Okay – I admit it. I like connecting my messages to a well-known word, phrase, song, movie or book. It just feels fun, while also offering the possibility for deeper and clearer thinking. This month we’re focusing on the word “look.” And, the word look is everywhere you look. For example:

• Look out!
• Hey good looking!
• Look this way.
• Look at me.
• Look for the silver lining.
• Look out for dangers.
• Look into my eyes.
• Look for the good in others.

I could go on and on. Most likely, you get the point. Look is such a simple word and yet so very rich, if we look underneath the surface meaning.

For example – let’s take a look at you – without judgement. When you look at you, what do you see? That is what happens during coaching. You get to look at you with a trusted thinking partner – a skilled coach. And, as you look at yourself – through your words and emotions, it’s as if you have stepped back and are seeing you on a large screen. And your coach is seeing with you.

Your coach might say, “What do you want to explore right now that is most important to you?” You begin to talk and describe a challenge you are having at work or a dream you would like to move into reality. And, the fact that you are with your coach offers great opportunities for you to see things differently, clearer than you had before. You become more aware of yourself and ways that you are or are not aligned with your desires, your values, your needs and the responsibilities of your work.

The ability to be aware of self, as if standing apart from you and looking at you, examining your thinking, assumptions, behaviors, values, needs, wants and your impact or influence on others is considered to be a form of emotional intelligence. And, if you are able to laugh at your mistakes, you get brownie points on being self-aware.

That is what coaching is all about. Time to think and put your thoughts into words – looking at what you are thinking – somewhat like seeing it on a big screen – with a skilled coach right there with you, as you break through possible barriers blocking you from living the life you desire. Remember, you are more able to do this with a thinking partner, “because our brains resist exploration when left to their own devices.” (Marcia Reynolds, Coach The Person, Not The Problem, 2020).

Reynolds also says, “People need to feel seen, heard, and valued to have the desire to grow. In this space, their creative brains are activated. They feel safe enough to explore their own thinking and actions. Surfacing their judgments and fears may feel uncomfortable, but when clients see how to move beyond these blocks, they feel empowered.” If you are working with a coach, then you already know how important this type of looking is. If you are not yet working with a coach, …ready to go looking?