MONDAY BYTES – January 16, 2012
My good friend Florrie (thank you!) pointed this out to me recently, a hard truth about how coaching and professional development REALLY works. We’d been emailing about what moves people to action, and she wrote, “Did anyone ever cajole you into doing what you should do but didn’t want to do?”
Florrie went on, “The only time it worked for me was when the other person used guilt or when they helped me overcome my fear.”
Brilliant! What I love about Florrie’s observation is that explains what so often happens: we make a stab at change and nothing comes of it. We sign up for professional development workshops, trainings, and coaching, then attend seminars, read all the right stuff, and yet . . . we don’t actually make the changes in our lives.
The hard truth is people only change when they’re good and ready. We stall, or delay taking action by rationalizing that we first need to read the right book, take one more “miracle” workshop, or write the “perfect” business plan. It can be a convenient way to convince ourselves we’re being productive when we are actually postposing any real productivity.
And yes, a coach may help you identify what’s holding you back, may even help you overcome some of your fears. But making real change is up to you and it’s hard work.
For this week: What have you been avoiding? What fear is behind this?
As always, I’m always interested in hearing your feedback . . .
Curious about working with me? Details are HERE.
Monday Bytes archived posts are HERE.
Dream big, Plan smart, Live well!
