The Drop and the Rise

I had a coaching session and I was wavering.  The feedback I had received about leaving had been quite overwhelming and I had a word doc of copied and pasted emails that I couldn’t quite bring myself to read.  Though I was sure of the decision, I was afraid that reading peoples comments on why I had been good at the job and why they would miss me would make me question if now was the right time, or even worse question if I was ‘selling out’ (my biggest fear) even thought I KNEW this path I have chosen wasn’t going to be a walk in the park.

The coach shared this activity with me. 

Draw a stick version of you at the top of a page, underneath write all the qualities that make you uniquely you.  All the things you will take with you no matter what job or situation you are in.  Personal qualities, skills, capabilities, keep adding to the list until it feels complete.

She showed me through this list that ‘dropped’ beneath me, the deep roots I have that allow me to feel secure. 

Then it was time for the rise. I added a second part onto the activity and drew stick-me at the bottom of the opposite page.  I then slowly read through the email, noting down all the qualities, skills and abilities people had mentioned.  These were things that people see, that had ‘risen’ out of me.

Comparing the lists there were some similarities, qualities that felt aligned internally and externally.  But there were also some that were hidden, internal qualities that I didn’t let rise at work. 

I realised that these were exactly the qualities that I wanted to integrate into Brilliant Thing.

Do you have hidden qualities? Is it time for them to emerge? 1:1 coaching could help you explore and uncover your unique gifts and integrate these in your work and the world.