“I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change. I am changing the things I cannot accept.” (Angela Davis) Resigned: adjective. Having accepted something unpleasant that one cannot do anything about. Most of us have points in our life where we face a fork in the road. Midlife and mid-career can be one of those points. We’re ready for something different. We’re tired of the same old thing day in and day out. But how to figure out what’s next? We struggle over making the right choice. We want an EASY button. We hate feeling stuck but expect instant solutions and “aha” moments. Too often, we take the path…
Life Balance
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Struggling to MOVE FORWARD in your life? Maybe it’s time to CLEAR THE CLUTTER
“Simplicity! Simplicity! Simplicity! I say, let your affairs be as two or three, and not a hundred or a thousand; instead of a million count half a dozen, and keep your accounts on your thumb-nail.” (Henry David Thoreau) IF YOU’RE FEELING STUCK, CLEAR OUT THE CLUTTER Have you ever considered that your level of dissatisfaction is proportionate to the amount of clutter in your life? Our lives become cluttered in so many ways. You can probably relate to the idea of too much stuff in your life—attics, garages, closets, corners, or your email box—any available space is filled with stuff. Add to that the clutter on your desk and/or in…
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Ready to play a bigger game? It all starts with a VISION QUEST!
“Create the highest, grandest vision possible for your life, because you become what you believe.” (Oprah Winfrey) “A vision is not just a picture of what could be; it is an appeal to our better selves, a call to become something more.” (Rosabeth Moss Kanter) “Vision always precedes strategy.” (Michael Hyatt) What exactly is a vision quest? Maddisen K. Krown writes that a vision quest is most commonly used as a rite-of-passage ceremony practiced by certain Native American cultures performed to mark significant life transitions or changes. Says Krown: “The vision quest can be a powerful way to acknowledge, mourn, release, welcome, and celebrate important life transitions of any kind.…
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Free Yourself
Instead of trying to make your life perfect, give yourself the freedom to make it an adventure, and go ever upward. (Drew Houston) Every human has four endowments–self awareness, conscience, independent will and creative imagination. These give us the ultimate human freedom…The power to choose, to respond, to change. (Stephen Covey) This weekend, we in the US will celebrate Independence Day–July 4th. For most of us, we’re focused on barbecues, the beach, fireworks, and leaving work early. We don’t always focus on the fact that it commemorates the adoption of the Declaration of Independence 241 years ago on July 4, 1776. Freedom means different things to different people. In…
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RESOLUTION REDUX?
I can’t believe it’s June! Where does the time go? If you’re goal driven–whether it’s a list of New Year’s resolutions, work or business deliverables, or some other form of “just do it” list, June is a good time to review your progress. So, how would you rate your progress? Are you on track or have you misplaced your list? Wherever you are in your progress, mid-year is a good time to reevaluate your goals and objectives for 2017. Here are some questions to get you started: How do I rate my progress on my 2017 goals? Where am I off track and, more importantly, WHY am I off track?…
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Are you moving toward or away from?
Do you often wake up in the middle of the night and wonder whether your life makes sense or where you’re headed? If you feel as if you’re just wandering along on your life’s path with no real sense of direction, it can be difficult to know what course correction(s) you need to make to make sure you don’t find yourself at the end of the road only to realize that you’re nowhere near where you thought you would be. If you want more clarity, imagine yourself on the winding path shown above. Now, without thinking about it too much, ask yourself where you’re headed. Are you moving toward something…
- Creativity, Leadership, Life Balance, Professional Development, The Thursday Project, Time Management
Just Do it
If you find that your work days seem to get away from you, make it a habit–starting TODAY– to refocus your priorities on a DAILY basis. The keys to staying on track are to review your progress DAILY and to ask more questions before jumping in. Here are some that can help you get and stay on track. Nurture the habit to start and end your day going through each of them. These questions will help you focus your day and bring you back to center if you end up off track. Used consistently, you will accomplish more and reduce your stress and anxiety. Bonus tip: If you oversee other…
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Make Time to Smell the….Tulips
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When life is feeling out of control, trying to figure out how to get some quick relief can feel just as overwhelming. Here are some quick tips to get yourself on more solid footing. Stop saying “yes” when you should be saying “no.” Stop saying “no” when you should be saying “hell, yes.” Do it NOW, not tomorrow. Be kind to yourself. Be kind to others. Focus on adding value, not being right. Commit to playing to your strengths whenever and as much as possible. Find a way. Forgive someone because it helps YOU feel better. Unplug. You need a place of quiet to hear yourself think. Otherwise, you’ll blink…
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The Signs of Mid-Career Muddle
You know you’re experiencing mid-career muddle when: You don’t feel refreshed and energized when you return to work after a two week vacation. Your Monday through Friday life is a blur. Most of your non-work activities have fallen off your “to do” list. Who has the time or energy to work out? You’ve been passed over for promotion and you have no idea how to re-energize your career momentum. You’re beginning to feel invisible. It’s finally dawning on you that most of your colleagues are half your age. You’ve been in the same job for more than a few years and can’t remember when you last updated your resume. You…
