I had a personal experience this week in my household, during the same few days I've been giving a lot of thought to a new coaching program debut for 2010 (Now LIVE!). I realized afterward that an interesting analogy formed.
I was dealing with a clogged toilet in my main bathroom.
If you've experienced a clogged toilet, you know that you can’t really ignore it. You can work around it by using a different toilet or other bathrooms for awhile. Ultimately you realize the problem won’t go away by itself, and you say, "Hey I am a perfectly capable person. I can fix this." And maybe you have successfully worked a plunger and triumphed over this kind of thing before, but this time it's different. So after struggling along, getting creative, making a mess, etc...the water is still not flowing. "Ugh, I don’t understand how the plunger doesn't seem to be getting the job done this time (and BTW why do they have a bright yellow handle? Weird.)"
Bottom line: I want it fixed and obviously I need to try another approach. I come to the realization that I have to call in someone with the skills to fix this. It’s embarrassing, I don’t want to admit that somehow little ole me clogged the toilet. However, I want it working again, so I'm going to have to swallow my pride and call in a professional. Let me just say..."WOW!" It was so easy, less expensive than I thought, and they got things flowing again...happy ending!
Well, that was just ridiculous. I am so glad that I was not going to let myself stand by and not fix the problem; I just needed to use my resources! Seriously, I could have continued using another bathroom in the house; although it was a total inconvenience, and what might have happened if I let it go on?
Sure, it's out of the way and a total inconvenience at first, but can you imagine that after awhile it would become a habit and a person soon wouldn't think anything of it. This could on, and on, and on.
The thought of letting it get too far shook me into action and I made the call. They came, they did their job, they were friendly about it, and I realized this is what they do. They fix toilets. There is NOTHING to be ashamed of. It’s something human beings living in our modern age have to deal with sometimes. No big deal. They got things flowing again so quickly it was amazing. I wondered why I didn't call sooner.
Coaching is like this. ALTHOUGH, a big difference is that coaching is not about fixing problems; it’s about breaking down hurdles and working around or through obstacles so that a person is able to grow and develop and achieve far more than they would on their own.
The better analogy here compares a person’s life habits to a household with a toilet out of order. What is at first an inconvenience becomes the norm, and other habits are built up around this new system over time, and pretty soon the person doesn’t even consciously think how much easier daily life would be with their [main bathroom] working again. Coaching helps a person identify the clogs, or tolerations, or hurdles, and partners with the person to determine the best options for them to create a state where things are working well. In addition, from this stronger foundation coaching helps a person to develop and grow further to achieve amazing things in line with their own unique definition of success.
ACTIONS:
Think about what tolerations you are putting up with...
Are there habits that started as workarounds in your life or work, that when addressed, will help you "get things flowing again?"
Here's to your success!
PS- Thanks to plumbers everywhere for the small miracles they perform every day!
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