Time To Upgrade
Over the last couple of weeks I have been doing some internal work on my apartment. It is rented out and has been for the last 7 years, so now in need of a freshen up and new look and feel.
The experience has just highlighted to me, how things move in parallel at some level, whether we are highly skilled, intelligent leaders and business owners or an apartment requiring an upgrade.
It is situated in a very old building that used to be a hospital where my mum worked so holds lots of memories. Waiting excitedly for her when I was a child, picking her up after her shift with my dad and bringing her home. Watching doctors and consultants running to deal with people that needed their help. Situated on the top two floors , it has the most stunning and clear views overlooking the valley.
The upgrade looked easy; new carpets and flooring, painting throughout and then came the bathroom and what a smell!!! One that had been ‘sprayed’ over to disguise and hide it away but one that came to the surface when empty. One to be acknowledged. Glossing over with new flooring and paint would solve the problem initially however cause long term pain to both the tenant and me.
So, up came the carpet to reveal a damp floor and then onto the bath. The front tiled panel of the bath was so securely fastened with screws and glue and has been so for at least 12 years; it took some time to remove. Working in sections, prising and easing the wood away from the glue and screws, the whole thing started to loosen. After 1 hour, with a soft crack the frame came away and underneath the bath became visible.
So much stuff had been stored and dumped there, never cleaned out. Using a torch to shine a bit of light into the void, there were pieces of wood, bags, silicon tubes all left over from previous work all a bit damp and covering a wet and damaged floor, making it difficult to see the ‘wood for the trees’.
Then a moment of discovery, a very small hole in the silicon around the bath that has been drawing water through it and onto the floor below and a leaking pipe adding and resulting in even more drops of water. Only small drops but over time as it had not been fully acknowledged, reported or dealt with and is now a bigger problem to sort. The good news, the root of the problem is found and therefore solutions identified to make things right.
The new upgrade to the apartment with some serious inner work done now reflects the stunning views outside. A fabulous home for the new professional tenant.
This rings true with us as individuals.
Working in the corporate world, I watched business leaders and executives struggle listening and trusting their gut instinct, ignoring and pushing it away only to regret it later….I should have trusted my instinct they say…so why didn’t you? Their flow being stopped and parts of themselves become conflicted, not trusting themselves.
Watching them come to work angry for no reason, not that anyone else could see anyway and then try as hard as they could to focus on the day and tasks ahead only to sit staring at their screen, forcing a smile, trying to gloss over the issue, going out for a while, taking deep breaths, sorting it for a while… only for it to return and all the while achieving nothing whilst up against all kinds of deadlines. The discomfort and pain almost audible.
I have always loved coaching people like you through these times, watching your enormous sighs of relief…just like the water when the pipe and the small holes are worked on and repaired so flow is easy and free.
You think you are the only one…but you aren’t. Smart and intelligent leaders out there try to ignore it or try to fix it themselves but things just go from bad to worse, until it’s a huge problem affecting every area of their lives…just like leaving the small drops of water, the result, a damaged floor and not a strong foundation to walk or build on.
Feeling vulnerable and exposed, they find the courage to reach out for help and realise that the work starts way before their behaviour kicks in. Just like the bathroom the quality of the inner work affects the behaviour of the water and the result…in you the quality of your thinking determines your behaviour and results in life.
So, find your inner strength, reach out and get ready for your inner work and upgrade?
