You’re not crazy…

It was a typical morning, I was headed to meet a friend for breakfast.  The conversation starts as it usually does when you haven’t seen each other in a while, how is the family…and then moves to a more in-depth discussion about exciting things planned or burning issues.

Today, it was about a burning issue.  My friend was experiencing challenges at work.  The kind that make you start to reevaluate your abilities, perspective and effectiveness.

       We’ve all been there.

It starts with you feeling different or the odd man out – so you start slicing a piece of yourself off each time you approach the situation in an effort to fit in and move things forward.

Until finally, you look like everyone else and have lost your edge.

I could see this was happening to my friend.  In fact, the more she sliced a piece of herself off, the more unhappy she became and the less effective she felt.

And it’s is a cycle that never ends well.

I reminded her of my favorite Mark Twain quote:

“Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.” 

It brought some laughter to the situation and allowed us to reframe the issue so she could find a way to move things forward using her strengths.

Later that week, she emailed to share an update that the approach we developed led to a break-through.  She said it was also nice to know that she wasn’t crazy and thanked me for taking time to help her rethink the situation.

It was a good reminder to me that part of our accountability to each other is to be this sounding board and back stop.  It helps us regain our footing and move forward with confidence that we aren’t crazy.

How do you help others lead their Life by being their catchers’ net of self-doubt, random thoughts and messy thinking?  Our conversations will help others be their best, I look forward to hearing how it has impacted you and your friends.