Dr. Stephen Strange is one of the best neurosurgeons in the world. He’s calm under pressure. He has steady hands. His intelligence is a given.
Sounds near-perfect, right? Except…no. A bit of a show-off, and driven by ego, he can be profoundly unattractive. And that ego gets the doctor into a lot of trouble.
So, in a different world, how might Dr. Strange have benefited from seeing a professional coach?
All that confidence ain’t cool.
Cocky, and with zero bedside manner, Dr. Strange cares more about money than the humanity of his work.
When his hands are shattered in a terrible car accident (caused by his own recklessness), he loses everything, including his globally renowned neurosurgical status.
He embarks on a quest to find The Ancient One, who will fix him. But he runs out of money, and resorts to performing black market medical procedures so that he can pay her. Altruistic doctor? Noble medical professional? It doesn’t seem so.
And neither does The Ancient One, which is why she refuses to help the doctor until he relinquishes his selfishness and opens his mind to a higher truth. After all, she knows exactly what Dr. Strange needs. It’s not brain surgery.
From heartless surgeon to secret superhero
The potential for Dr. Strange’s ikigai was always there. He just needed something terrible to happen to him, before he could find the seeds and let them grow.
But what if that terrible thing didn’t have to happen at all? What if he’d fully identified his ikigai before the accident? (Would the accident have happened in the first place?)
If I were Dr. Strange’s coach, I’d ask him questions to break through his mental barriers and help him to create new beliefs about himself.
There is a certain measure of fear behind living like this, so it would be interesting to work on the reasons why Dr. Strange is scared of receiving. I’d get him to think in a more people-centred way, learning how to give and receive good vibes.
He’d still be using that powerful ego, but he’d be using it to give and share. As part of the YB12 Classic Programme, I’d ask him questions like:
- “If money was no object, what would you do with your life?”
- “How can you find harmony and fulfilment?”
- “What matters to you?”
He’d still have his wealth, but he’d be more likely to realise his potential too. After all, says John Grant, CEO of Life in Balance Careers, “You get paid in life for the positive emotions you give others.”
After some professional coaching, Dr. Strange may become more content; less desperate to prove himself. And perhaps, instead of speeding off in his sports car that fateful evening, he might hang out at home on the couch, watching TV, or sharing moments with his loved ones.
So Dr. Strange eventually finds and lives his ikigai, as Sorcerer Supreme and Master of the Mystic Arts. He finally accepts what the universe offers and is able to give it back to others. He secretly becomes Earth’s foremost protector. Why in secret, I wonder? Perhaps to keep his ego in check.
My feeling? With coaching, he might have been able to get there more quickly, and with less trauma.
Your call
Which character from popular fiction do you think could benefit from coaching?
About the author
I’m Dorothée Oung, Neuroleader and coach to leading practitioners, motivational speakers, trainers, facilitators, coaches, and fellow leaders. My goal is to guide soon-to-be Neuroleaders through deliberate practices to achieve their professional goals.
