Episode 96: Patience During Liminal Times – Coach’s Corner
In Coach’s Corner episodes I coach a client in real-time! It’s like being a fly on the wall in my office ☺️. This week’s client found herself entering a liminal space (the space between when one thing ends and another begins). She wanted to allow herself space to reflect and decompress before embarking on a career change and new business venture. Listen in to how coaching helps her identify where she’s at and what she needs, in order to find balance during this liminal time.
In this episode, Emiliya Zhivotovskaya, CEO & Founder of The Flourishing Center, takes us through a real-time coaching session with her client Sara.
Liminality – the space between an end and a new beginning
Sara is a non-profit CEO who has spent the last three years helping crisis manage during the pandemic. She has been doing meaningful work but feels ready to move on to her next steps. She wants coaching to help her be thoughtful about her next steps. Instead of jumping into the “next thing”, she wants to take some time to reflect and decompress.
Finding patience during liminal times
In this session Emiliya uses paraphrasing and metaphor to coach Sara. Like the intertwined fingers of a hand, the new avenues of Sara’s life will criss-cross. Stepping out in this way is important, and Sara recognizes that the skills she has developed over the past three years have helped her to do it. She wants to make a graceful exit before this powerful shift. Together she and Emiliya explore words to describe what she feels she needs, settling on “patience”.
Taking time to reflect and decompress is a pathway for next steps
Emilya was called in the session to explore how Sara wants permission to give herself space to decompress before embarking on her next steps. She also wants a sense of comfort during this process. In acknowledging the need for patience, Sara discovers that the time and space she desires are not “losing time”, they are also a step toward her goal. Clarifying this helps Sara feel a sense of relief. She can align her passion projects with her personal goals, knowing that she will have the time she needs.
This episode is sponsored by The Flourishing Center’s Applied Positive Psychology Coaching (APPC) Certification.