Gestalt Psychology is a school of thought that looks at the human mind and a person’s behaviors as a whole. When trying to make sense of the world around us, Gestalt psychology suggests that we don’t simply focus on every small component. Instead, we zoom out and perceive objects and patterns as part of a greater whole and as elements of more complex systems.
As an IT professional, systems are my safe space. And the body is an incredibly complex system. I think of it like this — the Internet of Things is a world of data built by putting sensors on everything. Collect all the data that you can and then use that data to make decisions.
Our body’s central nervous system (CNS) is similar to the Internet of Things (IoT) in that it functions as a complex, interconnected network where various “nodes” (organs, muscles, and sensory receptors) constantly communicate with a central hub (the brain and spinal cord) to create coordinated responses. And whether you are aware of it, or not, you have all of this information that your body is signaling to you, oftentimes before your mind even can reconcile it. And those data points are valuable.
The correlating Gestalt principle is called embodied presence. I teach clients to listen to their bodies. To stop and listen. To correlate what is happening, the feedback their bodies are offering, and how to use that data before they take an action. I use these principles to foster personal and professional wholeness, nurturing the evolution of connected, conscious and complete individuals and organizations.
In my corporate coaching experience, I’ve seen many team members ascend to leadership roles. I’ve continued my education beyond undergrad and post grad into coaching certifications from both the International Coaching Federation and the Gestalt Institute of Cleveland.
The first time I was offered a coach some twenty years ago, I thought maybe there was something wrong with me. One of my superiors was offering feedback, and set me straight. “You know, this isn’t bad, right? The company cares about you and your future, and you’re being invested in. So take this as a gift.”
It completely changed my outlook. My first coach, Olga, taught me to prepare for meetings in a way I still use today. She showed me how to consider other people’s perspectives, to prepare for multiple outcomes to any situation, and therefore, to stay composed through whatever happened.
As hard as we work, as much as we know, as great as we think we are, we all have opportunities to improve. Some of those opportunities are in our awareness, and some of them are out of our awareness. My role as a coach is to support clients in increasing self-awareness and recognizing patterns in their thoughts, emotions, and behaviors, helping them gain insight into how these impact their experiences and choices.