The last eight weeks have been, without doubt, the most challenging time in my career as a coach.
I have always noted trends in my clients — days in which every person I spoke to was dealing with a similar issue.
But these past weeks were different.
First of all, this over-arching trend has lasted for weeks, not days.
Secondly, it is not a “pretty” trend.
And thirdly, it was so intense and “thick” that I, too, was affected.
I’ve decided to write about it today after a call I had yesterday with a colleague in which I was describing what I have been witnessing and experiencing and she excitedly told me how glad she was I had shared it because she, too, was having this exact same experience as were HER clients!
And because I believe that through sharing, we learn, here’s what’s been happening in the world for the last 8 weeks. Even though you’ve not be able to see it, it’s likely been impacting you and your business, too.
It has not been a pretty time.
It all began with feelings of unease and wariness around about the middle of October, just after the Full Moon of October 16.
This is exactly when tensions were mounting around the American election, and while I have come to see that the American election is but a symptom of the same shift which I am talking about, it was easy at the time to feel that the American election was the actual CAUSE of what I am talking about (rest assured, however, it is not.)
We were all feeling this unease and wariness about many things. Business decisions, family choices, buying decisions…there was uncertainty, and misgivings. And we were even doubting some of our past choices, too, wondering if perhaps we had made “big” mistakes in our choices of where to market, who to hire, what direction to take our businesses next.
In short, each and every choice we had made this calendar year was being called into question. And we were having doubts the size of Nantucket.
And then as the New Moon of October 31 came, things got really chaotic. We weren’t just questioning things now, we were tossing things left and right into the rubbish bin, then racing back the next day to retrieve them. Our opinions were swaying from one extreme to the next, our decision-making skills were terribly compromised, and there were moments in which those around us who were not similarly effected were wondering if we’d totally lost our marbles. One minute elated, the next a puddle of sadness on the floor, there wasn’t a single aspect of our lives or our beings that went untouched by this chaotic energy.
There was two days of rest and reprieve: The day before and the actual day of the New Moon. But it did not last.
Outside of us, tensions reached an all-time high as the American election closed in…and knocked us all to our knees.
Some of us were curled into balls, sobbing in sheer terror as we watched the results pour in. (That was me.) Some of us couldn’t even bear to watch it, had to turn away and close our eyes. But not one of us was unaffected. You simply cannot escape the energy of 319 MILLION people being churned and thrown about in a sea as mad and strange as that.
For one week, I received barely any emails from any of my clients. American. Canadian. It didn’t matter. It was the quietest week in my entire career.
I took that time to settle myself, and slowly began to reach out to my American colleagues and clients, just so they knew that I was there.
During that time of quiet and shock, we underwent a collective period of grieving. Once again, the energies of the time were causing us to look at our selves and our lives in ways we had not done before. We felt unsteady. Insecure. And worst of all, unsafe.
In the weeks to come, my messages to my clients carried a similar thread: Hold Steady. Just Hold Steady. Stay the Course. No Big Decisions. Just Hold On.
And I witnessed (and lived) a very harrowing time in which some of us wanted to toss in the towel and just quit altogether(business, life, being an adult, being alive, being American…everything was up for “quitting.”) For me, it was all I could do to hold tight to the visions of greatness that I have for each of my clients such that they could see it, too.
Finally, finally, that wave of despair and deep, deep questioning broke, and it left each and every one of my clients (and myself) totally and utterly exhausted.
Some got sick, others felt just kind of “wonky,” but all were wiped out and needing to rest and take care of themselves.
This has been the theme now for the past two weeks: Self-care. Rest. And recuperation. All amidst this “wonkiness” of the times.
My coaching calls these past few days have invariably included a discussion that starts something like this: “I know you’re my business coach, but we’ve not talked business in weeks!”
And no. No we have not. But at risk of totally tooting my horn here, I have to say that this is where my clients have a distinct advantage in having a coach that worked as a counsellor and intuitive for so many years! There are times when it is imperative to focus on business strategy and launches and finances and the like, and times when it is equally important NOT to. And it is my job to help discern between those times, and be a guide in murky waters.
And now, dear reader, today I find myself writing to you within hours of the Full Moon of December 13 and I feel a shift coming. My clients are going to start finding their feet again, and when they place them on the ground, they’ll notice that the ground feels quite different indeed.
They’ll be lighter in their steps. The ground that rises to meet the soles of their feet will feel somewhat spongier, as if there may be some bounce to it. They’ll not go bounding off like Tigger mind you, no, that simply wouldn’t do. But in that spongy-ness, they’ll feel a wonderful combination of the security of the earth, and the fluidity of water. And it is with that feeling in their bones that they will make their way through the next weeks to come, to end out 2016 with a little more buoyancy than they’ve felt in a long, long time. And I’ll be here, watching and waiting, to help them bring in 2017 with the vision of them in all their greatness firmly and steadfastly emblazoned in my mind’s eye, ready and willing to help bring it into being.
And so, dear readers, if you, too, have found yourself impacted in similar ways these last 8 weeks, please hold tight to the vision that I am holding for you, too: Lightness in your steps. Slight bounce beneath your feet. A delicate balance between the security of the earth and the fluidity of water. And your vision for 2017 — your vision of greatness — held firmly before your very eyes.
It’s time, dear ones, to raise our heads once again and move forward, for 2017 awaits.
Fully completely,
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Rebecca Liston helps her clients predict, pivot, and compete in an increasingly complex global marketplace. Her clients quickly uncover the root of their challenges and know the actions to take to overcome them. A six-time nominee for the RBC Canadian Woman Entrepreneur Award, Rebecca combines business strategy with intuition, giving her clients the edge on forward-thinking, elegant answers to their most complicated problems. Her clients are entrepreneurs with CEO-mindsets and executives with entrepreneurial instincts. She is based in London, Ontario. What if you could get the answer to your biggest business challenge, in one sitting? Visit rebeccaliston.com to find out more.t.
