I worked at a pool hall (a billiards hall) when I was 20.
The high-end pool tables closest to the register were for the “players.” These men and woman (singular) had talent on the tables.
You could walk by them on the street without noticing them.
But when they played, they really played. Everyone took notice.
They bet money. Sometimes, A LOT OF MONEY on a single game. They could play nine-ball for hours. And they were a pleasure to watch play.
One of these players was a guy we called One-Eye Mike. You can imagine why.
One day, Mike said to me, “Hey Nicky, I’ve seen you shoot. You want to be better? I can show you a couple of things.”
I took Mike up on his offer.
During one of our lessons, Mike told me that my game would get worse before it got better. I was confused.
“That’s just what happens when you add new skills to your game”, he told me. “Put the time in, and in 3 or 4 months, your game will be twice as good.”
Mike was right. My game did get better, but it was painful to live in this in-between state as I worked on what was to come.
Which brings me to …
Liminal spaces. AKA in-between spaces
I have an executive coaching client who is experiencing a transitional period in his career. He’s feeling uninspired in a role where he once found challenge and joy.
“I’m unfulfilled. It sort of just happened. Something’s got to change,” he told me.
He’s smack-dab in a liminal space. He’s not finished with what he is doing, and he’s not quite ready to move forward.
We are working on it together.
That’s personal growth knocking
In-between states aren’t always pleasant, but they can be productive.
If you see liminal states as evolutionary stops in life, you can rediscover aspects of yourself that you left behind for one reason or another.
Or, you can choose to fixate on what’s not working and get stuck there.
Having an executive coach as a partner can help you generate perspectives and choice points, which can cut your liminal-space time in half and get you moving forward again.
