It’s Jakki here, your loyal canine co-coach. One of the most powerful and unexpected outcomes of our coaching sessions is how much my human clients shape my worldview. At iPEC, one of our core coaching principles is, “Everyone is our student and our teacher.” I’ve lost count of the number of “AHA moments” I’ve had for my own personal growth after a coaching session.
Here’s an example:
I often see my human clients experiencing a lot of “Level 3 energy”—the mindset of responsibility, forgiveness, and cooperation. In this state, they are masters of rationalization, able to motivate themselves by finding ways to cope, tolerate, or forgive. Sometimes, in this state, they settle for “good enough” or just being “OK.” They are often surprised to realize they are settling or coping until we’ve explored how this feels and how they’d like to be showing up in their lives. I didn’t fully understand how this level can “hide” from our view until one of my human clients turned the mirror on me.
A true tail: A few months back, I had a frustrating weekend, but I thought I had it under control and that I was “fine.” It took about five seconds in a coaching call for a client to ask if I was OK. She even diagnosed it: “You sound very level 3 right now.” And she was right!
It made me realize that, even after so much study and reflective practice on the mindset I bring to work, everyone has their moments of blind spots. That’s why we have each other, why we live and thrive in community, and why it’s so valuable to create an environment where we can be intellectually honest in a way that allows us to receive and grow.
To that client, thank you. For recognizing that in me, for being brave and compassionate enough to care about me as an individual, and for being a powerful student of the Core Energy Program.