Only Half of the Story

An American In Switzerland

Welcome back to an ongoing series of weekly reflections on the tiny shifts that change everything

On the first Saturday in September, I jumped on the chance to volunteer for Verbier’s first TEDx. My day started on the SBB train from Geneva to Martigny where I took the TMR line to Le Châble and then the gondola to Verbier. (It still amazes me I can take a train from Geneva directly to the base of the gondola!)

Some ski school friends I met last winter were part of the volunteer crew, and it was fun catching up with them. I meet some new folks too while working in the exhibition hall, including the staff at the Verbier4all booth. After hearing what they do, I'm excited to find out what helping adaptive skiers experience the slopes of Verbier is all about.

I enjoyed helping where I could at the event and listening to the talks, which were diverse and thought provoking except for two whose theme was "keep sight of your desire, refuse to give up, and you too can realize your dreams."

When you already know what you want with clarity and commitment, tales of dogged determination and remarkable achievement may be exactly what's needed to not give up and stay in the game when the going gets tough. When you don't know what you want to do, hearing how someone who knew what they wanted and refused to give up until they achieved it can leave you feeling like a loser and even more lost.

TEDx is dedicated to sharing ideas worth spreading. Instead of 'try hard and don't give up', hearing how each speaker discovered and cultivated their tender and vulnerable seed and nurtured it from an ember into the roaring furnace that powered them to amazing achievements would be a story worth spreading.

And that, perhaps, is the root of my disenchantment: TED talks are limited to ideas while rich and fulfilling lives are made up of fully lived experiences of wonder and grief, joy and sadness, and achievement and failure.

On a different note, I'm looking for participants for a research project designed to explore the value of coaching beyond workplace challenges and opportunities. If you are interested in helping out, please email me.

For more information on upcoming workshops, seminars and personal coaching, please visitSteve Hindman Coach.

Thanks for reading and au revoir for now!

--- Steve