Dealing with thoughts and feelings
In 2012, I helped friends heal and deal with the things they were going through, mentally, emotionally and physically, at the time using a combination of energy work and informal coaching. I then took a 7-week trip to Nepal, Tibet and India. Whilst there, I realized I was passionate about assisting others in this way. I decided to enhance my ability to supports people in these areas.
I looked to the International Coaching Federation (‘ICF’)¹, the largest global organization of professional coaches. I selected Consciousness Coaching² as my program of choice. I completed the Master Levels I, II, III part 1, and III part 2, all in 2013, and have been professionally supporting clients ever since.
I spent 13 years supporting clients through life- and executive coaching. Helping people deal with feelings and thoughts. Helping them realize feelings and thoughts do not have to control you. That by changing your perspective towards them, you can achieve greater clarity, peace, and freedom.
The past few years I have added to this by applying these skills in Mental Coaching for Elite Athletes. I have been an avid athlete for most of my life, recently having been a member of Team Netherlands in Racquetball since 2017. I have participated in 4 European Championships and multiple National Championships, of which I have won 2, and have played in many tournaments in Europe, mostly finishing the season in the top-10 and sometimes top-5 in Europe. In 2017 I supported a friend in becoming European Champion in Racquetball, who repeated this achievement in 2023, and subsequently became World Champion in the Amateur division in 2024. Since 2024 I have supported 9 elite epee fencers as the Mental Coach of Schermclub Den Bosch, the most succesful epee fencing club in the Netherlands.in enhancing their performance (leading to wonderful results including 2x 1st place Dutch Junior Championships, 3x 1st place Dutch Open juniors, 1st place Dutch Championships seniors, and 2nd place European Championships Equipe).
Benefits of Coaching
If you are facing issues such as a sense of stress, discomfort, unpleasantness, problems, resistance, anxiety, sadness, depression, a sense of “stuckness”, an overactive imagination, or overthinking, you may benefit from coaching. If you are looking for more focus, a greater sense of clarity and purpose, and an enhanced ability to deal with what your sport throws at you, you may benefit from coaching.
Mikan will support you to identify the issues, be with them, see them for what they truly are, and and allow you to deal with it. Applying this to for example elite sports coaching would look something like this:
- How to deal with excess stress in high level sports, leading to suboptimal results (see for example these Testimonials)
- How to become more aware of patterns of thoughts and feelings that are blocking your further growth as an athlete
- How to stop being distracted by tournament stress, and the kaleidoscope of impressions that are present in (international) tournaments
- How to set goals effectively and apply tools such as visualization and affirmations to implement results
How do I coach?
I coach by focusing on the different aspects involved in your experiencing of your problem(s). This includes body awareness, mental awareness, and emotional awareness. I guide you into becoming (more) aware of what the situation is telling you in these different aspects, and giving you tools to deal with each of these. The ultimate goal is for you to know who you are, and from this state take control of your life.
Self Development Tools
Many of the tools you would be given by me in coaching are also available for you to study (and implement) at your leisure. Feel free to get a taste and put it into practice. Use the chart below on a problem you are facing. Just start at the top, and follow the steps…
If, despite going through this a few times, you are still not able to resolve your issue, consider reaching out for help. Feel free to send me a message here. If you want more background information on the approach used, please purchase a useful book I wrote on this topic.
Coaching Testimonials
Please find below some testimonials of people that have been helped.
Personal Coaching
“I am thankful to Mikan. He helped me go through very painful experiences I did not know how to deal with. I was healed when I was so low I could not do anything by myself. He was always there for me, taking care of me and in the meantime I learned a lot. I am really thankful.”
“The past 7 years I have known Mikan has been the most transformative of my life. What started as a coaching session about work and life decisions grew into a direct understanding the Presence within me is everything I was searching for. Mikan’s support on my journey has been incredibly precious. He patiently guided me through the many steps towards contentment. Some steps were scary and painful. Being able to turn to Mikan was what kept me going. He often said I could have done it alone, but I wouldn’t trade him for the world. Thank you Mikan.”
Elite Sports Coaching
“In the sporting area, mental coaching helped me to cope better with pressure situations in competition. At the beginning I just wanted to win, nothing more. Then I wanted to win for the spectators and increased my expectations of myself. This led to internal pressure and caused stress in me without me noticing it. The result was a highly fluctuating performance… sometimes I couldn’t even bring my own performance to the maximum. Through mental coaching I prepared better for the games, because it’s not just the playing skills that are important. The mental skills in a game are just as important, especially when it’s on equal terms. Mikan helped me to be content no matter what happens, this has led to me being more mentally structured and organized, which has improved my performance.”