Space philosopher and author Frank White coined the term ‘The Overview Effect’ to describe the emotional response felt by astronauts when, for the first time, they see Planet Earth floating in space.
‘When we originally went to the moon”, said one of the early astronauts, “ our total focus was on the moon. We weren’t thinking about looking back at the earth. But now that we’ve done it, that may have been the most important reason we went.”
The significance of this big picture view of our world is something that resonates with me both as a coach and someone who works with my own coach.
Our view of our world is shaped by inherited stories, limiting beliefs and assumptions.
It’s a view formed by us looking out at the world.
But what if we create our own Overview Effect? What if we turn the view back on ourselves?
Actually, this is what happens in the safe space of a coaching session.
All of the noise in our busy minds - those thoughts, feelings, beliefs and assumptions - is allowed to escape from our minds and sit in the space that exists between us and our coach.
Simply stepping outside of ourself and seeing the content and stories in our mind, in a way that we’ve never done before, is incredibly powerful.
In my own case, it was observing the absurdly pessimistic, anxious thoughts I’d have about all kinds of mundane events that was a game changer.
Because once I could see what was going on in my head, I was able to challenge the reality of my faulty thinking and beliefs.
And through awareness of the 'real' reality, I could take action and make some changes.
So, what about you?
If you were to create your own Overview Effect, what would you see?
And by being aware of this, what would change for you?
Curious to find out more? Let's talk.