Has anyone ever told you that you need to relax and have more fun? That’s what people were saying to a client of mine on a very regular basis. The thing is, they were right! As we were going over her FEBI results it was pretty clear that she was all Driver, all the time. “If I can’t be the best at something, why bother doing it?” she said. The problem she was that she always managed to find someone better than herself and when she did, she thought of herself as a failure. When she hit this mental hurdle she either quit or pushed harder. The end result of this strategy was a young woman who was not only stressed out but physically ill.
It was clear we needed to work on her lowest pattern, Collaborator. We began brainstorming around this and came to the conclusion that she needed to reclaim the fun in her life. When I asked her what she likes to do for fun she literally could not give me an answer. She could not think of one thing that she would enjoy doing. Wow! If that isn’t a red flag I don’t know what is. Our coaching sessions now focus on managing stress, preventing burnout and reclaiming happiness in her life.
I can certainly empathize with her situation as this Organizer/Driver has a tendency to put fun and relaxation on the sideline in order to keep pushing. Sound familiar?? I write about this case as a reminder to all those low collaborators to make sure to recharge those batteries or when it’s time to put the foot on the accelerator they’ll be no fuel in the tank.