The Coaching Profession: My Spiky Point of View

The Bull S*@t Around Being

Being does not replace doing and we need to stop pretending that it is all there is to change.

There is a lot of narrative in the coaching profession these days about being. And I am a coach who adds to the narrative. A lot of my coaching (as a coach and as a client) is done at the being level as this is at the heart of where I see deep sustainable and meaningful transformation occur the most.

Leo Tolstoy was onto something when he said: "Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself."

However, there is also a lot of rubbish being bounced around, with people talking about being but not actually being it themselves and how can we tell… we see it in our DOING (or lack of doing).

Being is not a substitute for doing. It is not one or the other. A different state of being can have the doing itself occur differently, a different state of being can have different doing occur, a different state of being can add power and impact to what we are doing and it can also have us leak power and impact.

Being is missing an opportunity when it isn’t accompanied with the doing.

A book with 30,000 words will not exist without 30,000 words being written. You have to do the writing part. And yes for any smart arses out there, you can certainly find clever ways to have this statement not be true, a book with the title The book of 30,000 words and then blank pages could be perceived as a book of 30,000 words, and if that is where you are focused, you’re missing the point.

In a profession where people are talking freely about the art of being, it is ignorant to dismiss the need for action. Let’s start to talk about being AND doing. This is where the magic lies.

I personally have seen that IT IS IN THE “DOING” that I see where my being states get challenged, tested and evolved to new heights. It is in the doing that I see where my opportunities to grow remain. It is in the doing that I realise where my edges are.

Yesterday it was day 2 of the Rich Litvin 4PC accelerator. It is a truly BRILLIANT experience so far. I set an intention I would get what I came for (being) and I am showing up in this way (doing).

I was being committed, free, open, loving and present. I was being courageous. I was being experiential and playful.

I was doing:
Putting my hand up to be coached live by Rich
Asking for the support of the community with creating my bigger game
Leaning into an energy of love and fun and joy that every time I put my hand up to work with Rich we stopped just before my turn
Role playing and trying out different ways of speaking that have my voice heard and the impact of it land in the heart of another
Taking up space in the small group processes and in the chat function
Expressing honestly
Speaking up in the rooms
Listening lovingly and seeing the beautiful humans I am in this space with and the privilege this is.

I was also BEING curious and DOING introspective work - how am I creating that we stop just before I am selected?

Well I am BEING too cautious. I am slow at putting my hand up.

I can set an intention to BE fearless, the one who puts their hand up quicker today.
And I will need to DO that for it to come to form.

Let’s stop preaching that being is a magic pill. You have to be and do together to create.

——-

Serve with Purpose, Love without Limits.

Lisa x