As John Gardner said:
“Self-pity is easily the most destructive of the non-pharmaceutical narcotics; it is addictive, gives momentary pleasure and separates the victim from reality.”
Sadly, I see all too many coaches and therapists acting like their lives are grim and hopeless.
There are a number of things wrong with that:
- It’s not true. This is the best time to be alive, full of hope and possibilities like never before
- It’s visible to clients, who’ll run a mile rather than work with you
- It lowers your expectations of positive results, so you engineer failure
Look, I get it.
Life isn’t all a bed of geraniums, but it is 99% what you make it.
In its most potent form, self-pity makes you feel ok with creating a life you don’t want.
And that’s a twisting of reality worthy of an hallucinatory narcotic, right?
Jonny
PS – Most self-pity comes from a simple lack of clients. Here’s how to make sure that doesn’t happen to you.