Coach State vs Crash State
COACH as an acronym, was identified as a tool to be used with top performers; from athletes, to individuals taking on important tasks in their careers, to those in potentially aggressive or dangerous situations who need to manage themselves at a higher level.
Operating from coach state is a skill. If you do it regularly, you can sharpen it, grow it, and become better at applying it. But like any skill, it can go dormant if not utilized. Skill development begins with capability, and as human beings, we all have the capability to operate in this kind of state, though it may not always be easy.
COACH state is built on five main components: Centered, Open, Aware, Connected, and Holding.
Centered
The first step in coach state is being centered. Think about a time when you were thrown off balance, maybe during a presentation or another high-stress situation. You might have felt ungrounded, like you were floating, disconnected from yourself. That’s what it feels like to be knocked off center.
In coach state, we focus on maintaining a sense of being grounded and centered, like martial artists or athletes who start from a place of balance. You want to feel your feet on the ground, rooted firmly.
Open
If you want to impact the people around you - whether it’s family, friends, or coworkers - you need to be open to receiving what the world has to offer.
This openness comes with a degree of vulnerability, but it’s not not about being defenseless, it’s about staying grounded while remaining open to the experiences, people, and opportunities around you.
You’ll often feel this openness in your heart area, creating a sense of expansiveness.
Aware
We’re not trying to bumble our way through life unaware of what’s happening around us. We want to be awake to our environment. We want to feel alert, with neurons firing in our brain, helping us be present to what’s happening while maintaining our grounded and open state.
Connected
This is where we turn our attention to the energy around us. There’s only so much we can accomplish on our own, and the idea of being connected is about tuning into something larger than ourselves. Whether it’s a room full of people, a 1:1 zoom, or even events far away, embodying the feeling of being connected despite distance or differences allows you to calibrate and read the room in a way that’s often unspoken, yet extremely powerful.
Holding
Finally, we come to holding. This is about maintaining all the aspects of COACH state - centered, open, aware, and connected - even when things aren’t going smoothly.
The world isn’t perfect, and it’s important to be prepared to hold our ground, no matter what comes our way. When you do this, you become the container that holds whatever life throws at you, rather than being overwhelmed by it.
Coach state isn’t just for when things are easy; it’s for when challenges arise, and we must remain in control of ourselves.
CRASH as an acronym, represents the shift we all experience when we go from being calm and centered to feeling reactive and overwhelmed.
When we find ourselves in a crash state, we may notice our bodies tightening and our minds racing with self-doubt and fear. In this state, we can feel isolated and reactive, often struggling to trust ourselves or others. Recognizing this shift is crucial, as it allows us to navigate these feelings and work our way back to a more centered, productive mindset.
CRASH state is represented by the following five components: Contracted, Reactive, Analysis Paralysis, Separated, and Hostile.
Contracted
In the crash state, the first thing that happens is we contract. Our bodies tighten, we hunch over, and we physically close ourselves off. Instead of being centered and ready to face challenges, we shrink into a reactive, defensive posture. Pay attention to your body - are your shoulders back and open, or are you constricted and closed off?
Reactive
Instead of responding calmly and thoughtfully, we become negatively charged and reactive. In this mode, we lose our ability to stay grounded, and our reactions become automatic. We react to what’s happening around us without a clear sense of direction, which leads to impulsive decisions rather than intentional responses.
Analysis Paralysis
In the crash state, our trust disappears. We no longer trust ourselves, others, or the situation we’re in. We become stuck in analysis paralysis, overthinking every little detail and questioning everything. Thoughts like, “What did that look mean?” or “What if I’m not good enough?” take over, freezing us in a loop of doubt and inaction.
Separated
This lack of trust leads to feelings of separation - from others, from ourselves, and from the world around us. We feel isolated, alone, and disconnected from the people and support systems that could help us. In coach state, we feel connected, but in crash, we lose that sense of belonging.
Hostile, Hurting, Hating
Finally, crash brings out hostile emotions. Whether it’s anger, hurt, or hatred, these emotions often mask underlying fear. Anger, in particular, is typically a response to fear, and while it has a protective intention, it doesn’t serve us well in the long run. Recognizing this helps us see that these emotions have a positive intention, but not a positive outcome.
Moving from crash state to
coach
state
starts with awareness.
It’s important to recognize when you’re in crash state, and remind yourself that you can’t be knocked off-center unless you allow it.
Welcome the emotions you’re feeling, recognize their positive intentions, but don’t let them dictate your actions. And remember, maintaining coach state requires practice. The more you work on staying centered, open, and aware the quicker you’ll be able to shift out of crash state and back into coach state - even when it feels like the last thing you want to do.
Most importantly, apply this practice not only at work but in your home and personal life. How you show up in one area often reflects how you show up everywhere.
As one of my mentors used to say, “How you show up here is how you show up everywhere.”
This practice of coach state is about aligning who you are internally with how you show up in the world. It may not be something we maintain all the time - none of us are permanently in that space - but it’s a powerful practice for staying centered, open, aware, connected, and able to hold whatever life brings.
-Joe
Joe Arroyo is the expert on recruiting, selecting, training, and retaining world-class talent. As CEO of Vision Architect and Convert, him & his team have been "building business by building people” since 2001.
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