One of the wonderful things about the world of coaching, especially when you are the coachee, is the guilt-free, unashamedly self-indulgent time spent focusing on yourself.  It’s kind of  like a mental and emotional Thai massage.  Just like Thai massage, it hurts at times, feels divine at others, but always leaves you with a deep sense of well being.

In the process of this non-physical massage, the internal lights get gradually turned on and reveal your inner keyboard.  You discover the chords that bring on unbridled joy, the notes that you can’t bear to hear, and the ones that energize you beyond measure.  You discover your values.  You leave the session with a clear melody in mind, determined to pay attention to it, sing it, live it.  You do. You feel great.

For a while, the lyrics of your life fit beautifully into your personal values melody.  The rhythm is right, reverberating deep within you,  in time with your heartbeat. You feel at one with the world. You are living your values.  You are standing up for you.

Then, once again, life intrudes, as it inevitably does, with its myriad of details to attend to.  The melody in your head gradually dims, its soaring solo obscured by the cacophony of demands vying for your attention.  You desperately try to harmonize, your feet stamping furiously and stepping on other in the frenzied dance to keep up.  You feel hassled, tired, unfulfilled.

You tell yourself you have too much to do, and that’s why you are stressed.  You’ve got a lot of responsibilities, and that’s why you are stretched.  The truth is, you forgot to protect your melody.  You let it get re-mixed into a new beat that’s no longer yours.  Just like “One Night Only” from Dreamgirls.  And just like Deena’s version in the movie, it sounded just fine. That is, if you hadn’t heard the hauntingly beautiful original.

I was on my morning run today when Climie Fisher’s “Rise to the Occasion” came on my trusted iPod.  It was the original version, slow and ballad-y.  It made me smile, as it reminded me of how I rose to the occasion and fiercely responded to Dubai-bashers over the Burj Khalifa re-branding.  I smiled wider when I thought about how I pledged my support on www.istillbelieveindubai.com and joined the “In Dubai We Trust” Facebook group.

With Climie crooning in my ear, feet pounding the Safa Park track, it occurred to me that it took the Burj Khalifa media buzz to remind me how good it feels when outward behaviour and inner values are completely in sync; and conversely, how stressful it is when external pressure prevails, introducing strident dissonant keys into my personal melody.

There have been several situations recently when my resolve to resist dissonant notes has been tested.  I didn’t always make the right choice, and my birdsong isn’t as pure as I’d like.  The Burj Khalifa reminded me that for as long as we are blessed with a new dawn, we are given another chance at singing our melody, another chance to rise to the occasion of living our values.