For a Flourishing Career, Life and Business
“Le véritable apprentissage c’est réaliser comment utiliser ce que vous savez déjà pour aller au-delà de ce que vous pensez.”
“True learning is figuring out how to use what you already know in order to go beyond what you already think.”
― Jerome Bruner
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“Ceux qui ne croient pas en la magie ne la découvriront jamais.”
“Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.”
― Roald Dahl
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“Les illettrés du XXIème siècle ne seront pas ceux qui ne savent pas lire et écrire mais ceux qui ne savent pas apprendre, désapprendre et réapprendre.”
“The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.”
― Alvin Toffler
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“Chaque matin nous renaissons. C’est ce que nous faisons aujourd’hui qui importe le plus.”
“Every morning we are born again. What we do today is what matters most.”
― Jack Kornfield. “The Buddha’s Little Instruction Book”
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“Penser est difficile, c’est pourquoi la plupart se font juges.”
“Thinking is difficult, that’s why most people judge.”
― C.G. Jung
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Inspiration can be defined as a kind of enthusiasm, a creative breath that inspires the writer, artist or researcher to have an idea that leads to creation. And if we think of coaching as an art, then it is desirable that art should inspire the coach.
Art can inspire the coach to help the individual examine his aspirations. Artist and designer Candy Chang offers a similar opportunity to the public with her interactive work “Before I Die…,” which was created in February 2011 in New Orleans. It has since been reproduced in 73 countries in 36 languages.
Affected by the unexpected death of a close friend while struggling to maintain perspective in her daily life, Candy Chang imagined transforming one side of an abandoned house into a giant blackboard that would be covered by one unfinished phrase, painted across the blackboard numerous times, to be filled in with a crayon: “Before I die, I want to…” The wall was filled in less than a day with the dreams of passers-by. This artistic installation represented a renaissance in the form of art and social activism that enabled individuals to express their wishes in a public space.
The first in a long line of walls—more than a thousand in total that spread across five continents—was a neglected space that became a place reserved for constructive reflection and contemplation, a sharing place bearing the memory of that which really counts as we grow up and change. The artist’s message is that in considering death, rather than provoking anguish, we can bring clarity to our lives. In a way, death brings a metaphorical aspect to life (the abandoned house is transformed into a place of creativity), as well as a symbolic one (aspiration rather than regret) and a dynamic one (public participation in the work itself).
How does this relate to coaching? As coaches, we are frequently confronted with clients who feel they are in a rut, whether professional or other. Dissatisfied at work, convinced they are in the wrong place but without knowing how to define or reorient their career, exhausted and languishing impotently in their own unease, they are locked into a downward spiral of negativity. Focused on all that doesn’t work, fascinated by obstacles, blinded by fear and lacking prospects, it becomes too difficult to avoid a crash.
The role of the coach at this moment is to help them find and relight the internal spark and fan the flame that will eventually become a source of auto-regenerative energy. If we help invert the polarity of the spiral and enable the individual to view each new step as a stage of conscious expansion and endogenous development, we can help them reach the center of a virtuous circle.
Candy Chang’s work is inspirational in the question that it provides for the coach to trigger this process: “What would you like to accomplish before you die?” With a question of this genre—undoubtedly provocative—the present and future merge and potentially forgotten dreams awake in a petri dish, where energy and enthusiasm can be cultivated. It is equally a question that leads to reflection on the theme of the purpose, of the raison d’être, of what the individual would like to leave as a legacy. In fact, these revelations can be used to identify a system of guiding values and beliefs that are deeply anchored in the subject and provide the coach with material to be explored.
Whether it’s finding love or Atlantis, becoming a source of inspiration or seeing an elk, having a boat or being published (some of the examples found on the walls of “Before I Die”); the dream itself is of little importance if the coach is careful to read between the lines. And if the gap between aspiration and reality seems insurmountable and thus unrealistic as a relevant coaching goal, it at least should provide the coachee with a chance to take yet another step towards self-discovery and still become a source of inspiration that leads to action.
And let us never forget that if coaching is a dance, the dance is unquestionably an art.
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This article has been published in International Coach Federation blog. It was originally published here in this blog, in French.
“Qui cherche l’infini n’a qu’à fermer les yeux !”
“If you’re looking for infinity, just close your eyes!”
― Milan Kundera
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As outlined by Martin Seligman from the University of Pennsylvania in his introduction to positive psychology, « a science of positive subjective experience, positive individual traits, and positive institutions promises to improve quality of life and prevent the pathologies that arise when life is barren and meaningless. »
This is why those three simple techniques designed by the organizational psychologist Woody Woodward to proactively seek out the positive in our lives every single day and transforming this into a routine are so attractive:
1. Launch The Day Positive!
Happiness is much more under our control than we think, and it starts with a positive mindset even if TV and newspapers do not stimulate such an attitude. A study conducted by Michelle Gielan and Shawn Achor in conjunction with The Huffington Post showed that watching just three minutes of negative news in the morning makes viewers 27% more likely to report having a bad day six to eight hours later. The trick is to reverse the trend.
From Theory to Practice: Start your day, start every single day by spotting and then sharing some good news. Watch things you like, surf on websites dedicated to your hobbies or passions. Why not browsing sites which are dedicated to delivering only good news such as HooplaHa.com? The objective is to immerse yourself into a positive mindset which will impact your interactions with peers, friends, clients or even with strangers.
2. Touch a Friend!
Aristotle said that human is a social animal. This is true. Maintaining a mutual social support – which is much deeper than benefiting from a social network – help dealing with stress and can be considered as a springboard to happiness.
From Theory to Practice: Get in touch with a friend every single day. Phone calls or immediate face to face connections are not always possible so don’t neglect social medias for instant quick and authentic interaction. This might be less easy for introverts till they make it a habit fitting the communication channels they prefer.
3. Catch them in the Act!
It is easy to focus on what people made wrong, on bad services we get, on mistakes we observe. Condemning is more comfortable than praising. However, having an eye open on positive actions and expressing it is much more rewarding… for everyone. Harvard and Wharton School researchers Francesca Gino and Adam Grant’s explored gratitude and how emotions influence decisions. They showed that receiving expressions of gratitude increases individuals’ sense of self-worth, and unconsciously stimulates their propensity to support others.
Researchers add that « by missing chances to express gratitude, organizations and leaders lose relatively cost-free opportunities to motivate. »
From Theory to Practice: Every single day look around you for positive acts and let people know.
Sources: American Psychology Association, Harvard Gazette, FoxBusiness.com
“S’il est exact que la logique est la base-même du raisonnement de tout créateur, je crois qu’il ne devrait pas être permis d’interférer avec son rêve de « charme », cette entité délicate et superflue qui souvent s’ajoute à la dure nécessité.”
“If it is correct that logic is the basis of the creator’s slightest reasoning, I believe it must not be allowed to interfere with one’s dream’s of ‘charm,’ that delicate, superfluous entity that often adds to harsh necessity.”
― Victor Horta
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