Have you ever caught up with an old friend after many months or even years, and felt like no time had passed? I love that feeling.
Time introduces a mixed bag of elements into long-term friendship, although I suppose the same could be said of any years-long relationship. These elements can bring you closer, or test the foundation on which your relationship stands. I'm thinking of new partners, bad dates, marriage, financial fluctuations, the pickleball craze, a new home in a posh part of town, kids (fur babies included), fitness goals, declining health, vegetarianism, alcoholism, cancer, career trajectory, or a passion project that unleashes a long-dormant sense of meaning and purpose.
In other words, I'm thinking of all the things that change us as people, from the good to the not-so-good.
While out to dinner recently a good friend asked if I think people can change — on purpose — to which I answered yes, but with one important caveat. The person has to want to change. At least that's my experience.
I've been noodling over this and other questions for a while now, coming up with more questions than conclusions. Like what constitutes change, and how quickly does it happen. Maybe it's on a continuum, and we are all just work in progress.
It has me wondering what you think you about change, and maybe what you would like to change for yourself.
What does it take for you to initiate new behaviours, personally and/or professionally?
How do you respond to external suggestions or prodding? Or when you notice others advancing in ways you yourself would like to advance?
What space do you allow for yourself when embarking on change; or do you impose strict parameters and time-frames as a method of personal accountability? Is it working?
As your coach, it's not for me to tell you what behaviors you need to amend or why. My role is to accompany you as you set out to make tweaks, edits and alterations in your life, whether minor, major, or somewhere in between. I'll ask the questions to help you see more clearly what needs to happen in order for you to move forward, in a way that feels right for you.
Whether it results in permanent change or not, I can't make any promises. Perhaps we just agree that it's work in progress. Nothing wrong with that.
Ready to get started?