By Jeff Copper, MBA, PCC, PCAC, CPCC, ACG – December 10, 2018
As a seasoned coach, I’ve learned to see past clients’ “stories” and to use observation skills to discover “basic truths.”
Motivation “basic truth” examples:
- You would be dead if you weren’t motivated.
- Everything you ever did was because you were motivated to do it.
- Everything you have not done was because you were not motivated to do it at the time you thought you should do it. Continue reading “The Stories We Tell Ourselves Control Our Attention”
One important fact I’ve learned over the years from coaching folks with ADHD is this: ADHD is a self-regulation issue with a working memory challenge. Now, let’s look more closely at the word “memory.”
One of my clients, a mental health professional, wanted coaching on time management, specifically on how to stop being late. Using the inquisitive coaching process, I began to ask questions, and as things unfolded, it was clear this person was about 10 minutes late 95% of the time.
In Super Bowl XXXVII, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ defensive lineup took the field for the first time. Each player introduced himself on network TV by stating his name and the college that drafted him. When Simeon Rice’s turn came, he stated simply, “Simeon Rice, the School of Hard Knocks.” Get it? Football? Hard knocks? Well, I got the pun and a whole lot more! Here’s what I got. 
Those close to attention deficit disorder (ADD)—psychologists, psychiatrists, neurologists, therapists, counselors, etc.—frequently reference four distinguishing characteristics or traits that are used to differentiate between those who have ADD and those who do not. The four traits are “distractible” “impulsive,” “hyperactive,” and “lazy.”
Did you know that 50 percent of all doctors graduated in the bottom of their class? Early in my sales career, I loved sharing this very interesting fact; it proved especially useful when I was selling against HMOs in the days when indemnity plans meant you could choose any provider. That’s when I realized most anything that can be measured by definition is at or below average. This simple concept has fascinated me for years. 
We can get caught up in paying attention to how we want things to be and lose sight of how things actually are. So let’s look at organizing in a new way!