Perhaps the
most significant common theme of our (as coach, coachee, observer) gratitude
journals was that everyone was grateful for their family, for their support and
encouragement. As a coach, I was surprised
and actually a bit in awe regarding the depth of emotion that our discussion of
gratitude brought out. It is difficult
to express our gratitude directly to the people that we are grateful for, so
just talking about it causes many conflicting emotions.
As coach my
coachee expressed his gratitude and his realization that life is fragile. There was a terrorist incident in the area
where his parents live, and while waiting for confirmation that they were OK, he
reflected on all he had to be grateful for.
His parents supported him financially and spiritually. His father was a military officer that was
away a lot. He did not express it in
words, but my coachee knew that his father was “pulling for him”. He was also very grateful for the strength of
character of his mother. It was due to
her influence that he was able to study for his MBA in Canada. He is very grateful for his studies here, as
his learning experience has been a mind-opening experience, very different than
graduate studies in China might have been.
The presentations and group work assignments are challenging and in some
cases “mind-expanding” experiences. My
coachee is a bit reticent regarding taking classes in French, but we (coach and
observer) have told him to take the plunge.
He could perhaps start with a course that is more numerical (such as
accounting) instead of a course that would require a lot of written work.
As coachee
I stated that I did not express my gratitude very often to the people that I am
grateful to. I do occasionally tell my
son and daughter that I am proud of them.
I try to make sure that I can be specific about why I am proud of them
as I think that it makes it “more meaningful”.
Although I did not mention my parents in the gratitude journal, I am
indeed grateful for their support while I was growing up. They did not push me into any particular
direction, but they did support me through my Bachelor degree university
studies.
This
coaching experience has gotten me to better appreciate what I have to be
grateful for. Even if things are
difficult, there is so much good in life to be grateful for. I will try to take advantage of opportunities
to express gratitude and to give specific and positive feedback in my personal
and professional life. To not let those
opportunities pass me by, that is my “take-away” from this coaching session.
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