So how do you know if you need to make some changes in your life? There are so many information channels feeding us with self-help tips, tricks, life hacks, and so forth. Do you buy into that? Do you have a long list of social media follows, people with whom you have never met, but their messages resonate?
On the other hand, you may just carry on, doing what you have been doing, oblivious to impact on those around you. It is easy to rationalize a comfort zone and keep operating in it. Routines become habits and change seems like a problem.
As a business coach, I am very sensitive to being able to help my clients with solid advice for when and if change is needed. You see, it is not uncommon for me to take inquiries about coaching, but as we talk through the process and methods, people pause and say something like, I don’t really want to do all of that.
It is not that my methods are particularly onerous. Rather, I see it as an honest answer that the client is not ready for real change.
[shareable cite=”Doug Thorpe”]Here’s my truth for you. Sometimes, you really are OK.[/shareable]
You don’t need all of the chatter to make you feel better about who you are and what you are doing.
There is a book from 1963 titled “I’m OK, You’re OK” written by Thomas Harris. It is centered on a field of psychology known as transactional analysis. Without going into all of the technical aspects of the book, I like to take away a simple literal truth it represents.
When you deal with the world around you, there are 4 very basic postures or positions from which you can interact with others.
- I’m Not OK, You’re OK
- I’m Not OK, You’re Not OK
- I’m OK, You’re Not OK
- I’m OK, You’re OK
Isn’t that simple? Think about it. Look at the last contact you had with someone; spouse, child, friend, customer, whoever. Didn’t the personal impact of the moment come down to one of these 4 scenarios?
So back to my original question. If you find yourself saying that you are NOT OK some or all of the time, you, my friend, may need to think about making some changes in your life.
The needed change may be physical, emotional, psychological, financial, social, business, or any number of other things. Orchestrating a change often requires influence or wisdom beyond what we have. This is why coaching, as most people know it, makes sense.
In the sports world, coaching is pretty obvious. Yet in the business world, especially small business, coaching seems like a hard concept to understand. But just like the star athlete can gain from good coaching, so too can an entrepreneur or a manager gain from calling on a business coach for help.
Is today your day to make a change?
