I’ve been wanting to share this scene from The West Wing with you all for a while now – go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQJ6yqQRAQs&t=11s. For those who don’t know the series, it’s only the best series ever, so go get your copy today!
Anyways, in the scene you see two of the highest ranked White House officials. Josh Lyman (the younger one) had been with a trauma expert the entire day dealing with post traumatic stress disorder after a mass shooting. Leo McGarry had been waiting for him in the lobby the entire day and as a recovered alcoholic, tells Josh the tale of the man who fell into a hole.
At the end of the tale, a friend jumps in the hole where the man is stuck. The man says: “Are you stupid?! Now we’re both stuck down here”. The friend says: “Yeah but I have been down here before and I know the way out”.
When we are dealing with something, we often assume we’re the only one in the world having to deal with this, which makes us feel alone in our own misery. The funny thing is, even though it might feel different, you never really are alone. There are always others who went or are going through the same ordeals as you do.
I often felt lonely when I was looking for a job and a career that truly makes me happy, because I quickly realized I was gonna have to quit practicing the law and it wouldn’t be an easy pill to swallow. The lawyering world is a very particular one, one that’s not exactly lenient when you’re looking for your way out.
When I was recently talking to a befriended coach, I mentioned how I wished I had someone like me back then. Someone who had my back and lead me the way. She said: “It’s peculiar how we often become the person we used to need ourselves”. And there you have it.
Don’t think it’s my purpose to make you quit your job and pursue your career elsewhere. On the contrary. If after a couple of coaching sessions you realize you are doing the job that’s right for you, that you were just lacking necessary motivation and devotion, you’d make my heart sing. And of course the same counts if it’d turn out differently.
Change isn’t easy, it needs a lot of perseverance. Having me as a compagnon de route, me understanding what you are going through, guiding you through the transition, while you are still owning the narrative, might be exactly what you’d need right now.
You know I’ve been there before and I know the way out. So now it’s up to you. If you could do with a talk, feel free to reach out, I’d love to meet you.
Love,
M.
