Be supportive.
“What will you do after you retire?” someone recently asked me. “You could be an executive coach - you talk to people all the time”. Thinking of myself as a coach, I imagine I would tell them long stories about my experiences for most of the coaching session. However, the essence of a good coach is to listen and guide. I’m a better out-front person than a supporter. (My theory is it’s my massive caffeine intake and a genuine lack of patience …) I told my friend who suggested that I be a coach that I would take up the whole time yapping about something that interests me and how everything is relatable.
I think maybe I’m selfish.
How can I expand my universe to account for the fact that others are leading their lives, and just perhaps - supporting them is a good thing? Example: “Your choice for the restaurant is The Cheesecake Factory? Oh … yes … I would totally support going there.”* (… I would verbally support your choice, but I would try and talk you into going somewhere else. However, if that’s where you really want to go - because it’s your special birthday or you just donated a kidney - ok, but not every time. Because I care about you.)
I need to make space in my life to be more supportive. My personal journey of becoming a better person includes being supportive without judgment or prejudice. Understanding that being a passenger without giving directions on how to get somewhere or how to drive is sometimes necessary to be a good person.
This is going to be seriously hard for me.
*my hot take on The Cheesecake Factory is a.) the menu is a book which tells me the food is in some massive freezer because having that much on hand fresh is not good business, and b.) some of the highest calorie restaurant choices in the world are from The Cheesecake Factory. I checked**.
