Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Lucky Me...Thanks

A break from writing about fear and anxiety, although I am behind.

Before I start, I want to say that this is sincere. If you know me, you understand that pretense is not my strongest attribute. Banality, emotional flatness, and inauthenticity are not a really part of my behavior repertoire. It is probably one of the reasons why I am not an academic administrator any more! While I can play political games, I tend to be a bit too emotionally honest for such roles. So, a long preface when I could have said, this is honest. Its not website PR.

I love my coaching practice. No, that's not it, I LOVE the privilege of being part of the conversations that I have with people. When it was suggested to me that my skills as a therapist and as an academic mentor, and my knowledge of writing productivity could be synthesized into a formal coaching practice, I had this profound feeling that I was being given a gift. Its a gift that I am just starting to fully comprehend, several years later.

I love my clients. I love being a small part of their lives, of their careers, of their journeys. Over the past two days, I have had five conversations where I felt deeply honored to be witness to the growth of really, really smart and talented people. Five out of five that have felt powerful, where clients worked hard at translating cognitive/affective insights into real behavioral change.  People amaze me. When you help them focus on their strengths and capacities, they thrive, shine, reach new heights and thrive. Freud was wrong- people are more whole then damaged. I am going to hold to that, anyhow.

And no, its always this easy! Sometimes, my lack of skills get in the way; maybe my impatience, perhaps my not fully recognizing what is needed in the moment. My clients are always who they are; they start where they are, just where they need to be. When things go well, I know that my clients are the ones who are responsible for it; they are the one's who takes risks, who stretch, who push, who fight through resistance, who change. When things don't go well? It is on me to keep working, keep trying new approaches, theories, methods, new levels of self awareness, humanity, humor.

What am I trying to say?

I guess, I could have just said this: Thank you. Thanks to all of you, and you know who you are, for allowing me to be a small part of your journeys.

I look forward to laughing me, growing together. Lets do this.

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