Put Your Coaching Ears On
I have certain parameters for what is truth for me. When I hear
something new, something that may stretch me a bit, I put it
through my "truth sieve." I have to sift through it to make sure
it is true for me.
My desire is to be open to new ideas but still to stay within
the boundaries of what is true for me. As a coach, how do I find
a balance between being open to new ideas and not crossing over
into what is not true for me?
What a great question. Here's one way to stay in balance. Since
you're a coach it should be a good fit for you. Listen to
whatever is said with your 'coaching ears' on. What I mean by
that is to listen to try on what you hear. To truly try it on to
see what you can learn that will in some way enhance your life.
This is a combination of keeping a 'beginners mind' of openness
while also listening for those 'nugget of gold' insights that
can contribute in some way to your life.
If you think of each conversation you're in as a mound of dirt
that has been 'seeded' with nuggets of gold insights, then your
job is to sift through the dirt until you uncover the gold.
Whatever doesn't fit for you, simply let it go, and don't get
stuck with it. One easy way to get stuck with something that
someone says it to realize it doesn't match for you, so you end
up making the person wrong and discounting everything they say.
When you do that, you're no longer listening with your 'coaching
ears' on.
Now, here's a coaching assignment to take these insights and put
them in action:
Pick 3 conversations this week and listen to them with your
'coaching ears' on. At the end of the conversation, write down
at least one insight you gleaned from it. From this list of
insights from the various conversations pick at least one
insight and take some action that will help you integrate the
insight into your life.