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Coaching to a New York City State of Mind

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A City of Unreality

The challenges of New York City are met in yet another way. There is not only sanctuary—to be found in the parks. There is also escape and denial. Rather than moving into a space that is real but quite different from the hustle and bustle of urban life, we can move into fantasy. In New York City this is represented by a specific “industry” (show business) and a specific place (“Broadway”). There is no business like show business and no place like Broadway. Actually there are many businesses other than show business that provide fantasy and escape—the most profitable being the trafficking of legal and illegal mind and mood altering substances (ranging from alcohol and caffeine to cocaine and crack). There are also places other than Broadway—in fact most of the truly groundbreaking theatrical productions in New York City occur “off-Broadway.” However, there is still something magical about Broadway and the “Great White Way.” This rogue boulevard not only defies the orderly streets (and names) of Manhattan, it also serves as the primary conduit for the most magical of all circles and squares in New York City—namely Time Square.

It would seem that any city or state-of-mind that is filled with major challenges (such as diversity and size) needs both a sanctuary and an escape valve. I am reminded of E. L. Doctorow’s (1985) novel, World’s Fair, which features another (temporary) source of escape and fantasy—namely the 1930s World’s Fair in New York. Like Disneyland, Disney World and other theme parks in our contemporary world, the World’s Fair in New York (the Bronx rather than Manhattan) provided escape into alternative cultures (featuring exhibits from throughout the world), alternative moments in time (both the past and future) and alternative forms of excitement (terrifying rides and tantalizing peep shows). As Doctorow so poignantly observed, people could live vicariously for a few moments or days in the alternative world of the fair, much as they could spend time at the theater (live or on film) or in a sanctuary (such as Central Park).

What about coaching? Is this always a sanctuary or does it sometime provide a doorway for escape and even denial? What type of function are we serving when we ask our clients to imagine an alternative future for themselves, when we invite them to follow their true “bliss,” or suggest that they role play a productive session with their boss or board? Are we providing a Broadway to counter their Brooklyn? Are we inviting them to the fair when they have spent most of their past two weeks in a free-for-all? Is this a good thing or a bad thing? Are theaters and fairs any different from parks and other sanctuaries? As Matthew Miles (1964) suggested many years ago, perhaps all of these are “temporary systems” that provide a moment away from a stressful existence and may even enable us to find a bit of “flow” in our life, to borrow from the insightful concept introduced by Csikszentmihalyi (1990) regarding the space between anxiety and boredom. These are important points for discussion and inquiry in dealing as coaches with men and women who are in a New York City State of Mind.

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