What if we really did have ‘all the resources we ever needed…’?
What if We Already Know…?
If you’ve ever worked with a coach, or been around personal growth of any sort, even had a mentor, or a loving teacher, then you might have come across the expression that
The client (student) always has the answer they need.
I gotta admit that used to really annoy me when I was on the other end of it.
I just had to hear the phrase to immediately jump to,
If I have all the answers already then why am I still struggling to figure out X? Why isn’t the answer (that I’m supposed to know!) obvious to me??
It seemed like a cop-out to me — if there really was an answer then why didn’t the coach or the person I was talking to just tell me?
And, if it’s True…?
These days, though, I see this phrase very differently.
I don’t take it to mean that we have an answer, but that we have access to the place where answers come from.
Which has the incredibly powerful implication that, no matter what, we are always OK. There is nothing that can phase us or set us back or send us off track, or damage us.
…What Does it Mean?
Look at what this might mean for you…
What if…
…your clients, (substitute whoever’s in your life: children, partner, staff, friends or loved ones) are always OK?
What if…
…they have the resources, and the answers they need — not because they literally have them, not because of what they know, but because of who they are, who we all are.
It isn’t the Literal, it’s the Potential…
The very thing that makes us alive is the same thing that gives us the capacity to think; to come up with new ideas, new solutions, or to be able to get a new perspective on our situation.
We all know from experience, answers don’t come from ‘worrying’ a problem like a dog with a favourite chew toy.
They don’t come from looking for a solution in what we already know — how many brainstorming exercises have you done only to have a fabulous new idea pop up in the shower when you’ve put the question out of your mind?
‘Having the answer’ means that we have the capacity to come up with answers.
And that’s something pretty powerful. Probably more powerful than you realise.
I’d love you to play with this idea this week, maybe there are places where you think you need a nudge? What if you dipped into your own ‘resource box’?
Let me know what you find there…
With love,
Cathy
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About the author
Cathy Presland is an expert in personal and professional leadership and an advanced transformative coach. She has more than two decades of experience in government and international organisations and her focus as a coach is to support impact-driven individuals and organisations to improve their performance, leadership and peace of mind so they can make more of a difference with the work they do.
