Hello again , I hope all is well with you? As promised in my last mailing, I'm getting in touch from time to time as often as our
family illness allows. Things aren't too bad at the moment so I'm able to send you an article (see below) that I've just written and hope you like it! You are still welcome to contact me with
thoughts and queries, and I'll answer as soon as I'm able. I'm continuing to take a limited number of individual clients, so don't hesitate to get in touch if this is something you are thinking about.
What's it really all about?
|
Existential thinking - about the really big questions in life - is beginning to be a real Thing in coaching these days, so how might it help YOU? Here are some
of the areas we might look at - Finding your purpose
- Working out what really matters to you
- Homing in on your deepest values
- Eliciting what you really believe
Then we would look at some ways to make changes in these areas in accordance with your expressed goals, aims and
wishes. Existentialism concerns itself with the Big Questions, as also do the faith traditions. It acknowledges ‘that the world [is] a difficult place to be in, that the mere act of living life [can] be incredibly tough and challenging, even for people in seemingly affluent environments.’
(Jacob 2019, xxix), and that some level of anxiety is therefore part of life. It differs from the faith traditions in that it presupposes that there is no intrinsic meaning or single truth in the universe, and that we have to create it for ourselves. As Sartre said, ‘Man is condemned to be free’ (quoted in Jacob, op.cit, 49). You may have a faith tradition, in which case you will not believe that there is no intrinsic meaning; however, it is still important to have thought about the Big Questions and to be clear in your answers. So an existential inquiry may well still be relevant for you, so that you may arrive at what the renowned theologian Paul Tillich called
‘the courage to be’ (quoted in Jacob, op.cit., 54). Here are some of those Big Questions, - Why am I here?
- How can I be happy?
- How do I make sense of suffering and pain?
- What does my life mean?
- Is this all that there is?
- What is the right thing to do?
- How can I cope better with my life, and even
thrive?
We could say that those questions group around these ideas, - Death
- Meaning
- Isolation
- Freedom
- Uncertainty
- Taking responsibility, making decisions
Your coach will not give you the answers. Rather, they will facilitate a conversation to uncover, in a sense of partnership, non-judgment and acceptance, your own answers, by deeply examining your own experience and going from there into insight, change and action. This is based on the method of ‘phenomenological inquiry’, where we aim simply to gather data, to describe what is happening, without, at this stage, attempting to interpret in any way. There are parallels
here with the practice of mindfulness, which also aims to raise awareness of what is happening, right now, right here...
|
Read More
|
|
And as before, here is my Linktree, about everything that I'm involved in, on the first button below. Plus the three
free quizzes, that help you to pinpoint where you can best make changes in your situation. You can repeat them for free whenever you like to see your progress over time.
Other things I'm still doing...
|
Another reminder about Harrison Assessments, which I described in one of my March issues. The assessment consists of a short 'smart' questionnaire which indicates your traits, such as Optimistic, Authoritative, Influencing, and about 170 others. It's
set up so that it's impossible to give contradictory answers, and it is reliable. On this is based dozens of possible reports across the whole HR area, from recruitment to succession planning and more. It's also brilliant for career guidance and planning. Coaching is then based on this information. With my international partners in Paris, San Francisco and Perth, I can now offer this at a considerably reduced price - contact me for more details. And I have some downloadable exercises and worksheets on my website here, to give you a taste of what you might get when you work with me. I've revised the first one, about working out your
values and what needs to be in place for you to honour them. The next one will be about where to start, when you know something's got to change! Meanwhile if you think of something else you'd like, for issues that face you right now, let me know and I'll prioritise its creation. Everything else is in the Coaching Shop. Enjoy!
|
|
|
That's it for today, - stay well, keep safe, and I'll be in touch again when it's possible. Thanks for your understanding, All best wishes, Barbara P.S. if you like this update and
you got it elsewhere, you can get your own personal regular copy by subscribing safely here. Please feel free to share, just keep the attribution to me. You get a short free email course on sign up about well being, effectiveness
and resilience. NB The information contained above is provided for information purposes only. The contents of this email are not intended to amount to advice and you should not rely on any of the contents of this email. Professional advice should be obtained before taking or refraining from taking any action as a result of the contents of this email. Barbara Bates disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on any of the contents of this
email. |
|
|