How Coaching is Like Eating Your Favorite Dessert
Your favorite cake sits on your kitchen counter. You tell yourself, "I'll just have one sliver...." Not even a whole slice. The cake is so perfect and delicious you savor that one sliver….but a little bit later you start thinking about it again. You indulge in one more sliver. Just enough to satisfy your craving. You know how this goes. We have all seen a cake disappear in slivers or popcorn in “just a handful” or a bag of chocolate almonds one nut at a time.
“We talk about your big dreams and our mission is to get you there, but how we do that is a lot like how that cake gets eaten. We attack it sliver by sliver. It’s small. It’s palatable.”
My coaching is a lot like this. We talk about your big dreams and our mission is to get you there, but how we do that is a lot like how that cake gets eaten. We attack it sliver by sliver. It’s small. It’s palatable. Sometimes it might not even feel like the cake is getting eaten, but over time when you look back, you realize the cake is gone and you've met your goals. This is exciting for any of my clients; but especially amazing for my ADHD clients. Big goals can feel overwhelming for individuals with ADHD. The thought of eating all that cake in one sitting can easily make one nauseous. For clients with ADHD, it's enough to get you to quit before you’ve even started. Little slivers, on the other hand, aren’t exciting, but they get the job done
How do we create those slivers? By focusing on the 20% (see "The 80/20 Approach"). I ask questions like, "What is the most important thing you could do right now?”; "What would give you the biggest push forward?”; "Of all the things we've discussed, what would have the most impactful result on your goals?" We tackle the most important issue, then the next one, and the next one. Slowly but surely, you accomplish those big goals.
Like your favorite dessert, my coaching is palatable, enjoyable even. Clients tell me I create a comfortable, safe space for them to explore their ideas and develop strategies. I'm non-judgmental by nature and enjoy listening to people. I'm also pragmatic and make sure you walk away with concrete, actionable steps.
If we were to look at an entire chocolate cake and say, "I am going to eat that entire thing", most of us would instantaneously start to feel nauseous. However, if we say "I am just going to have one small slice" that actually sounds enjoyable. Coaching takes the enormity that may overwhelm us and cuts it up into bite-sized pieces. Working through those bite-sized pieces may take extra time and effort, but when we break it up into manageable pieces it feels doable and often even enjoyable.