HFDA Academy: New View I Episode 7 I Getting back on track with awareness

Getting back on track with awareness

The topic of loss and loss itself usually has a negative tone in the collective/public conscience, as we tend to forget that all harmful events can lead to a positive outcome. Although the creative industry has been adversely affected by the Coronavirus pandemic, through practising awareness, industry players cannot just prevent problems, but can even forge a competitive advantage if they are prepared to recognize and overcome the internal obstacles blocking their progression.

How can we make a profit from loss?

Coaching belongs to the sciences where loss can be considered as a distinctly positive occurrence. Representatives of the trend reckon that an individual can become a better person, and is capable of learning when he or she suffers a loss. In these cases, those involved can choose between two options: to either submerge themselves in despair or to seek out the available options to them. In difficult situations, it all depends on what the victim focuses on. Once the loss has occurred, it’s best not to think about what has already happened, but rather to pay attention to finding a possible solution.

In such times, the action we can take is change: the attempt has to be made to find a way to move further away from the damage so that possibilities can be found instead. It’s worthwhile getting involved and starting activities that up until this point, the individual hasn’t had time for – for example, starting a new job, hobby, or taking part in a new course. This attitude can already be felt in the domestic fashion and design industry, and although it may seem unusual, many have started manufacturing medical clothing, and by doing so, moving away from the damage they have suffered.

However, it is also important that we actually experience the loss that has affected us psychologically as well, this should not be suppressed, as it can cause harm to the individual, and instead, it will find a way to come out and break free elsewhere, in a different form. Loss provides an opportunity for self-reflection and self-examination, reflecting on others, one’s relationship to money, and to learn humility in both private life and work as well.

What does it mean to be aware?

The methodology of coaching is based on awareness. Being aware simply means that the individual directs the given attention to himself or herself and others without judgment. Awareness is inseparable from forward-thinking, which is also a hallmark of the fashion and design industry, and as a result, the mindset of coaching is no stranger to the industry, even if we don’t necessarily draw a parallel between the two in everyday life.

How can we consciously plan our lives and plans? To answer, a pen and a piece of paper is needed. Firstly, we should ask ourselves the question: What is it we want, what do we want to focus on? Secondly, let’s define what we’d be happy with and gather all the things that contribute to this. We then need to answer: What makes us notice we are satisfied? How do others notice that we are satisfied? It is important to be aware of the steps we can take in the present to achieve our goals. After, this should be followed by the preparation of an action plan, during which it is essential to allocate timeframes in the correct proportions regarding our objectives. Last but not least, we need to determine the resources we want to use to achieve our goals. This could mean, for example, going to a training course to learn new skills, attending a webinar, or even listening to the New View podcast series. The main point is to find and use the external resources within our reach that can contribute to our goals and assign them to our action plan.

How should we activate our internal resources?

In everyday life, we build on our internal resources: these are the abilities and knowledge inside us, that we can think of as a secure reference point. Above all, what is most important is for the individual to be aware of his or her internal resources, as these can be helpful resources in difficult times. If we know what internal resources to rely on, we can manage our lives far more easily and live a life of self-awareness, as well as being more confident in our work-life too. The fashion and design industry is characterized by the tremendous creativity of those who work in it, and these characteristics are usually associated with internal resources such as innovation, quick wit, perseverance, enthusiasm and efficiency. Everyone can find these qualities in themselves but to a varying degree. It is up to the individual to examine these within themself. How can these internal resources be measured? This question can be answered with a simple experiment. Firstly, we have to write down which resources we are proud of. After, we can follow with an important question: What kind of activity would we be doing if we weren’t being paid to do it, and then we have to think about what our message would be to the world. Finally, it is worth asking our three of our friends to write down what internal resources they think we have in our possession. Once this is done, we can compare the resources we think we have, and what our friends have written. The resource that is mentioned the most, will be the one that is arguably our strongest resource, and this is something we can rely on in difficult times.

Internal Resistance

Coaching names inner resistance as the feeling we get when the desire to do something new or trying, meets with the equally as strong inner compulsion that repels this exact change. Our inner resistances can be useful to us if we live and listen to them consciously. If left in the unconscious, these inner resistances can become dysfunctional. There are countless types of internal resistance. In a pandemic situation, there are mostly two types of present: projection and introjection.

Projection is a process in which an individual projects an unrecognized part of the self onto another person with which he has no connection. It can be both negative and positive. We always “project” a trait that is also present in our personality. How can we recognize this projection? It’s best to think of a person we don’t connect with or we don’t find to be likeable, and then examine the trait we don’t sympathize with, and then try to examine ourselves to find and see how we relate to that part of us. This same process happens when we look up to someone because of their positive qualities. The trait we value is always reflected in our character, we just haven’t recognised it yet. 

The other most common characteristic of internal resistance is introjection. These are thoughts that have lived with us for a long time, however, we can’t really find an explanation for them. For example, the following ideas: Hungarians are envious, we shouldn’t talk to strangers, blondes are stupid, and so on. These findings, which we believe to be a golden rule, have been with us since childhood, influenced by our parents and schooling.

In these difficult times - when industry players are working hard to get back on their feet after a loss –such narratives may appear in their minds, that they are incapable of reaching the light at the end of the tunnel, and they won’t be able to pull through. If an individual regularly experiences these thoughts before ordeals and setbacks, they are most likely introjections built into their personality that can become dysfunctional if not recognized. It’s important to address these issues - even by asking a coach to help deal with them. If we consciously stand up to our inner resistances, that is, to view them without judgment, they can become useful to us, and will greatly help us live our lives with a more positive outcome, especially when experiencing challenging periods.

A summary of the pro-publication in English is also available in a downloadable form here.