Reflections:
it’s important for us to pause, take a deep breath and ask the following questions that will help us to check our current state: How well have you understood your own self? Can u clearly state what it is that you are chasing? What according to you is balance in life?
Assuming that you have achieved all that you aspired, would you feel complete from within?
Did your goals remain constant or did they keep changing as you ran faster? If you have to live exactly the opposite way for the rest of your life, can you visualize the impact? How well did you enjoy your journey all along?
Coaching applications:
In a coaching engagement, as a coach we are bound to work with clients for whom this deep connection between the journey and destination is an issue. More often than not it is also likely that a coach is inducted when the need is felt strongly. From this point it can be a reactive response from the client and the coach should be able to perceive this situation clearly.
We may also have clients at differing state of mind viz, ambiguity regarding the destinations, ownership of the destination, fear of the fatigue of the journey, overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of effort required, and unsurfaced underlying beliefs which slips him in to his original response patterns etc. Questions such as, “Is it worth the chase?”, “What’s the return I get out of it?”, “What do I lose in the transformation?” etc. are other tensions that a coach may have to deal with.
With the knowledge that both the journey and destinations are important , a coach can direct the client in the following through some powerful questioning and power listening such as :
While the questions may appear to be left-brained, the process of dialogue, showing of trust and empathy and positive reinforcement by the coach throughout the journey is bound to stimulate fresh answers in the minds of the client. The coach’s state of awareness of his own self, being present with the client with suspended judgments (being mindful) can also significantly enhance the relationship. Hence while working on bipolar extremities such as journey vs. destination, truth vs. lie, love vs. hate, etc., a coach needs to demonstrate a heightened sense of competencies that could help the client reach his end outcome of the coaching relationship. It’s also possible that the coach can stumble upon a third choice, a mid path between these extremities during this exploration!