A few days ago I wrote about the spooky way in which things seem more likely to happen when you write them down. Now it seems like you don't even have to write them down, just saying out loud what you want is sometimes enough to get things moving too.
One of my clients was unhappy at work. I asked her what it would take to make work enjoyable again. Her reply was simple - Person A and Person B were getting monumentally on her wick and she would like them to leave.
Normally coaching is very much centred on personal responsibility - what can I do to change the situation? If someone else is pushing my buttons, that can only happen if I already have those buttons in the first place. So we moved away from the failings of persons A and B and looked at what the client could do that might improve the situation.
At the next session, the client called up in excitement. Person A had resigned from their job and B had been moved to another team. Work was transformed and she was happy again. She's got what she asked for, even though it had seemed a very unlikely thing to happen.
I was reminded of this at the weekend whilst coaching teenagers at BAFTA for TVYP. About 90% of them wanted to be TV presenters. I admired their enthusiasm and optimism but I wasn't going to hold my breath waiting for them to turn up on the box. After all, jobs like that virtually never come along, do they?
And then the next day, an email popped into my inbox from a former client. She was now working at a TV station which was looking for new presenters - did I know any students with no TV experience who might like to try out?
Just when you think you know what to expect from life, the universe goes and hits you with a big Wow. Some people call it the power of attraction, not sure what I'd call it, but I'm keeping an eye on the magical goal-setting pixies as they do like to surprise us all from time to time.
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