“Truth carries no consequences other than learning, discovery, and new insight.” -Co-Active Coaching book
This quote is taken from the main book used in the Coaching program at Maryland University of Integrative Health. It is my favorite quote from it because it is simple and says there’s nothing wrong with “the truth.” The truth is stripped of people’s stories, judgements, biases… it is simply what is. See in coaching, this is what happens: the client begins to understand and see the truth of their lives. They begin to see how they show up with other people. They begin to understand how their worn, weathered ways of thinking influence their feelings and subsequent actions. They begin to realize the amazing amount of control they have over their life.
When this realization sets in, then a change must come about. Change can be tricky. It can be welcome, but often times is very scary. When we live our truth and speak our truth, we say to the world “this is who I am!” or “this is how it is!” Assigning consequences to what is makes no sense. Yet, we fear the consequences, don’t we? This stops us from really being who we are or doing what we know needs to be done. When we unlock the chains from that which holds us back, we set ourselves free to be who we really are.
“Do you think we are in this life to live a lie?” I asked that question to a client of mine recently. He pondered it.. for several minutes… repeating it over and over. His final response: “No, I’m not here to be living lies.” After that session, he proceeded to make significant changes in his life, professionally and personally. Some were simple changes–like changes in what he was eating. Some were bigger–like choosing to end his long-term relationship that had grown distant and very difficult.
When we live in the ‘truth’ of our lives and in alignment with our values, we feel it. We feel peaceful. We feel right. We feel free.
