From: L. Michael Hall                                
2016 Meta-Coaching Support: Morpheus #05
February 03 2016 （2016 年 2 月 3 號）

If you are going to coach, you are going to have to challenge people.  It comes with the job. So, how are you at the skill of challenging?  A coach who doesn’t challenge is like an electrical plug that’s dead.  A coach who doesn’t challenge cheats the client of what a coaching client needs and wants— challenge.  Last year I wrote about “challenge” several times, you can check out the 2015 series: Feb. 11, #6;   Feb. 18 #7, Feb. 25 #8; August 26 #33.

如果你要教練客戶，你就要挑戰他們。這就是工作的一部分。那麽，你的挑戰技能在甚麽水平呢？不挑戰的教練就像是沒有作用的插頭。不挑戰的教練是欺騙客戶有關于客戶要從教練中所需要和想要的東西 – 挑戰。去年，我寫過好幾篇文章有關于「挑戰」，你可以回顧 2015 年的文章。2/11 的第 6 篇，2/18 的第 7 篇，2/25 的第八篇以及 2/26 的第 33 篇。

Why the Importance of Challenging? 爲甚麽挑戰的重要性？

We need challenge because without something to push against, we won’t grow.  Everyone who has worked out at a gym knows that.  Muscles grow and develop when they are challenged, otherwise they atrophy.  Challenge means pushing yourself, it means expending the effort to do more and/or to do better.  Challenge then is required if we are to develop as persons and develop our skills.  That’s why it is so important.  And that’s why clients come for coaching!

我們需要挑戰因爲沒有被推，我們不會成長。在健身房裏面運動的人都知道。肌肉唯有被挑戰才能成長，也就是花費更多精力做更多和做更好。如果我們要發展成爲人和發展我們的技能，是需要挑戰的。

這就是爲甚麽它那麽重要。這就是爲何客戶要被教練！

Challenge is involved in all athlete events and there it’s obvious to see the need for a strong opponent.  If all we test our skills against weak opponents, our best will not come out and will not arise.  We need to wrestle against a worthy opponent, someone who is our equal, and who will test our mettle.  That’s why challenge is the basis of all competitive games.  While it is fun to play chess, tennis, basketball, etc. with a child, such play will not push you to do your best.  You need more of a challenge than that.

所有的運動比賽包含挑戰幷且很明顯看到需要很强的對手。如果我們用虛弱的對手測試自己的技能，我們最好的技能不會出現。我們需要跟勁敵角力幷且可以測試我們的勇氣。這就是爲何挑戰是競爭游戲的基本。雖然跟小孩下棋，打網球，棒等很有趣，但這種活動不會讓你發揮最佳的實力。你需要比這個還要多的挑戰。

Where there’s a challenge, there is a risk.  Where there challenge there is also the phenomenon of taking a risk.  So ask yourself or your client some risk questions:

Is there a risk?  What’s at risk in what you are doing? What are you putting at risk?  Are you risking time, effort, money, personnel, your reputation or what? 有挑戰的地方就會有風險。有挑戰的地方也會有冒險的現像。因此問自己或客戶一些風險的問題：有風險嗎？你正在做的事情有哪些事情有存在風險的？你有甚麽東西是處在風險裏的？你是否冒著時間，精力，時間，人力，名聲或甚麽的風險？

The contrast is playing it safe.  The person who “plays it safe” by choosing small and easy goals is risking nothing and therefore playing small.  Yet life becomes meaningful when there is risk.  When there is risk, we seek to come more alive, more present, and more focused.  We often measure the value of an experience in proportion to the risk that is taken.  When a person plays himself small, he is risking success.  That’s also one way to not “fail” since if you are not taking on much, there little chance of failing.  Of course, that’s the coward’s way to live life.

對照的一面是保險。那些人透過選擇小又容易的目標不會有任何風險，因此玩小的。但是生活要有風險才會變得有意義。當有風險時，我們會更有活力，更當下幷更專注。我們通常用冒險多少來衡量體驗的價值。當他玩小的，他損失成功。如果你不要冒太多險，失敗機率就會很小，這也是不「失敗」的方法之一。當然，這也是懦夫的生活方式。

At the point in his life when Abraham Maslow discovered that a non-directive approach to selfactualization does not work.  That it will not occur “naturally,” he noted this: “The good of other people must be provoked.” (1966, p. 31).  That is, people have to be challenged!  They have to be provoked, called upon to extend themselves in order to bring out the person’s best.  That’s what you facilitate as a coach—the direction where self-actualization occurs.

Further, to get into the flow zone, guess what you have to do?  That’s right— take on a challenge.  Rise up and you push yourself to the edge of your skills.  That’s what Csikszentmihalyi discovered in his research about happiness.  In the end he created a diagram to illustrate the dynamics involved in finding flow— challenge and competence.  The integration of these two elements creates the “flow zone.”  Yes, when you experience flow that is the sense that everything is just right and you are in the zone of optimum performance.  Yet that flow is not “easy,” or “soft.”  In fact, during the experience, people say that they feel that it was one of the toughest, most challenging things they have ever taken on.  The happiness comes later.  It results from knowing that you took on a challenge and met it.

馬斯洛在生命的某一點發現自我實現采用無方針方式不管用。他發現它不會「自然」發生時，他注意到：「他人的長處一定要被激怒。」（1966 年，第 31 頁）。也就是說人們要被挑戰！他們要被激怒，被喚醒擴展自己才能帶出最好的自己。這就是身爲教練的你所要優化的 – 自我實現發生的方向。

還有，要進入心流情境，猜猜你需要做甚麽？答對了！要挑戰。站出來幷把自己推到技能的極限。這就是心理學家米哈裏齊克森先生研究幸福時候所發現的。最後，他創建一張圖案說明找出心流的動態包含挑戰和技能。結合這兩個元素産生「心流情境」。是的，當你體驗的心流是每一件事情都是剛好，你已經處在最佳表現的區域。但是心流幷非「容易」或「柔軟」。其實，人們說在體驗中，他們感受到那是有生以來最挑戰的事情。幸福後面才來。透過知道你已經接受挑戰後才發生。

In the experience of flow, you sometimes confronts daunting odds that you never thought you could handle and yet, in the end, you come out of it having demonstrated your mettle.  By persevering in facing difficulties you enter the flow zone and becomes more of yourself.

在體驗心流裏，有時候你會要面對你從來想不到你能處理的恐嚇可能性，但在最後，一旦你展示你的勇氣時，你打贏了。透過不屈不橈地面對困難，你進入心流情境幷變得更多的自己。

How to Challenge As a Coach 

身爲教練你如何挑戰客戶

• Stop and check. 停止幷檢查

The most simple thing to do is to ask, “Is this challenging?  Do you feel this coaching conversation today as a stretch for you?  Am I provoking you sufficiently?  What would need to happen for you to feel challenged in a way that will serve to unleash more of your potentials?”

要做的最簡單事情就是提問：「它挑戰嗎？你覺得今天的教練對話對你來說是否很有挑戰？我是

否充分激怒你了？要讓你感受到挑戰以致于可以服務到釋放更多你的潜能，需要發生甚麽事情？」

• Challenge your Client’s Clarity. 挑戰客戶的清晰度

When you ask a clarity check question, then follow up.  “Is that now clear?  Can you make a picture from the words that describe the solution?”  “Yes?  Then tell me about what you see.”

當你提問澄清檢查的提問時，隨後問：「清楚了嗎？你是否可以從形容解答的文字中産生畫面？

「可以？那麽就告訴我，你看到甚麽？」

• Challenge your Client’s Sensitive Areas. 挑戰客戶敏感區

Challenge what is unspoken or sensitive in your client.  Ask, “What are you thinking about that you have not said?   What are you hoping that I won’t ask about or bring up?  What about X —could that be emotional for you to go there?”  “How would that be emotional for you?” 挑戰客戶沒有說出來或對客戶敏感的東西。問：「你對于沒有說出來的東西有何想法？你希望我不會問你甚麽問題？那麽有關于 X，對你來說，要到那裏是否會是情緒化？「對你，它是如何情緒化的？」

• Reflect after the Coaching. 教練後的反省

How am I doing in terms of awakening this person?  Did I invite her to stretch?  Is it time to do a little teasing with my client?  How would I do that best?  What does this client need to be challenged about?”  “Am I disturbing my client’s peace and inducing states of discomfort?”

有關于喚醒客戶，我做得如何？我是否有邀請他挑展自己？是不是調戲他的時候？我要如何做得最好？客戶需要被挑戰甚麽？我是否干擾到客戶的平靜和誘導不舒服的狀態？

• Challenge your client to face Reality. 挑戰客戶面對真實

Challenge your clients to face reality on its terms and check out if his or her mental maps and expectations are realistic.   “Is that realistic?”  “If you think it is, how is it?”  “How will you be able to do that in that time-frame or with your current skills?”

挑戰客戶面對真實幷檢查她的大腦地圖和期待是否實際。「它實際嗎？」「如果你認爲是的話，說出來它如何實際？」「你要如何在那個時間框架裏做到或用你既有的技能做到？」

Here’s a challenge to you as a coach— develop your challenging skills and create a great coaching practice!

祝你是個挑戰的教練 – 發展你的挑戰技能幷産生很棒的教練事業。

翻譯：方秀紅
注：如翻譯有誤解原意，純屬翻譯者對內容的誤解。內容還是以原文爲准。