One of the things I love most about being a coach, is the opportunity to offer new perspectives to individuals/groups – to see the shift – the shift in thinking, the shift in perspective, the shift in behavior. And…I love it when I get an opportunity to shift my own perspective as well! So when this clip was sent to me, the opportunity presented itself to pause and reflect on the implications to my life, the relationship to “ego”, and the application to my clients. Interesting. Go ahead and view – it’s pretty quick…then I have a few comments.
I’m going to take the liberty to tweak the analogy just a bit. As a business/leadership coach (vs. “life” coach), I don’t see the “my-cup-isn’t-as-nice-as-his/hers” as much as I see clients forgetting to enjoy/appreciate the coffee. They (I’m about to start tweaking) get so lost in the cups (what is “outside” – what others expect from them, who they think they are supposed to be, how they’re supposed to act – living up to others’ expectations), that they lose the richness of the coffee (the inside, their core, themselves!). They are no longer aware of the rich aroma, the smoothness, the bold, full-bodied flavor (I feel like I’m writing a coffee ad!!) of the coffee. In other words – they lose touch with the “inside”…with who they are!
Between losing touch with their core and wearing layers of “ego”….many clients don’t always act, sound, or reflect their “true selves”. As a result many have blind spots (by the way, if people/leaders/clients readily “saw” their blind spots, they wouldn’t be called “blind spots”!). The most interesting thing is, for the most part, the further away from their “true self” a client is, the more unhappy/disconnected/incongruent they tend to be. So, a new perspective or “shift in thinking” is one of the best ways back to “self”…and to happiness – and just enjoying a good cup of coffee.
