Since 2019, Sri Lankans have been dealing with blow after blow – from the Easter attacks to the pandemic to an unprecedented economic crisis which has resulted in crippling inflation, devastating most households.
Considering what we’ve had to deal with over such a short time, it’s understandable if some feel as though they need a little support to get through it all. This need for support and guidance to navigate turbulent and uncertain times has created a need for professionals who provide these very specific services that fall within the categories of personal development, personality building, and leadership training. In other words, professionals help people make progress in their lives in order to attain greater fulfilment.
This industry can be loosely categorised under Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) – the way of changing someone’s thoughts and behaviours to help them achieve their desired outcomes and grow positively on both a personal and professional level. This type of training had been growing in popularity some years before the pandemic and had been gaining traction as hustle culture placed greater and greater emphasis on people’s need to self-improve.
With the pandemic, life coaches appeared to have increased. However, considering the nature of Sri Lanka’s economic status, the severe lack of disposable income has made it so that people are simply unable to pay for these self-improvement services as they must now prioritise spending on basic necessities.
The need for NLP training, however, remains high. In addition to training individuals, this type of training is also incredibly popular in group settings. Corporate offices and other collectives that are required to work as a unit attend training workshops such as outbound training programmes for team-building purposes.
Self-improvement in a crisis
There is a stark contrast between the definite need for training and assistance in managing oneself in these difficult times and the inability to invest in oneself owing to the current crisis. This disparity is somewhat reflected even in the NLP training world.
Speaking to several Lankan professionals who engage in NLP training and coaching, especially at a time when the crisis has seen so many priorities competing for attention, The Sunday Morning Brunch learnt that as with so many other areas of life at present, while effective personal and group training is a necessity for many, not all have the means to seek out the support they need, especially when they are struggling.
Considering the nature of the times we live in, Motivational Speaker and Life Coach Pramod Weerarathna has taken it upon himself to provide a service during these trying times.
“Because of this crisis, the public is facing numerous problems. Many areas in life that they would otherwise not have been concerned about have emerged as looming issues that simply won’t go away. Amidst all of this, the main issue remains the lack of income and the inability to either invest or save, due to the costs that keep piling on,” he shared.
Weerarathna explained that many of his clients came to him while suffering a near-complete breakdown of their ability to cope. “There are many who struggle due to the instability of our current reality and many who rely on the monotony of life and the predictable nature of routine. However, when the country’s situation fluctuates in this turbulent way, it exerts pressure on those who need order and structure to get through life.”
He added that one of the major complaints he kept hearing was “I can’t plan my future,” which is a byproduct of the daily anxiety one feels owing to the turbulent nature of this crisis.
He shared that owing to his profession and his own situation as a fellow Sri Lankan, he was most empathetic to each of these experiences. “We are all people, and while it is a job, it is also a service. So, while the self-improvement industry has suffered great hits lately, I have decided to offer up my services free of charge on occasion, whenever people are unable to afford them. It is a matter of helping out your fellow man.”
People during crisis
NLP Trainer and Coach Pubudu Erathna spoke of the importance of adapting their own role as coaches to best relate to the mindset their clients were in: “During times of crisis, I’ve had many people who carried with them an abundance of anxiety, fear, and limiting beliefs about their future. So, as a coach, my main intention is always to have a positive impact on their lives.
“During coaching partnerships, we were able to challenge their limiting beliefs, help them develop clarity about the future, and to make them confident enough to face the crisis. As the NLP presupposition shows, ‘People have all the resources they need within them’. As a coach, I was able to successfully partner with clients to inspire them in order to uncover their personal and professional potential.”
According to Erathna, while it is always a collaborative effort, considering the nature of people’s experiences these days, it is even more imperative that he as a coach collaborates with the client in order to inspire and create hope. It is important to empower clients so that once they finish a session, they are able to carry that feeling with them despite the country’s present situation, and not let external forces that are out of their own control dictate their experience of life and living.
Brunch also reached out to Rangiri Holdings Chairman/Managing Director Nihal Pathirage, who manages the cluster of entities under the larger company which includes Rangiri Aqua outbound training grounds and its islandwide branches. Under Rangiri Aqua, Pathirage has trained thousands of corporate and State sector employees at their outbound training camps.
Sharing his thoughts on the impact of the current crisis on people and their needs, Pathirage said: “The public is under a lot of pressure during these difficult times. In addition to this training, I also dabble in textiles and I know very well how the collapse of our economy has affected larger society. I employ hundreds of people and I have seen firsthand the effects of the economic crisis and even as an employer I know that I have a responsibility.”
Being aware of the nature of people’s mindsets, the tailoring of their training content had been organic since he employed trainers who were also from the community and were sensitive to the needs of the people in that area, Pathirage noted.
Outbound training is an ideal way for people to break free of the pressure and monotony they are under. The environment alone helps people take a breather, and part of what is done at outbound training is to help participants disassociate from their experiences back home and fully give in to the activities conducted in the training space.
Pathirage shared that it had been more challenging in the recent past for participants to separate themselves from the stresses of their daily lives. Especially since those in the corporate world and the State sector are under an immense amount of pressure at present, it is quite a task to help them leave it all behind, even just for the one night and two days they will be spending in the partial wilderness.
The majority of trainers noted that they too had been affected by the current crisis, observing that despite this being a time when people were in need of such services, they were simply unable to access them due to rapid inflation leaving no room for spiritual and emotional exploration.
The trainers stated that being introspective and spending time, energy, and money on developing soft skills felt like a luxury, especially for the working class Sri Lankan. As survival takes priority, the development of soft skills – personal attributes that enable someone to interact effectively and harmoniously with other people – is simply not going to take precedence over paying rent or buying the week’s groceries.
Life Coach Dilini Perera also noted that while it may feel like a luxury, there was something to be gained by honing soft skills and also by practising mindfulness, which was what she as a coach helped her clients realise.
“Most people do not understand and are not aware of the power of the mind. We are all connected to a network of brain waves, and living in a negatively charged atmosphere as we do every day will conduct negative energy. I think it is imperative that people take the time to study their minds. There is plenty of evidence of this leading to success in breaking free of difficult situations. The ability to summon the courage and creativity to find the right answers all depend on how much you are willing to invest in yourself,” she said.
