It used to be believed that when ostriches feared something ahead of them, they would bury their heads in the sand believing that what they couldn't see wouldn't hurt them. Although this theory is proven to be untrue the term Ostrich Syndrome has become a common way to describe the behaviour of refusing to accept or acknowledge difficult or awkward facts.
When we are faced with difficult situations in our lives it can be easy to ignore them or hope they will go away. This could be financial issues, work deadlines, critical feedback or even difficulties in our relationships with others. Unfortunately ignoring things could make the situation worse but for some of us facing up to the reality of these problems can be completely overwhelming.
When we ignore, avoid or even deny the problems we face it can have a detrimental effect on our happiness and even our success. It can create feelings of anxiety, fear and stress and the problem itself may become much bigger feeling less manageable than if we had first approached it.
There may be many reasons why we choose to engage in Ostrich Syndrome but we have found the most common ways are:
When we Avoid, Ignore, Dismiss or feel uncertain.
You may find that you engage in one, two or all of these behaviours. Or you may find that Ostrich Syndrome isn't something that you struggle with at all.
The great news is with a few small changes you can really improve your feelings and attitude towards facing up to difficult situations and problems and whilst change is not always easy coaching can really help.
As coaching is all about asking questions to raise self-awareness, thinking creatively, looking at things from a different perspective and putting new behaviours into practice to create long term change.
We've carefully chosen some micro-coaching exercises and challenges to help you work on your ability to deal with problems as they arise.
And remember, throughout the module. You can make commitments to yourself to start to do some things differently.
So, lets make a start now!
