Some people have the ability to see a mountain in every molehill and others the amazing ability to see a molehill in every mountain. Which are you?
There is a story of 2 young men in Canada who were desperate to earn a living but because of circumstances were struggling to find jobs. They saw an advert in the newspaper one day for a $5000 reward for every live wolf caught and delivered to a certain wild life sanctuary. The 2 friends got very excited and decided to go into the woods and catch some wolves. After 3 days of walking and putting out traps, they were very tired, hungry and despondent. On the 3rd evening while they were sleeping under the stars in their sleeping bags, one of them woke up with a pack of Wolves all around them ready to pounce. The young man woke his friend, scared out of his wits and pointed to their predicament. His friend jumped up looked at the pack of wolves and shouted: “We are going to be rich!!!”.
In Neuro Coaching we want to look at obstacles and perceived challenges through new lenses of opportunity. We want to explore how difficulties and problematic relationships could become opportunities for growth and advancement.
The other day I was challenged for the first time in many years by someone I perceived to be an outright bully. It affected me so much that I had difficulty sleeping at night. I really wanted to walk away and break all affiliation with this person, cutting her out of my life as soon as possible, but alas it was not so easy. After some serious self-examination I decided to see this as an opportunity to flex my muscles of assertiveness and to face and confront the perceived challenge. Although the experience was not pleasant I did experience a huge sense of relief when I faced the threat rather than backing away from it.
The perceived threat actually turned out to be an opportunity for twofold growth. I was able to grow in courage and assertiveness by standing up to this individual. And secondly I was able to expand my compassion and empathy by recognising this individual, who would usually be shunned by others, as someone who truly believes that they are doing good. Recognising that every behaviour has a positive reward, even bad behaviour fulfils some need deep within our souls.