ATTITUDES OF A SUCCESSFUL GRIEF COACH Part 3 by Mimi Rothschild

You should give the other person's worldview some credit (even if you can't relate to it).

This guiding concept does not support the view that people can say or do anything they choose. However, as grief coaches, we must maintain complete disinterest in our clients so that we may better grasp their situation from their point of view, even if we don't share that viewpoint ourselves.

As grief coaches, it is our job to assist our clients see how their childhood, background, culture, and education shape their viewpoints. Respectfully and patiently guiding them through this process will help them understand the connection between their viewpoints and their life experiences, which is something we all need to accomplish.

THERE ARE NO BAD PEOPLE, ONLY UNHELPFUL ATTITUDES, HABITS, AND BEHAVIORS

Again, this is a concept that many have trouble accepting. While it's true that we've all encountered "bad" individuals who have harmed, outraged, or annoyed us or others we care about, that doesn't mean we're beyond such behavior ourselves. Can you state with complete honesty that you have never purposely injured, irritated, angered, or offended another person? Just as you probably didn't get out of bed with the purpose of being a horrible person today, it's doubtful that those who are "bad" to us got up that morning with that intention.

People have branded you a horrible person for the same reason that you have branded the person who has caused you trouble: because of what you did to them (consciously or unconsciously). What, you're a horrible person because of that? G