I was mind blown by the first
meeting. It was a getting-to-know phase. I told Coach Lea about my situation
and she had me thinking why I do what I do. She shared me a story like this:
Construction Site
Okay, so there
were these three men that worked at a construction site. Well, one day they sat
down and opened their lunch.
The African guy
opened up his lunch and got grits. He said that if he got rice again tomorrow
that he was going to jump off the building.
The Mexican opened
up his lunch and got a burrito. He said that if he gets a burrito again
tomorrow that he was going to jump off the building also.
The blonde opened
up his lunch and he got chicken. He said that if he got chicken tomorrow that
he was going to jump off the building too.
Well, the next day
the African guy opened up his lunch and he got grits again so he jumped. The
Mexican opened up his and he got a burrito again so he jumped. The Blonde
opened up his and he got chicken again so he jumped.
At their funeral,
the African’s wife said: “If I would have known he didn’t want grits I would
have packed something different”. The Mexican’s wife said, “If I would have
known he didn’t want a burrito I would have packed him something different”.
The Blonde’s wife
looked up and said: “Don’t look at me, he packs his own lunch.”
source: http://www.jokes4us.com/peoplejokes/constructionjokes.html
I got chills after hearing this. I
was shocked later when I searched for this online and found out that it was
tagged to be a joke.
The lesson for me in this was that
if we are packing our own lunch (doing things in our control), why do we choose
to do it even if it makes us feel negative. I was also asked the reason why I’m
doing these things. I know my purpose for all these. I was told by Coach Lea
that maybe I should revisit why I do what I do or change what I do.
I was always asked what makes me
happy. Then I remember about hiking mountains and running. I lost being active.
That is one of the things that I should give myself back.
I have learned a lot just by
reading books but having a life coach is different. It was a different
perspective crafted for my current situation. After 6 sessions, I was used to
being asked how my life is going and evaluating myself as a person who wants to
achieve his goals.
I was not given methods on how to
make things better. I got that from books. What Coach Lea gave me is open
different perspectives. Asking the right questions to make me think things
through.
I want to be a coach too. I want to
help people be better at what they do.
This is one of the experiences that
would have a great impact on my life.