Its the nth interview I’ve done with patients after weeks of being interred at the Philippine General Hospital wards. It comes to me how differently people experience the condition of Depression. There are some who have been at the wards for weeks, close to a month. Others do not have themselves checked-in and simply come for the prescriptive drugs. And others who have tried to take their lives after weeks of hopelessness. What makes the experience of depression different from another ‘s experience? How is it that patient resolve is different when the intensity of the condition is the same? How does one come to choose whether to withdraw from life, take their lives, or keep engaging life? As a coach, the question is important as it informs my intervention plan.
After working extensively with different cases, I learned that emotional fitness is key. This fitness is developed through a 3 steps process: 1) realistic awareness of the current condition; 2) visualization that the situation can be improved; 3) development of a plan to bridge the gap.
Everybody needs a compelling future to survive a challenging situation. Everyone can take hardship, frustration, and failure if they know that working the situation will bring them success and victory in time. If one does not have a compelling vision for his life, he is at a loss because there is no reason to go through the pain. He loses direction because he has no roadmap to follow. Floundering and thrashing aimlessly, he burns out, energy giving out, because its impossible to be strong all the time.
Similarly, in the corporate space, if you do not have a vision for your career, you will work yourself to burn out. It is not possible to continually work long hours; take on streams of projects, and be 100% of the time switched on to the office politicks. The smarter way is to: 1) identify the position that you want to occupy and work from there. 2) Understand the politicks that will bring you that position, identify the relationships and cultivate the skills that are valuable to that position 3) then steadily market yourself by volunteering for the correct projects: presenting at the right meetings; appearing at the correct social events.
If you are working a 15 hour day everyday of the week and yet being beaten for the promotion by a the manager at the next table who goes home at 6PM, then its a sure bet you are doing something wrong. You definitely coach to help you get your career in the fast lane. Contact me and lets see if I can help you out.