Life is all about choices.
As Kenny Rogers famously crooned in his song, The Gambler:
“You’ve got to know when to hold ’em
Know when to fold ’em
Know when to walk away
And know when to run”
It can be a bit like a giant card game: we’re dealt a hand in life and in turn we get to choose how we’ll play it out—in business, with our families, in our neighborhoods, and in the world community. In fact, we’re dealt many hands each day and it’s up to each of us to decide our strategy for playing.
In the Game of Life, how’re you playing your hand?
As a coach I explore this very question with clients; moreover, I ask “Is this the game you want to be playing?” Together we look at your hopes, dreams, and passions in the creation of your personal vision. And, we explore avenues to realize these hopes with supporting goals and strategies.
However, like learning to play cards, this Game of Life process first involves examining one’s hand i.e. the ‘rules’ learned to play the game—the assumptions and meaning-making processes, challenging the rules at times, and creating effective strategies to increase the likelihood of playing your ‘best’ hand.
Coaching is developmental; it involves focusing your intentions and commitment to self-development and growth in the Game of Life.
The coaching process includes two components:
1) your keen interest and diligence on improving your game, and 2) a coach who listens well, asks powerful questions, and steps back so you can play using your best strategy.
Ready to Play?
Inherent within you is the wisdom and creativity to discover your own solutions when provided with just the right mix of challenge and support, humor and candor.
As a result – enhanced awareness, clarity of purpose, and embodied competency – all increase your odds of playing a winning hand.
When I hear you asking yourself these types of questions:
“What skills or strategies would benefit me in playing my hand?”
“What do I need to ‘discard, to keep’?”
“Am I in the right game?”
It’s clear you’re on the way to improving your game.
As a coach, I bring to the table quality listening, feedback, and assessment skills; knowledge of organizational systems and dynamics; experience surfacing and working creatively with conflict; and an awareness of the optimal levels of anxiety that enhance personal motivation.
What helps you to really play well is knowing when and what to discard, when to pass or to ask for another hit, how to strategize the best plays, how not to give too much away, and when to stay in the game and when to fold.
You may still be refining your skills, but the ability to celebrate your personal wins and learn from your losses remains essential to enjoying your game of choice.