A Coaching Power Tool created by Wen Keat Neoh
(Life Coaching, SINGAPORE)
Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid. Albert Einstein
Background
Each and every one of us is different with different strengths and weaknesses.
None of us is perfect but yet many of us seek perfection. We always see what we do not have that others may have but instead we should also realise and be grateful for what we have that others may not have. It is such IMPERFECTION that defines us as who we are and most importantly it is what makes us UNIQUE.
Perfection would just make the world a normal and boring place, because everything and everyone would just be… perfectly the same Me
Imperfection
When we choose to only look at our weaknesses and deficiency, we only notice and feel how imperfect and incomplete we are. This is a negative view that will always hold us back from moving forward and achieve our full potential. A lot of these negative views are formed mainly from our past experience which becomes our limiting belief telling us that we are not good enough or there’s no point trying because we have failed previously.
It is common that many people do not know what they want but yet they are very well aware and sure of what they do not want or rather “what they can’t be or can’t do”. And the reason for this is simply because they are dwelling on their flaws and weaknesses.
Unique
When we choose to shift our focus from looking at our weaknesses to looking at our strengths instead, we will then be able to fully realise the special quality that we possess and further realise what could be our true potential. With this positive view, we open up ourselves to a whole new dimension of energy and possibilities that we can achieve. With this realisation of our unique ability and talent, we would then be able to see a clearer path to what could be our true potential when we put in the right effort and align it with our values.
Self-Application
In order to make a shift from the negative view of imperfection to the positive view of uniqueness, we have to first create the self-awareness and clarity of what our weaknesses and strengths are. This is the part where we have to spend time alone with ourselves and be completely honest with ourselves to explore and identify our weaknesses and strengths.
Once we get this sorted out, we then must embrace and accept our weaknesses as part and parcel of who we are. We should look at our weaknesses and with an open heart accept them to be part of us no matter how bad or unwanted they might be.
When we have come to terms with accepting our flaws, then we shall be able to fully allow ourselves to move on to align our strengths with our values to see what could be our true potential. It is very important for us to look for alignment between our strengths or talent with our values as any conflict between them will put us in a very difficult position down the road when the gap widens and we may have to choose between them or perhaps even start all over again.
Similar to self-application, the same can be applied to our coaching practice with our clients. The very first step for such application would be to be aware and identify the point of time when the client brings up negative issues or beliefs about themselves which is holding them back from taking action. When such a situation arises it is very important to spend time to dig deeper with questions such as:
