What does a "Powerful Question" really mean?

Coaching It’s a dance — a flow — within a conversation where the coach is fully present for you.  Through that space of powerful questions, you are able to embrace what is truly meaningful in your life or professional journey.

We talk about powerful questions, but what does a Powerful Question really mean?

Have you ever been asked a question that stopped you in your tracks?  This morning, I remembered when he told me, “Just let yourself fall.”I wasn’t able to — even though he said, “I’m leaving. Take your time… and think: what in life are you afraid of?”

That question was one of the most powerful I’ve ever been asked. 

It wasn’t the complexity of the question that made it powerful, but the moment it found me.

So he left.

There I was, on my paddle board, in the middle of the beautiful Tomine Reservoir— cold water, majestic mountains surrounding me. I tried to see through the water, but but its depth didn't allow it. After a few minutes, I gathered my courage and hugged my knees. A few tears appeared. I turned left, and in a second, my body was there, in the water. I cried.

The pandemic had ended — and so had my marriage.  My job was almost gone too.  

Did he know all of this? Of course not.

I wasn’t just in the water — I was entering an unknown world.

The water was so cold, I had a thermal suit but I felt the chill invade my body, and within a few minutes and I fell alive, confident, safe as when you are home. I stay there few minutes holding my paddle board, I was present for my self, looking at the water how it flows and adapt without complain, the beauty of the mountains and how strong they are through the time, I looked the sky and breath. My mind calm down. I saw him quite far from me, I saw him with my heart full of gratitude.   

I had to go back up on the paddle board, I found the strength, took impulse and climbed.  In that moment I thought:  “I can do it. I really can.”

He’s my sports coach. But he read me. He listened to my tone of voice that day. He embraced me — not physically, but with presence. He respected my space. He looked into my eyes, and somehow, he saw me.

That, my friends, is a powerful question, and what makes a question powerful?It's the timing. The intention. The presence behind it.

A powerful question doesn’t try to fix you. It simply holds up a mirror — and gives you permission to see.

• It arrives when you're ready (even if you don't feel ready).

• It touches a deeper truth.

• It doesn’t rush you — it invites you.

• It shifts your perspective.

That day , dicember 12 -2023 on the lake, I didn’t walk away with answers. I left with something more valuable: awareness.

What Came Next? 

That “I can do it” stayed with after I left the lake.It echoed through the quiet days that followed, and through the big decisions I needed to make: Slowly, I began to rebuild — not from fear, but from trust.

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I really would like you to think:

What’s the question that’s waiting for you today?What are you afraid of — and what would happen if you let go?Who in your life helps you feel truly seen?

Take five minutes today to write down the question you’ve been avoiding.You might be surprised by what surfaces.

Sometimes, one question is all it takes to begin again.

LiliGelvez

Coaching