Susan Britton reframes the question "Am I enough?" from a yes-or-no trap into an open-ended prompt. Instead of asking if you're enough, ask how you're enough, then list your actual strengths: "I am enough creative, curious, adaptable learner."
Hey, it's Susan, and just a little dose of Friday encouragement. If I've heard a theme recently, it's been a theme about, am I enough? I hear it with clients, I hear it with coaches, I hear it within myself. And that enough question can come in different formats, like, am I enough? Am I of value? Do I have what it takes? Can I pull it off? And if you're a coach, you probably recognize that those questions are all yes/no, closed-ended questions. I call them quiz questions. And they imply that there's a right or wrong answer, like, "Yes, I'm enough," or, "No, I'm not enough." So we'll get very different answers with open-ended curiosity questions like, "How am I enough?" And in one of my classes this week, we even concluded with not a question but a statement, and a statement that started with, "I am enough," and then finished off with a list of the person's strengths. So like one coach stated, "I am enough creative, curious, adaptable learner." And another tweaked it a little bit and said, "I am honest with myself and others, and that's when all the other strengths can come into play." And mine was, "I am enough. My Intellection never fails me to give me an idea, and my Perspective always reminds me of the bigger picture." I am enough. So how would you finish that strength statement for yourself? I am enough, fill in the blank with your strengths. So next time you find yourself or a client asking that yes/no question, kind of flip it around to make it a what question, a how question. Light and love.
Susan’s ICF Educator Award | The Heart Behind the Impact Katy Montgomery, PCC
