Some years ago I met Michael White, the now departed co-founder of Narrative Therapy. Soon after, his star rose rather quickly and he became a very well known teacher and writer.
But all was not well in Australia, his home country. As Michael traveled around the world, his colleagues at home began to make snide remarks about him: Who the hell did he think he was? Better than everyone else?
An Australian friend of mine told me that this was a reflection of what they called there “The Tall Poppy Syndrome.” Anyone who stood above the crowd was likely to get cut down, like the tallest poppy in the bunch. [Lest I offend any Aussies, I have observed a similar pattern all over the world.]
I don’t know if worry about that kind of thing is holding you back at all, but I can tell you the world and thousands of clients are better off for Michael sticking his head above the crowd and making the contribution he made.
Sure, some people will think you are arrogant and “too big for your britches” if you step outside your comfort zone and go for making a bigger and wider contribution, but I would advise you to focus on your passionate mission and your desire to make this world a better place instead of worrying about the naysayers and petty people who would hold you back and keep you in your place.
When will you start going out to a bigger arena with your work?
The irony is not lost in this blog & how it reflects on my life as a counsellor in my home town, where the medical field are quite prejudiced toward me (I also have an injury that occasionally puts me in hospital & some can’t see past that), outside of this country town however, I get referrals from over 200km away via word of mouth & GP referral 🙂
Thank you for your perfectly timed comment
Is it true that you can leave a bucket of crabs without a lid
because when any crab tries to get higher and escape
the other crabs pull him back down ?
Laurence Drell
God help me, I put aside a whole afoenrton to figure this out.
It’s all about shifting of paradigm, and for most of us, it is a lot less work to stay with limited thinking of inadequacy than it is to honour the truth, which is indeed that we are capable and powerful beyond measure. Moving from the “I can’t” language of pain to the “I will” decision of power is a scary thing that is long overdue for most of us. I’m sure those who attacked Michael White were simply jealous they didn’t have the guts to get the job done themselves! Had they been speaking from a place of power, they would have gladly joined him in the bigger arena…
Kind regards,
Corry
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.”
from a speech by Nelson Mandela