What if that's not your own goal at all?
Reflections on hiking, following your own path, and finding the right pace
I just got back from a hiking vacation in Austria. I love spending time in the mountains. Not just for the views, but also for the insights. It's easier to sort through your thoughts there.
This time, one thought in particular stayed with me:
How important it is to follow your own path. At your own pace, not that of others.
There are moments when hiking when you try to keep up with someone else. When you focus on the goals or pace of others.
But not every summit that sounds great in the hiking app has to be my goal. And not every speed feels right for me.
Then I take a step back internally and ask myself:
What feels right for me right now? Which route and which pace?
This insight has accompanied me since my coaching training at isb GmbH Systemic Professionalism – and it has become the core of my work with executives.
In that context, too, it often comes down to precisely these questions:
- What is my direction?
- Where do I really want to go?
- And how do I want to get there?
You notice the pace of others and ask yourself: Do I really have to keep up?
My #Genius as a coach: I accompany people part of the way – without setting the route or speed.
Instead, I create space for those moments when someone feels:
“I'm chasing a goal here that isn't really mine.”
Or: “Wait a minute, that's not my pace at all.”
As with hiking, the same applies here:
- We are allowed to take detours.
- We are allowed to be more deliberate or even faster than those around us.
- We are allowed to stop and take a break to reconnect with ourselves.
The most important thing is that we are allowed to find our own rhythm (again).
And sometimes we need a companion who says: “Look. There's a path you hadn't seen before.”
Three questions for your everyday life:
- Where are you currently orienting yourself too much toward the pace of others?
- Which “summit” doesn't actually belong on your path?
- What would be your next step if you only listened to yourself?
- #Coaching #Self-management #Leadership #Personal development #Guidance
