Coaching Corner: The Beauty of Simplicity
By Master Coach Marilou Butcher Roth
Are you one of those people who tend to complicate matters when, in fact, they could be simpler? My hand is up. How about yours? This doesn’t happen often with me anymore, thankfully, and yet it does happen.
One of the implied messages I absorbed from my family of origin was: life is hard. Hmm, as I think of the unspoken way I received this message, I also realize that there were some spoken ones as well. Bringing both together left me with a pattern of thought that had me looking through the lens of life as being hard, which would show up in all areas of my life: work, relationships, parenting... You name it, and I can creatively find ways to make it harder.
While there are countless beliefs that we each hold, today I am focusing only on how we make things hard for ourselves. How does your body, i.e., your nervous system, react when you are moving into a space of making things hard? I notice that mine becomes tight and my breath is no longer full. Again, we each have our own flavor of this. The key is to notice what happens and realize this is a clue that we are creating a more complicated path than necessary. We are building resistance instead of moving through it.
Once you have identified that you are in “hard” mode, you can find ways to make things easier. If you noticed your body reacting similarly to what I described above, you might intentionally take some deep breaths and perhaps move your body to loosen things up. You can ask yourself how this particular action could happen in an easier way.
There is no magic potion for this. Just notice and get curious. This will lead you to answers, and surprisingly, they may be simpler than you could imagine. Have fun with this one!
Marilou Butcher Roth
Marilou Butcher Roth is the owner of The MBR Group, a coaching and training company working primarily with REALTORS® who have a desire to work and live from a more inspired place. She is also the Broker/Owner of Group REALTORS® in Cincinnati.
Marilou is a member of the Ohio REALTORS® Board of Directors and past chairman of the organization’s Communications Committee.
