Here in New England, the leaves are turning. Some trees are early changers and have already jazzed up the landscape with reds and gold. Those trees have begun shedding their leaves while the oaks and birches are just beginning to change. In about six weeks, the trees will be bare as winter settles in here in the Northern Hemisphere for a few months. Winter is the season of introspection and reflection; it is also the season of celebration, growth and planning.
Summer was busy this year, with studying, learning and growing. I have been thinking about what I was hoping to accomplish with this blog and why. We have visitors who stop by often, but I wonder. What do my readers want to read about? What is it they care about that we can discuss?
I often have to censor myself because my interests in psychology are quite diverse. I go back and forth between psychology and analysis and coaching – which is better? Psychology is endlessly fascinating to me as a matter of understanding the question “why?” Why people behave the way they do is endlessly interesting to me.
However, in the realm of growth and self-understanding analysis work can be a bottomless pit. If you go in search of what is wrong with you, you will find more than you can imagine and it will never end, it takes a very long time and results are not always evident. Often we come away with a great understanding of why we are the way we are and little more.
And then there are the endless labels, anxious, depressed ADD, ADHD, narcissistic, delusional, low self-esteem etc. What is helpful about a label? For many of us it is an excuse not to grow and change or a license to not try.
In my experience, if you ask the question “What is wrong with me?” You will continue to get an almost inexhaustible cascade of answers. I know what I would get and it would not be pretty.
The reality is that life is a challenge and society is pretty messed up. We are imperfect humans and we are struggling to deal with it.
We bring to this struggle inherited patterns of behavior transmitted by the actions, inactions and attitudes our parents, teachers and caregivers. We think we see truth, but in fact, we see the world as we were told to expect it. Our lenses are soiled and distorted. If those distortions happen to serve you and your life is wonderful, you probably are not reading this.
On the other hand, coaching is rooted in practical and human needs psychology. It involves many techniques that can shift your world and move you on WITHOUT digging endlessly into the past. The results are often, faster, more positive and action -oriented versus the mind-action only of analysis.
When I discovered coaching, it seemed the perfect blend of principles to help people grow and change and find more effective solutions than analysis.
What are you struggling with?
Psych-Hacker.com 