Firewalking: The Dangerous New Motivation Technique

It has recently been introduced in the coaching practices like the "Firewalking”(To walk on the embers) or the"Glasswalking"(walking on broken glass), since they seem to have a high impact to overcome fears and help people learn how to transcend the limits that our own mind imposes on us.

The benefits of Firewalking (walking on the embers)

We have all faced problems and obstacles that have arisen in our life, and in front of which many times we remain paralyzed. Sometimes these problems seem insoluble or too complicated to find the correct solution. Coaching is a discipline that helps overcome limiting beliefs that prevent us from facing those challenges or obstacles that arise both on a personal and business level.

Coaching: Firewalking as an impact technique

Firewalking is a technique that has been imported from the United States, where it has been used for more than three decades. It is used as life metaphor that allows people to be unblocked and empowered to face difficult day-to-day situations. In this way, individuals become more resilient and gain self-confidence. In addition, it helps them test their limiting beliefs, overcome their fears, and increase their motivation.

Psychology has been investigating the relationship between the mind, emotions, and pain for a long time. In the article "The Phantom Limb: Mirror Box Therapy”We have already echoed the studies of Ronald Melzack, a researcher and professor of psychology at McGill University in Canada, which led to the Neuromatrix Theory.

Is theory attributes the diffusion of pain and its transmission through the body to a complex system. Various areas are involved in the system (central and peripheral nervous system, autonomic nervous system and endocrine system) directly influenced by various psychological, emotional, genetic and social. But in addition to the influence of the mind in enduring physical pain or firewalking, it seems to be that, according to this coaching technique, dealing with physical pain can bring benefits at the psychological.

Overcoming fears with Firewalking

In the business arena, firewalking has also had a great impact. According to the experts who use the technique, walking on the embers is a challenge that enhances the empowerment business, leadership, courage or other virtues that so often influence success. On a personal level, this attitude of facing fears and commitment to oneself makes the person take awareness, commit and increase your perspective and your options, empowering your resources to achieve the objectives that are He has marked.

No one can deny that there are states of mind and attitudes (confidence, inner strength, joy, etc.) that motivate and push us to action, and there are paralyzing moods or attitudes (anxiety, fear, confusion, sadness, etc.) that make us powerless. It is possible that firewalking, like coaching technique, help increase self-confidence.

Metaphors in coaching

From a young age and as we grow up, tales and stories teach us values, principles and social norms. The stories that we are hearing shape our lives, and for their part, the stories that we begin to explain define who we are, our experiences, perceptions, and the perspective we have of the world.

Coaching uses metaphors as positive belief enhancement techniques, since language symbolic of the narrative defines us and our perspective of the world, providing learning. It acts on our subconscious in a much more empowering way than any suggestion or advice, and mobilizes our creative capacity in the inner search for new options.

From coaching it is stated that people have all the answers, you just have to accompany them to become aware. The generation of new options through metaphors, leads the coachee (coach's client) to relate and understand reality from another perspective.

The effectiveness of metaphors

But for metaphors to be effective for the coachee, the coach must develop a story that facilitates identification by their client and helps them seek more adaptive options. Therefore, the coachee must feel that the metaphor meets her needs and offers her meaning. The metaphor can also help to deepen the understanding and solving problems, and it is an important tool for change if used well.

For example, during the coaching process, an excessively outgoing client displayed little ability for self-observation and for questioning his own attitudes. The client, passionate about mountaineering, in the end improved his introspection ability, as the coach made him reflect by saying: "now it's your turn to climb the inner mountain."

In firewalking sessions the metaphors can be various. For example, “both in life and in firewalking, taking the first step is the most difficult, the one that it costs "or" you have to walk through life as above the embers, otherwise you may end burning you You have to step firmly and keep going no matter what happens ”.

Experiential learning: testing empowering beliefs

Metaphors will pave the way for us to acquire more adaptive and beneficial beliefs, but in order to anchor these new beliefs, they must be put to the test. To eliminate a limiting belief it is highly advisable to replace it with an empowering belief. This is not a new concept of coaching, but it has been applied for decades in psychology, for example, in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.

The experiential learning it is based on the fact that knowledge is created through transformation brought about by experience. The concrete experience is transferred to an abstract conceptualization which is actively tested through new experiences.

Firewalking and self-confidence

These experiences of failure or success will affect our mental programming (values ​​and beliefs), which will have consequences on our self-efficacy beliefs (also called self-confidence). Experiences are the most important source of information for the perception of self-confidence, since they will facilitate the verification of whether these beliefs are going to be effective or not. Repeating success in certain tasks increases positive evaluations of self-confidence beliefs, while that repeated failures decrease them, especially when failures cannot be attributed to circumstances external.

To read more about this topic in our article “Albert Bandura's Self-Efficacy: Do you believe in yourself?”.

In short, by testing the new empowering belief and observing its positive effect, you will facilitate its anchoring. This will provide a new vision of life. When you are aware that you yourself are the writer of your own novel, you can change the course of things to improve your well-being and face life's challenges differently.

Next we leave you a report in which they explain the operation of the Firewalking seminars. Check it out: