A colleague of mine was let go from his job recently which I took pretty hard. As a result, I started doing a little soul-searching and discovered how really selfish I was to be upset over a situation I had no control over. However, even more important, I saw how I react to things in the moment while trying to understand the situation at hand. “Firing” may have been his answer to his prayer – his spiritual intervention, etc.
In a speech I did last year for Toastmasters entitled, “Blind Spots,” I spoke about how our present perspective can be colored by our past experiences, values, personality, and a number of other things. We don’t always see how our point of view is formed and swayed; we just experience the thoughts and feelings that result in a given perspective. I saw what was coming head on in his situation; but I was blinded by my feelings on the lack of empathy for workplace health and wellness.
I knowthere were reasons in my own life circumstances — layoffs, quitting a job, getting fire. God was telling me to get out of my own way. According to Jerome Daley in his blog entitled, “Redemptive reframing,” he presented the following questions a skilled coach would present:
- What if your missed promotion or layoff or firing is not a failure? What if God is protecting you from a bad situation?
- What if the thing you see as your greatest weakness is actually your greatest strength? How would that change the way you engage your life right now?
Jerome Daly describes redemptive reframing as looking at the brighter side in any given situation. He counsels that, “Redemptive reframing is a recognition that our perspectives are often skewed; we rarely see the whole picture of a situation, of other people, or of ourselves. Sometimes we need someone else to offer us another perspective.”
A coach can help a person see the “whole” picture by asking the right questions and offering another perspective. For a free, 30-minute consultation, contact Coach Lileen at Aspire! Professional Life Coach Services offering you new opportunities, possibilities, and empowerment. Call and begin participating in your life. www.aspire-lifecoach.com ~ Lileen@aspire-lifecoach.com ~ 800-549-0231.
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