There’s a line in a poem I recite in my classes that says, ‘the greater your success, the more you realize that you do not need external opponents’.
The first time I heard that, it shook me. What if it’s me? What if all my dramas and vain imaginings are made up, by me?
I had a senior executive speak in one of the classes about burnout. He’s had big jobs all his life and worked in high-pressure, high-demand organizations with lots of so-called Type A personalities. What he’s now come to see, both in his own life and in those of colleagues, is that burnout is largely self-imposed.
Now, that’s a bold statement, especially to make to a room of executives who are feeling some level of burnout.
What!? It’s my fault, I can imagine most of them thinking.
For my part, I started to think about how often I have created external opponents to vilify for how I am suffering. The truth is, they are not creating my suffering, I am.
I am creating battles that exist only in m head. In my giving away such power, I am forgetting that I always have a choice. Just as no one can make you feel any specific emotion, no one can create chaos and pain in my life without my going along with it.
The real battle is within me. It can only start with me. I need to change my own inner dialogue and mindset. Only after I do that, will my outlook and behaviour start to change.
Try this ONE thing
Is your pain self-imposed? Who are the external opponents you need to let go?
Want to experience coaching? I like to start with a deep, get-to-know-you conversation to see if we are right for each other. Sometimes we talk for one or two hours at no charge. I have no goal except to bring about transformation. Together we work on the lies, the self-deception, and the fears of the power you perceive to be outside yourself. We work on your difficulties in making decisions and your inability thus far to make bold choices in life and to follow through and trust yourself completely to do so.
The irony for some people is that the very thing that they want the coaching for (an indecisive, half-hearted life) is what’s keeping them from deciding whether to get coaching.
When you’re ready, reach out @ karen.laidlaw.theONEthing@outlook.com. Meanwhile, enjoy the blog!
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