“The future is coming!” I heard someone claim in a talk to an amused audience several years ago. At a glance, it appeared to be a very strange thing to say, and a rather obvious statement.
However, since then it astounds me how many people I run into, both socially and professionally, who would claim that it is a stupid comment, yet behave as if the statement is not true at all.
All the time I meet people who do not plan for things that are bound to happen and fail to react, even when warned about impending circumstances.
- I constantly meet adults who let life happen and have a ‘cross that bridge when we get there’ attitude.
- I meet many students who, although having failed a subject will believe that they can ‘cram study’ the night before next time again and have a different result.
- I meet many people who behave as if old age is never coming to them and they will somehow cheat the natural order of things in avoiding the chronological fate that we must all face.
- I meet many young people who run no economic budget or save anything for the future, unaware that relationships and future family may be depending on that to have a favourable life and future too.
“I find it fascinating that most people plan their vacations with better care than they plan their lives. Perhaps that is because escape is easier than change”. Jim Rohn
I find as I facilitate career development coaching that it often encroaches on other areas of a client’s life that need work.
Being a primarily forward improvement strategy that identifies vocational aspirations, it will often also reveal these other weaknesses in a person’s lack of planning and forethought.
Now I will admit that that was me just a few years ago and in no way am I able to sling mud at anyone else on this issue! But as the Catholic Cardinal Henry Newman once said, “To live is to change, and to be perfect is to have changed often”.
While no one is perfect on the earth at any time in their life, the man was making the point that we need to change to grow. If you stop growing in your body, science tells us you actually start to die.
I avoided changing for a long time and planned many escapes from the truth of my own foolishness.
“When we humble ourselves and admit we need help, our whole world changes because we do.” Dave Brebner
Accountability to a mentor, for some people, provides an encouraging extra external foundation on their consciousness that adds strength in times of weakness. All great athletes have coaches that criticise their styles of play, and listening to the wisdom of the observation, makes that athlete greater and perform better than they would by themselves.
If we can harness a spirit of humility in ourselves so we can learn from others, we will become better and stronger in whatever endeavours we attempt.
We must also create environments and a culture around us that does not punish the weaknesses and admissions of others but honours their willingness to be vulnerable and seek assistance, and respond by offering help.
This is why I do what I do in career coaching. My personal success is the result of the patient formation and assistance of many, many others.
So hey people! Do not run from something this week; run to something new this week! Remember that being different is your biggest asset and you don’t have to be like everyone else.
If you need a career coach, drop me an email or private message today to get you on the right track.
Dave Brebner.
About the Author:
Dave is an Adult Educator, Speaker and Youth leader living in Western Sydney, Australia where he teaches the Electrical Trades at the Western Sydney Institute. He has Diplomas in Business and Training, a Bachelors Degree in Adult Education, Vocational and Workplace Training and a Masters of Education with a major in Career Development. He has lived with Tourette’s Syndrome, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and Anxiety Disorders since an early age. He is married with 6 children. He is a passionate coach and mentor to young people especially in the vocational guidance and career development areas. Dave is a professional member of the Career Development Association of Australia and has authored a course on Living with Tourette’s which you can study and purchase online through his website – www.davebrebner.com.
One Reply to “Supportive Culture”