Make the time with your family and loved ones count!
I??l Uysal
Professional Coach (ICF PCC), Trainer, and Facilitator of Learning and Becoming through Human Connection
It is that time of the year. Most of you are on holidays between christmas and new year. Most of you are spending it with your family.
But how much of the time are you really with them?
Maybe you are checking your phone frequently. Writing messages to family and friends. You might be sharing Instagram stories of your christmas trees and beautiful tables with delicious food. (I am guilty of that too!). Maybe you are finally taking time to work on the things that you could not while you were working in your jobs.
Considering all these distractions, you might be missing out on the lovely moments with your family and loved ones.
What about making the time with them count?
What about putting the phone down, closing those computers and opening your ears, your eyes, your heart?
What about being there with all your being?
Hear what your loved ones say to you. Listen to what matters to them, what their challenges are, what they strive for. Listen for how have they changed since you were last time with them, since you really heard them last time. What have they learned? What are the new words they use now while they speak? What touches them really? What do they do really great? The way they come up with multiple ideas, how they can take care of many things at the same time, how energising they are, how logical they can think, how good cook they are, how thoughtful they are…. Listen for the gifts of your loved ones, acknowledge these and tell these to them. How tender it is to see your loved ones in that way!
How much you can learn about them by staying curious, by just being there with them, being present with them! Listen them, listen for who they really are, for who they have become and they are becoming. It is the greatest gift you can give to them!.
Take this opportunity to give your loved ones this gift of your presence: The gift of listening to them, acknowledging them, their strengths and their presence of your life. You will see that it will also be a great gift to you!
Presence and listening are two of the most important competencies we work with in coaching. If you’d like to learn coaching with us check our Professional Coaching Diploma Programme.
This blog post was written for and first published on the blog of BeCoach Academy which provides professional coaching training in Munich in English according to the standards of International Coach Federation. (ICF)