Choices Not Choices
My perspective has changed. At some point, drinking shifts from being a choice to a need, no different than breathing. Which isn't to excuse its impacts. Foresight is currently working on a project involving providing social-emotional learning to young children. While behaviors aren't always rational, a child might act out in school because of some difficult home situation. Knowing the reason doesn’t change actions, but it can inform the response. For my father who passed away a month ago, there was no other path he was interested in taking, despite other life-extending options I could see. Tending to him those last weeks, I was there to comply, "Peter, I want to die," and set aside my inherent bias to find ways to sustain life. My father was a client with terminal desires. I can have a difficult time accepting client choices that curtail potential. My Foresight colleague is much more adept at meeting clients "where they're at" than I am. I'm always looking ahead, more considering what might be than what is. When I returned from a short trip over Thanksgiving, my father hadn't touched any of the food I had left for him. Assessing the refrigerator's contents, my internal compass made a last, unequivocal shift. The alternate destination that I knew was possible but was inclined to avoid was now confirmed. Very few consulting projects don't require compromise and adjustments. At the end of the day, my job is to meet their expectations, not my own, however difficult that can be because I can so clearly see how they're leaving opportunity on the table.
