A couple of days ago I took a stroll by the canal.

As I walked, I spotted a canal boat with a table covered in a plush, purple tablecloth.  

On one side of the table sat a lady dressed in flowing robes.  Her hands were covered in gold rings and I could see a red headscarf in her hair.

In front of her, on the table, was a pack of tarot cards.

Now, I have no particular thoughts about tarot.

If anything, I’m pro tarot.  After all, a tarot deck can be great for performing magic tricks.  And even better for playing poker.

I still remember a time a few years ago when I stayed up all night playing poker with a tarot deck.  I got a full house and four people died.

(Sorry, I couldn’t resist!)

Anyway, on the side of the boat was a sign which said “look into your future”.

This got me curious, but I resisted.  I wasn’t sure how reliable this fortune telling would be.

Especially as I already know a very reliable method anyone can use to look into their future.

That method?

It has nothing to do with tarot cards or crystal balls.

Instead, it’s simply by looking at your life today.

Take, for instance, your job, your bank balance or even how happy you feel.  A year from now, that job, bank balance and happiness level will more than likely be exactly the same.

You might not believe me, but this is a well-known phenomenon.

It even has a name:

The Status Quo Bias. 

The Status Quo Bias says that humans prefer to keep their current situation rather than take action which could change it.

We all, at some level, have a natural aversion to risk, uncertainty & the unknown “built in” to us which stops us making changes.

In some respects, this is why we’re here at all. 

Our ancestors successfully navigated various perils and pitfalls of their own.  You could say our ancestors were status quo specialists.

Through the wonder of genetics, so are we.

So if we want to change the status quo, it means overcoming a deep-rooted evolutionary mechanism carried down by our ancestors over thousands - even millions - of years.

Thanks a bunch evolution!

Anyway, I know a lot of people are creatures of habit and are perfectly happy with the status quo.

But I also know some eager beavers would like to shoot for more.

And if you’re one of these, you might be interested to hear that changing the status quo is actually a lot simpler than it looks.

In my experience, people just go about it the wrong way.

Making changes has nothing to do with discipline or willpower.

Instead, it all comes down to insight.  To seeing something new.

That might sound laughably simplistic.

But it’s simply how life works.

Remember when you realised the tooth fairy didn’t exist?  Or that the mascot at the theme park was really a spotty teenager in a woolly costume?  Or that magic tricks aren’t magic, but sleight of hand?

One day, you realised something new.  The world looked different.  And there was no going back.

The status quo had changed, and your behaviours & feelings changed too.  You didn’t put a tooth under your pillow any more.  You didn’t feel glee at seeing a real-life Mickey Mouse or feel amazed by a silver coin dropping out of your nose.

None of these attitude and behavioural shifts happened through willpower.

They happened simply because you realised something new.  You saw the truth and everything changed.

It’s not just fairies, mascots and magic where this effect takes place.

It’s everywhere.  After all, what’s good for the goose is good for the gander.

And guess what?

Seeing new is, in a nutshell, what transformative coaching is all about.

If you want to sign on the dotted line:

https://waitinglist.followingfulfilment.com

- Tom