J. S. Curtis Coaching
personal coaching for powerful change
  • About
    • About Me >
      • My Story
    • Inspiration
  • Services
    • Coaching >
      • Coaching through Transitions
      • Anchored and Adept in Uncertain Times
      • Magic and Meaning in Mid-Life
      • FAQ
      • Logistics
    • Workshops
    • Facilitation
    • Testimonials
  • Contact
  • Blog
    • Subscribe

At The Mercy Of

10/20/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
My son had his birthday earlier this week. He had been counting down the days, so excited for the special day to arrive.

It started off great - he came downstairs after a good night’s sleep and jumped into my arms for a birthday hug. I love that he is in double digits and still wants me to pick him up sometimes.

Somewhere between my putting him down and his arriving in the kitchen for breakfast, he bumped his lip. Apparently, it hurt. Because we spent the next ten minutes hearing about how it was a terrible start to his birthday. I tried to be empathetic - at least for the first six minutes - and then I was ready to move on.

Apparently, he was not. He got up from eating his breakfast to look out the sliding glass doors. “Oh no! And now, it is cloudy on my birthday?!”

Sure enough, a low cloud had moved across the just rising sun. “This is going to be the worst birthday ever!” he exclaimed, bursting into tears.

I stifled a sigh of exasperation. 
And I paused. 

My initial reaction was one of impatience. I was bound to open my mouth and offer a peevish retort - something about acting spoiled or ruining his own day. Neither of those would have been particularly helpful.

So I breathed out the impatience instead. And after a moment I did respond. I am not sure if he liked what I had to say, but I know my more patient tone made it easier for him to listen.

I mostly just wanted him to know that he could focus on what was going well or what was going not-so-well, that he could choose which lens he looked through. We have the conversation often enough that his response went something like, “Yeah, I know.”

​
It is a conversation we have a lot because it sounds easier than it is. I know that my mood can sometimes be at the mercy of the weather or other things I have no control over.

I regularly find myself at step one in the process - recognizing that I am letting something out of my control dictate my mood. Some days I make it to step two or step three, and other days I don’t.

Instead of giving myself a hard time about not always succeeding, I’ve decided to go with the good enough attitude: I am glad that I can at least recognize the pattern, and I am glad that I am not beating myself up about it.

I am also glad that the sun came out on a little boy’s birthday.

​
Where are you caught? Where are you holding onto something not in your control? What does release look like?
​
Picture
Jessica Curtis is a professional coach who helps people cultivate intention and live from a place of meaning and authenticity. If you think you could benefit from working with Jessica or want to invite her to work with your group, reach out to start a conversation.
​

Sign-up to receive my newsletter and blog to your Inbox: ​​​​
Subscribe
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2014
    August 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014

    Categories

    All
    Awe
    Balance
    Beginning
    Belonging
    Coloring
    Creativity
    Cycles
    Embodiment
    Fulfillment
    Geography
    Good Enough
    Gratitude
    Honesty
    Hope
    Intention
    Letting Go
    Living Space
    Loss
    Milestones
    Mindfulness
    Mortality
    Moving Forward
    Nature
    New Year
    Noticing
    Parenting
    Personal Growth
    Perspectives
    Practice
    Presence
    Questions
    Resilience
    Self Care
    Self Compassion
    Self-Compassion
    Simplicity
    Solitude
    Stillness
    Transitions
    Values
    Vulnerability
    Yoga Practice
    Zen

    RSS Feed

    Author

    Jessica Curtis is a coach, a writer and a spiritual seeker.

    I work with individuals wanting to dive deeper into their lives, to cultivate balance, foster self-awareness and nurture their souls.

    Through this blog, I invite you to explore and be curious: What are you learning about yourself? about your journey? 

    Contact me - I would love to chat with you about where you are now and where you would like to be.

Email:
[email protected]​

Phone:
​774-545-6659


​​​Jessica S. Curtis, M.Ed., CPCC, PCC

Picture
Picture
Copyright © 2020