Transforming limits into possibility

Transformed from loathsome to delicious

‘I can’t bear them – I don’t like them!’ I would cry as my mother placed just three freshly picked broad beans on my dinner plate.  As a six-year-old they were the most loathsome vegetable ever.

But my mother was a wise woman who turned every situation into a learning opportunity. She’d say, ‘You don’t like them – yet.’ That little word left the door ajar for opportunity and growth. When we are ready, we will step through it. 

Sometimes clients communicate a limiting belief. It’s helpful for a coach to reflect it back and help them explore it.

A senior executive in the fashion industry came to see me because of a lack of clarity about her next steps. She explained that in her current position she lacked any opportunity and had no further chance of growth.

I reflected her deep disappointment and the emphatic negative statements I’d heard.  Then I invited her to play with adding the word ‘yet’ to her sentences. She tried it, and was amazed at how the seeming finality of her situation shifted to one of possibility.  We explored what she could do with this new perspective. She left feeling upbeat and re-energised.

A couple of months later, she shared the new professional opportunities that were coming her way.  She also liked how this language shift had increased her sense of control over her life.  

Many people are stunned by how one tiny word, ‘yet’, can be so liberating. 

When we allow the possibility of improvement into our imaginations, transformed experiences often follow. 

Coaching can help raise awareness around our language patterns and the limited thinking that can result.  Once we’re aware, we have choice, and choice offers us freedom, and the opportunity to grow and prosper from our learnings.

These days, one of my favourite summer salads is fresh, lightly sautéed broad beans sprinkled liberally over crunchy lettuce and new potatoes.