Self Application
Becoming powerful in our lives involves letting go of our attachment to goals we desire. We commit to making our best efforts, and then let go, experiencing liberation and the strength that comes from that. We then focus on the journey that unfolds before us, allowing results to find us and trusting that the ultimate outcome will emerge effortlessly.
In order for us to become powerful in our circumstances, it is important to understand a number of key points.
First, that any final outcome is influenced by many external factors, some of which we may not even be aware of, let alone plan for, and so trying to control these is futile.
Second, being attached to a particular goal takes up much energy, and that when we release the attachment, stresses dissolve. This frees up our spirit, which then enables us to view situations creatively.
Third, that giving up attachment to an outcome is not the same as not caring about it. We must make our best possible efforts and then allow time and nature to play their part.
Coaching Application
When a client is seen to be troubled by being overly attached to their goal, it would be useful for the coach to help them see the value in releasing the attachment. Some useful questions to ask would be,
These questions allow exploration of the bigger picture, which brings deeper awareness and a broader context to what they are doing and their motivations for that.
Clients can be encouraged to experience the journey towards the goal rather than focusing on the goal itself. It is also useful for the client at this stage to do some work around becoming comfortable in the space of “not knowing”. The shift will require work and patience. At first, the client will experience a lack of focus, they may start to feel that that are not doing everything they can towards their goal anymore and that they don’t know where they are headed. This is natural since they would have been used to consciously and actively striving along a particular known path. The new stress-free state may initially make them feel directionless, which they will consider to be a weakness.
However, gradually, as more attention is taken from the goal and directed to the journey towards it, goal-associated stresses start to dissolve. From here, over time, they begin to trust in the natural processes and can watch and allow the world of opportunities effortlessly unfold in front of them. Then they experience a more relaxed and flowing way of being.