This weekend I watched the latest Netflix adaptation of A Christmas Carol. Sitting next to my inquisitive 6 year old, I had to think deeply about what a lot of it meant.
As I reflected about the way in which Scrooge explored his inner and outer world, it occurred to me that there were lots of similarities to coaching.
Scrooge is reminded on Christmas Eve of the happiness and joy that goes on around his misery and gloom. Leaving him with a feeling of unfulfillment as he goes back home to his lonely old house. His colleague Marley sends him three ghosts to facilitate his transformation.
The ghost of Christmas past, takes him back to memories of his childhood which allow him to identify when and from where his beliefs were formed. In this version, his Dad had gone to debtors jail, instilling in him a goal of security. For many years this served him, his hard-work bringing him success and stability. But, it cost him his one true love and any happiness he might have had. That he had to have security above all else became his limiting belief.
The ghost of Christmas present, showed him his world from a different angle. Through the lens of his employee, he saw the damage he was doing to the wellbeing of others. This helicopter view gave him perspective and enabled him to empathise with those around him. He could now see the impact that his limiting belief was having on others.
The ghost of Christmas future, enabled him to visualise his future. Through this vision he identified a future that he wanted to change.
Together these three ghosts allowed him to get a clearer understanding of himself, the impact he was having on those around him and the realization that he wanted to change.
Much like a coach, none of these ghosts advised him about what to do, they enabled him to access his inner world through his memories and draw on his thoughts, feelings and insights to better understand himself and the impact he was having.
Scrooge's coaching journey was very intense and dramatic - I doubt any of ours will be quite so... However, what we do have in common with Scrooge is that we all have beliefs about ourselves that shape how and what we achieve. Some of these beliefs are empowering, like Scrooge's belief in hard-work meant he had the self-determination to succeed. Other beliefs are more limiting, like Scrooge's need for financial security which cost him the person he loved and a great deal of happiness. Coaching helps us to become aware of our beliefs, those that empower us and those that limit us. Awareness enables us to understand how they might be impacting our present and what impact they might have on our future. This gives us the ability to make choices about our beliefs to enable us to achieve our goals.
These three ghosts appear to have been excellent coaches given the speed and extent of his transformation on Christmas Day (although they keep re-making the original rather than bringing out a sequel so who knows if the change was long-lasting!).
12 questions for reflection over Christmas
With most of us taking time off to celebrate and recharge over Christmas it is an ideal time for some reflection.
To help with this, I have put together a set of reflection tasks / questions, one for each day of the traditional Christmas period.
In keeping with the Christmas Carol theme, it is a ten-minute a day challenge to reflect on the year gone by, connect with the present and project forward to the year ahead.
Click the image to get a copy and enjoy reflecting over your 12 days of Christmas.
Last but not least, wishing all my friends and colleagues a very Happy Christmas!
Family time, bells are ringing
Wrapping, resting, eating, singing
Remembering traditions from years gone by
Christmas films to laugh and cry
Leaving work behind for a little while
Heading home through that mental mile
Creating space to laugh and play
Relax, recharge each in our own way
Seeing joy in the little things
Fun with children, Christmas games
Spending time with those we love
Here with us or up above
Reminiscing about those no longer around
Hearing their laughter without the sound
All the fun of Christmases past
Time moves on but memories last
In whatever way you choose to celebrate
Be it waking at dawn or sleeping late
I hope you enjoy your Christmas Day
Each in your own special way
Kelly Davies
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