It was a Thursday, a sunny Spring day, daffodils in full bloom, and I could smell the warm dampness of the flower beds and lawn as I crossed the parking lot from my office to my car. “A gorgeous day,” I said aloud, pausing to take in the view. A few moments here would not make me late for my 2:00 pm appointment with psychologist Amy, my business coach.

I gazed at the surrounding maple and oak trees as I waited for the traffic light at the end my street to turn green.

“What a beautiful day,” I thought. “And this is a waste of time, I don’t know why I’m going to see Amy today, things are going well, I’m not having any issues, I’m feeling good about where we are, I’m not sure I have anything to talk about or work through with her today, and… it’s too late to cancel… I could cancel… I’d have to pay her for the session… it’s such a pretty day… OK, I’ll go, but I don’t know why.”

An hour later, I wasn’t literally “a puddle” when Amy and I finished (Amy finished with me?) but I walked slowly from her office 25 yards to sit on a sun-lit, forest green wooden park bench in a flower-lined parklette. Although the wood seat was hard, the warmth of the bench felt good on my back and legs; I turned my face up, toward the sun, took a few long, deep breaths and sat, listening to the wind in the trees.

During the following months I worked with Amy, there were several more “I’ve got nothing to talk about” days and, wouldn’t you know, thanks to Amy, they turned into some of our most productive sessions. [She actually said that to me on one of those days… “Nick, do you not see the pattern? You’re just being arrogant when you show up thinking everything’s good, you don’t need a plan, and that you don’t have any work to do.”] And, on each of those days, I would sit on the park bench or in my car afterward to breathe and process the conversation.

I think of this, from time to time, when I find myself skipping through preparation for a meeting, thinking, “Oh, everything’s good, I’ve got this, there’s nothing I need to prepare.”

I can hear Amy’s voice: “Oh, Nick, you’re just being arrogant.”

Nick Miller and Clarity train banks and bankers to attract and develop deeper relationships with small businesses. Many more Sales Thoughts like this and a host of other articles and resources at https://clarityadvantage.com/knowledge-center/ .