The Playful Art of Self-Awareness

I went to Tate Modern today with my children. As we were exploring the museum, I reflected on what a beautiful metaphor it was for the work I do as a coach. I noticed how we approached each installation with curiosity. The space itself encouraged us to be more present, aware of our bodies in the unusually large rooms. We engaged with the artwork, observing it sometimes from a distance and sometimes up close.  In some instances it was possible to interact with it: we experimented with how we could influence how it behaved or was perceived, and how it could affect our own perspective. We were experiencing it just as we and it was in that moment, without making any judgement of value. We allowed ourselves to simply ‘be’ in its presence.

This is precisely one of the practices I help clients develop within themselves. The ability to be present in their experience without projecting values, expectations or narratives onto it. To cultivate curiosity and flexibility, what the Dalai Lama calls discipline of the mind - to recognise and observe how we sometimes contract instead of expanding, and to begin to create new, more supportive patterns.

💡 Coaching Tip: How often do you approach things with curiosity, without assigning judgment or value? Try this today—observe your experience with compassion and openness, and see what shifts.