Coaching saves the bride’s mother.

 

Imagine this- your lovely daughter is getting married but you are dreading the wedding because you are so worried about how your ex and his family will treat you.

That’s what happened to one of my clients. Instead of looking for THE dress and hat and getting foot sore looking for the shoes and a bag all she could think of was how she might feel humiliated or face a scene.

One of the best things about coaching is that it gives you the space- space to think and to see things more clearly, space to work out what to do and, most importantly, space to play. As children we learnt so much by playing but now we’ve grown up we’ve forgotten how experimenting and having fun can show us what to do.

Part of a coaching session is always an invitation to play. Forget reality for a few minutes. If you could do anything to sort things out what wild solutions could you find?

You don’t have to actually do any of your crazy ideas but just thinking of them will make you feel better and give you a fresh approach.

So what did the bride’s mother think of to help her to look forward to the wedding?

She thought of hiring a glamorous escort, letting down the tyres of her ex’s car so he missed the wedding, going in disguise as a mysterious stranger, hiring a comedian to protect her by turning any nasty comments into a joke against the people who made them.

The last crazy idea did inspire a sensible solution. What she needed was support from people she knew and trusted. She would invite her two closest friends to come to the wedding breakfast with her. They could watch out for any risk of unpleasantness and protect her so she could relax and enjoy herself.

From looking dejected and stressed she left smiling on her way to the shops!

Comments

[Jen - MOB]

I do relate to the anxiety that your client felt - but loved the creative way of dealing with it, that also provided a workable solution.

On the day, I was thankful to have my sister close by, for a bit of moral support.
Of course, the focus of the day is the happy couple, so I guess that can help too, as people are more likely to behave themselves.