Have you ever had that sinking feeling when you realized that you knew something all along? You knew it deep inside of you. You heard the “knowing” but were not actually listening. The realization of your knowing is a sign of the times that you are in transformation.
Transformation is a big term that symbolizes big things happening inside and outside your world. It is your realizations of yourself, those around you and situations that you see.
Equus Coaching is one of those amazing, cool, often transformative experiences. I recently hosted a massive Equus Event. In preparation for the event, my fellow coaches and I went out for a day of play – yes, work can be play! During the practice, I was in the ring with one of my teachers seen pictured.
As we were playing, the horse took a little snip at my foot. I shooed him away to set a boundary (very important in leadership). As I was talking with the coaches about myself and what my plan was, the horse came up again and took a little snip at my shirt (thinking it was “cute,” I laughed as I set the boundary again — not unusual with leading organizations). I continued with my “plan” and then the horse came up again and took a snip at the back of my shirt. I set the boundary again! I continued with my plan discussion, and then the horse came up again, and this time took another snip at my knee.
Alright, I thought. What is it that I need to be paying attention to here? It is clearly NOT MY PLAN. This horse is giving me a message. I can either pay attention, or I plan that this horse is going to get my attention my taking a bite next time!!
How often do we tend to our “plans” and forget to pay attention to those annoying little snips that are giving us a message for attention? All too often in organizations, the plan is the priority, and the “bites/snips” are ignored. Those details may seem inconsequential until we take time to reflect (a KEY to developing as a leader).
So the question that I ended up asking myself was “where in my life am I getting bitten in the behind?” Not typically the types of ideas or concepts I enjoy looking at. However, it is important to notice those things that establish patterns in our life. What I discovered was this absolutely “knowing” I had about certain people in my life. Wow… I did a quick inventory of “who was biting me in the butt” and instantly the knowing came to light. The honest answer here is that I didn’t need to address the behavior of the person doing the biting. I need to change my approach (change ALWAYS beings with us first).
I took action immediately, and the annoyance stopped shortly thereafter. Pretty cool, huh? I was amazed at how this simple, but not easy, reflection started to make my life easier.
The difficult part is this… noticing what you notice. Seeing those patterns in your life that aren’t serving you and begin to change to the way in which you approach them.
Transformation in my opinion starts with honoring our knowing. The Equus experience was an eye opening, gentle teacher which taught me how I can be the leader in my own life. If you think this lesson is eye opening with a personal insight, imagine how impactful it can be when you apply it to the work life too. It’s incredible.
Being In Sync One Moment at a Time