“Should I make this less specific?”
I’ve had a few people ask me this question in coaching sessions recently.
They feel they ‘should’ be bringing bigger ‘meta’ issues.
They worry that by being specific they are focusing in on too small a thing - or narrowing their options too much.
They think they should focus on the bigger picture rather than one piece of the puzzle.
When this happens I tell them that it’s generally really useful to be specific.
One of my new favourite ways to spend Sunday morning is in a warm yoga class at my local studio.
It’s the perfect balance of relaxing and intense (even though I’m always lulled into a false sense of security by the gentleness of the first 15 minutes!).
And this week it came with the added bonus of a huge a-ha moment.
As we settled into our mats the yoga teacher (the brilliant Kayleigh) set up the session.
She reminded us that it was our practice. At any time we could take a break or make a change.
I’ve heard this before and know it makes sense. I’m even getting better at actually doing it :-)
But her next sentence really landed it for me:
“Just because I tell you to do something, doesn’t mean you have to”.
Game changer.
I am the proud owner of a standing desk. I’ve had it for about 6 weeks now and I LOVE it.
I stand up to coach and feel both more grounded and more flexible. I am less tired at the end of the day - less crunched up.
I get a ridiculous sense of joy when I press the button to move it up and down!
So, how did I make the decision to get one?
When you need to make an important decision, what comes up for you?
Do you agonise over the choices, worrying about what will happen if you make the wrong one?
Do you instinctively know which one feels right, but can’t quite bring yourself to make the final call?
Does it feel like you are stuck in the same thought cycle of pros and cons?
Do you ever ask a question out loud to someone, and then immediately answer it yourself without need them to speak? This happens to me all the time.
I know I’m not alone, and last week I learned a new term for it.
‘Rubberducking’ is a hack in software development, and is the act of describing a coding problem to an inanimate object that won’t judge you, that often leads to finding the solution just a few moments later.
