Last year in an interview Vice President Biden told Tom Brokaw that when his son died well wishers empathized, telling him they knew how he’d felt yet in his mind, he told Brokaw, he wanted to yell out—“no you don’t!”
In a world where we treat symptoms a unique group of teachers have emerged to soothe and guide the battered heart—Peer Mentors. We go old school to get someone out of the “stuckness” we can all find ourselves in from time to time.
But, mentorship isn’t about building friendships; it’s brainstorming solutions. I’ve been well trained in therapeutic practices, trauma situations, and providing vocational guidance. Yet it’s learning through others that continually moves me forward. The key to a successful partnership of course is that the mentor has negotiated successfully through the pitfalls of life and work to be of value.
Feeling trapped in a career or not having one can be lonely, and my work goes to the heart of that truth. Together we create action plans to keep them moving forward to the next step. The pain like the relief runs deep.
Peer mentorship is fresh, a vital integration of a universal truth—no one wants to be alone when suffering from loss or stagnation. Not a Vice President, or the rest of us in less huge jobs:) Mentorship is about understanding what motivates our resiliency and using those tools to keep moving. And no one highlights your potential better then the person in the same shoes walking in front and beside you.