You Came Equipped

Hope you had a nice and relaxing weekend! Ronald Reagan once said, "Every new day begins with possibilities." In today's resource, Laurel shares how we are all equipped to see possibilities around us and within us. We hope this encourages you and your coaching clients during times of feeling stuck.

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You Came Equipped
by: Laurel Elders

​A mentor of mine would tell our group each week, "You have everything you need." My mind would argue back. I was a single mom attending a weekly support group because I was struggling. I never seemed to have enough money. I didn't have a good boss. I didn't have a reliable enough car. I didn't have… and the list went on and on and on.
 
So, what did she mean when she said that? How audacious to state that I had everything I needed when I felt so strongly that I didn't! After continuing to show up to her group lessons, I finally realized what she actually meant.
 
She meant, "You came equipped."
 
She was not referring to external provisions, like money, cars, or jobs. She wasn't even referring to the body, which can come with its own limitations.
 
She was referring to what counts. She was referring to what is on the inside—the human spirit.
 
Each of us has one, regardless of what form or shape our body took and regardless of external provisions or lack thereof. The human spirit is strong and in each of us irrespective of our religious or spiritual beliefs. The question is, “Are we aware of what is within us?"
 
One day I had an epiphany and realized some humbling news. I realized that I don't create possibilities. What a bummer! I wanted to create possibilities, but I realized I couldn't create them. Why? They already exist. They surround each of us 24/7/365.
 
But do we have access to them?
 
For example, if I show up to work with a chip on my shoulder, have low self-awareness of my defense mechanisms, and my co-workers experience me as rude. What is the probability I will get promoted? Low to none.
 
However, if I overcome the defenses, gain self-awareness, and now empower my co-workers, what is the probability of getting promoted? Much higher! In this scenario, I've created an opportunity to access the possibility that already existed.
 
Another mentor of mine, over a decade later, made a statement that shook me up. I reflected with her over my epiphany that possibilities existed all around us and how amazing that was. She said, "And within you."
 
Within me? Do possibilities exist within me? Yes! We come equipped.
 
Have you ever gotten a new phone and felt so overwhelmed by the number of new features in the manual? So, you end up settling on learning the basics or just a few new cool tricks. You never really study the entire manual of everything the phone is equipped to do. I know I do this with every new car, phone, and laptop. Then later, I wonder what I'm missing out on. As a matter of fact, I've had my Jeep for over a year and am still finding new features!
 
This is so true with the human experience! Even Shakespeare wrote about this in Hamlet which was originally published in 1603. He stated, "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy."
 
Bottom line? We come equipped. We come equipped with the possibility of compassion, devotion, equanimity, humor, fortitude, grace, kindness, love, wisdom, vision, and so much more. But… we must activate these virtues or else they lay dormant, and we may never know they exist. To experience the possibilities within us, we must activate them.
 
In my coaching profession, we are trained to help our clients activate the possibilities and potentials latent within. The process of being coached by a trained professional evokes us to move from probability into possibility. Coaches help us activate the myriad of possibilities embedded within us.

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