Peeling the Onion - a Metaphor that underscores the essence of coaching!
“When you first start off trying to solve a problem, the first solutions you come up with are very complex, and most people stop there. but if you keep going, and live with the problem and peel more layers of the onion off, you can often times arrive at some very elegant and simple solutions.”
“Coaching is like peeling the onion” - a metaphor I often use when working with clients.
It’s not unique to me, but is perhaps used by most coaches, as the process of coaching works very similarly to the process of ‘peeling the onion’.
What does it mean and how is it similar?
Let’s start with the onion itself.
One can grow onions from the plant’s small black seeds, but one can also grow onions from the small bulbs that are at its core, which you can only get to by cutting through and peeling off the onion, layer by layer. You most likely cry during the process, but then, you are eventually successful in getting the whole bulb and sowing it for new growth.
Similarly, the coaching process works through different layers of your inherent and learned mindsets, behaviours, thoughts, beliefs, and emotions, to get to the core of you - your natural, whole, and resourceful self - and for you to (re)connect for achieving new growth and expansion of your existing capabilities.
This gradual and slow process of exploration and self-discovery can be painful, emotional, and extremely uncomfortable, but it is through this process of delayering that one can gain a deeper understanding of themselves, their goals, their aspirations, and their purpose.
It is also through this process that we are able to get to the root of most of our internal barriers, our perceptions, and our challenges, while reigniting our forgotten dreams and aspirations.
Peeling an onion takes time and is a process, and so is coaching. It is a deliberate process that takes time, patience, and a lot out of one’s self.
This metaphor is not just the title of the coaching blog but also underpins one - my coaching ethos of ‘connectedness to core’ and two - highlights the very essence of coaching, that leads to transformation.
-Preeti Kurani
Here’s how peeling or delayering works -
As we peel the top layer - our most learned responses to situations - we might begin to explore a different way and a different perspective.
Then, as we keep peeling one layer after another, we begin to dig through and discard the underlying self-blockers that do not serve us and strengthening motivators that serve us.
And as you peel further away, just as you eventually reach the bulb of the onion, you will reach your core - your values and your true whole self - reconnecting and accepting who you really are, uncovering your dreams, your ambition, and your aspirations, and sometimes even purpose.
You may cry going through the process of peeling of the onion, and you may also feel overwhelmed and my become engulfed with emotions and unpleasant feelings, through the slow and deliberate processes of working through your layers.
But as you reflect and learn, you eventually lean into your core and derive the courage to confront your demons, triggers, and saboteurs, and also derive the strength to build your inner resources and allies to create the desired impact for self - personally and professionally.
“In essence, coaching serves you to become whole and to reconnect to your core.”
