It could happen to you
by Miki SaxonFor those of you who don’t know, I earn my keep coaching CEOs and senior execs in MAP (mindset, attitude, philosophy™). Coaching covers a multitude of actions and interplay depending on the parameters set at the start. I do my best to stay flexible to my clients’ needs, which are a microclimate of changing topics, and I really do enjoy the subject diversity, challenges, interactions—even the occasional rant. Rants are OK, because senior people, especially CEOs, don’t have many places to dump constructively.
As you might guess, it happened today.
Said client called ranting about how everything was piling up, that he was exhausted trying to juggle it all, didn’t think he could stand much more, etc.
Some background. When I first started working with him he was underwater, both at work and at home. It didn’t take long to figure out that most of those problems could be alleviated by using my “say no” technique, which he did with great success (he’d never before found one that worked for him). We went on to work on really interesting stuff and build a productive relationship. Every now and then he slips back into the bad old habits—as we all slip—but we’d catch it and he’d get back on track.
This time was different, I knew something new had been added to the equation, but was surprised when he finally opened up.
Seems that he’d read a number of articles on the addictive behavior exhibited by people who were involved in virtual reality worlds, such as Second Life, and decided to check it out for himself, because he was curious. He found it hard to believe that it really happened, decided to check it out for himself, and now it was wreaking havoc in his life.
I was as surprised as he was. We’d worked together for over six months and he didn’t seem the type, but one of his comments was very revealing. He said that he felt like he was being pulled down by quicksand, but it was so much fun he almost didn’t mind—it was the “almost” that saved him.
