we need specialists, whose training and life experience combine to better understand what we're going through.

I'M SPIRITUAL!
"Between God and my spiritual discipline, I should have all the answers."
Seeing a coach for nutritional advice, a kinesiologist, a homeopath, or an emotional coach does not reveal your spiritual weakness. Rather, it highlights one of your great strengths. It takes a lot of courage to seek out help. An ancient scholar once said, "Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisors they succeed."

I'M PROUD!
"I have my dignity, you know!"
Yes, coaching can be a humbling experience. At some point during the interactive
client-coach relationship you probably will come face to face with some of your shortcomings. Yet if change is going to happen change will have to happen. Sometimes it's easier to start facing these shortcomings with an objective professional coach who can help us find what the next step should be.

I'M ASHAMED!
"It's so humiliating to admit to anyone what I have done."
All of us have regrets. We have all made some poor choices and if we had it to do again ...hopefully we would make healthier choices. Confronting the emotional baggage that our choices have produced is at times humiliating. It is for this very reason that our coaches are compassionate, sensitive, and non-judgmental.

I'M SKEPTICAL!
"How do I know I can trust this person's advice - or that he or she won't gossip to others about me?"
I sure understand your skepticism. That is why you should demand a coach who is licensed by a reputable agency; who has extensive academic and professional training; who has signed a rigorous code of ethics and who has a proven track record; and has been seasoned by the experiences of life.

I CAN'T AFFORD A COACH!
"I just don't have the money right now."
The old axiom "you get what you pay for" is even more true today. When your colour TV breaks down during the Stanley Cup finals, you don't let the boy who mows your lawn fix it. Maybe it will be a matter of prioritizing or even going without some luxury for a time. Spending a few dollars on yourself, your nutritional health, your marriage, or your family may just turn out to be the best investment you have ever made.