February 2006

A fabulous quote has been right in front of me all month (on the January page of my 2006 Heron Dance wall calendar) that beautifully captures how I am looking at life and work these days. It is from Phil Cousineau, writer and poet, and it says “Life is not a problem to be solved, but a mystery to be lived.” I’ve been thinking this month about the wisdom in those words, and what they mean for me.

Being a pretty good problem solver, I tend to look at challenges strategically. It is almost automatic to assess strengths and weaknesses, assets and liabilities, pros and cons. This serves me well in my work as a coach. It is exciting to support you in generating perspectives on, and often solutions to, your workplace problems. It’s a part of my job that I truly enjoy. And, there are myriad problems in running a business, or leading a team, or implementing a change. It would be negligent of us to ignore them. But there are also other ways I look at our work together.

Approaching life as a mystery to be lived brings a whole new lens to my work. It forces me to pull back, up out of the weeds, and take a different view. I put down my tools for a while, and just observe. I can relish the complexity, embrace the unknown. It is sometimes refreshing to cease laboring to find all the answers, especially that ever-elusive one “right” answer. When I can let go of trying to wrestle life (or work) to the ground, I can just step into it with wonder and awe. For me, this brings a new attitude to my work. Instead of only seeing what seems to need fixing or solving, which can keep me so narrowly focused, I can open up to incredible possibilities and myriad new vistas.

Living life as a mystery demands that we approach it with open minds, eyes, and hearts. This is what I desire to bring to my coaching relationship with you. Thank you for the privilege of serving you on many levels, from the mundane to the mysterious.

Sharon
Sharon Keys Seal