ABSTRACT

People tend to think of themselves in the first person as a single, fixed identity, capable of change but with a core sense of self that’s enduring. But many postmodernist perspectives view people as having multiple selves that are flexible, fluid and potentially in conflict. People reveal their different senses of self in the language they use, highlighting metaphors that describe the multiplicity of who they are. For example, coachees may admit that even though they want to achieve a particular outcome, they recognise that there’s a ‘part’ of themselves that doesn’t. Or that they are in ‘two minds’ about what to do next. Or use examples like “On the one hand, I feel trapped. But on the other, I’d actually like to be told what to do.” Often people describe and verbalise two sides of themselves, like opposite sides of a coin in conflict.