Monday 24 March 2008

Expanding Options...

Hi There,

One of the basic features of coaching is that it helps a client examine their choices and also generate the ability to expand their choices. This is important when it comes to the area of life direction. If a person can only see a couple of possible alternatives to move forward then they will either choose one of them or choose none of them. When it comes to life direction and vocation there are usually a number of choices.

Now you might say how is it possible that an individual is not able to see all the choices in front of them? Well the answer is because we tend to filter out the information coming to us, this is essential otherwise we would be overwhelmed with information. This same filtering process can also delete certain options and choices.

Very often a client will present a dilemma and say "here are my two choices" and usually do not see other options at all. This means that the client has trained themselves to look for a certain number of types of choices and when that is reached the search for choices stop. Part of the coaching process is about stretching the client's brain so that it can begin generating many options. Another word for this process is getting the client to be a little more creative or imaginative. Even if some of these options seem riduculous or not much of an option the process of generating many options is very useful.

You could call this a brainstorming session where ideas are just generated and nothing is refuted. It is important that the creative process is not interupted too soon by critical analysis which would start deleting the seemingly least useful options. Sometime in a brainstorming session two interesting ideas combine to produce a third brilliant idea.

Blessings
Steve Nobel

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