Well, it is nearing the end of September and in the Midwest we are already seeing signs of the changing seasons. We are very quickly moving into fall and Summer will soon be just a distant memory. For some, that means the end of playing in the pool, playing on the courts or golf course, digging in the garden, and/or hitting the road for fun. Others see it as the end of a long stretch of being inside - hiding from the sun and it's heat. For many, it signals the end of vacation time or an easier schedule.
Some see autumn as a beginning. The beginning of a new school year. The beginning of football season. The beginning of a stretch of holidays and family festivities. Each of us has our own appreciation, or lack of, for the fall season, but there is nothing we can do to stop it from happening, at least, not as long as we live in the Midwest. So we can decide to accept, embrace or celebrate the coming of autumn. Or we can grumble, fuss, and moan about the change of seasons.
The choice is yours. I guess that is my point today: the choice is yours as to how you react and feel about a change over which you have that little control. I hope you choose to accept the change, but even better would be to embrace it. I encourage you to think of change as an opportunity to experience something different - even though you have been through the change of seasons many times, we have never experienced Autumn, 2011.
Mary Ann Davis, M.A., is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in private practice providing coaching and counseling for life's transitions; including a career or job change, planning for non-retirement, coping with a job loss or empty nest, preparing to return to work or to school, and other life planning issues. She meet with individuals in person and via telephone to assist in finding solutions to life transition issues. Mary Ann is certified as a Master Career Counselor (MCC) by the National Career Development Association (MCC), a Life/Work Counselor by the National Employment Counseling Association, and is a Distance Credentialed Counselor (DCC). If you would like more information on her services, please visit her website at http://www.yourcareerplan.com/.
To contact Mary Ann, please call 513-665-4444 x3 and leave a personal and confidential message or send an email to YourCareerPlan@cinci.rr.com.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
What Did You Want in 2011?
Well, as hard as it may be to believe, we are almost three-quarters through this year. I know I often think of the old adage, "Time flies when you're having fun!" I think it also flies the longer you live. So if you have just looked up and realized another year is fast approaching, perhaps now is a good time to review what you wanted for 2011. If you are a person who wrote out New Years Resolutions, have you looked at them since you wrote them down? If you just made a list in your head, have you thought of what you wanted to do/achieve this year since those first few months moved along?
One of the things I encourage my clients to do when they develop a plan for change is to include some times for a checkup. Kind of like your car needs a 3,000 or 5,000 mile check-up, we could benefit from that as well. For one thing it gives us an opportunity to stop, sit down, and look at what we have accomplished so far. What has happened in these last four or five months? Are things going as planned? Did I even have a plan or is it now just a distant memory? Sometimes life deals us a hand that we did not anticipate and that throws all of our plans out the window. Other times we start on a plan and realize it really won't get us where we want to go or is a longer route than we need to take. So how is your plan?
Have you looked at it since you created it? If not, now is a good time to do so. If you have not been keeping to the plan or somehow gotten off track, there may still be time to get back on track. There is still time to accomplish some things in the last few months we have for this year, but it probably requires you to move into some form of action.
Again, figure out where you are headed and decide if that is still a reasonable and feasible goal. If so, what steps can you take to get back on track? If not, what goal can you put in place to work on? As we move into fall, fight the desire to sit back and just watch the leaves fall. Some activity that moves you in the right direction will feel better as we sit back this winter and reflect upon what we got done in 2011. It would be great to review the year in December and smile about actually accomplishing what you had hoped to during this year.
Mary Ann Davis, M.A., is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in private practice providing coaching and counseling for life's transitions; including a career or job change, planning for return to work or to school, coping with an empty nest, preparing for non-retirement, and other life planning issues. She works with individuals in person and via telephone assisting them to find solutions to life planning issues. Mary Ann is certified as a Master Career Counselor (MCC) by the National Career Development Association, a Life/Work Counselor by the National Employment Counseling Association, and is a Distance Credentialed Counselor (DCC). For more information on her services, please visit www.YourCareerPlan.com.
To contact Mary Ann, please call (513) 665-4444 x3 and leave a personal and confidential voice message or send an email to YourCareerPlan@cinci.rr.com.
One of the things I encourage my clients to do when they develop a plan for change is to include some times for a checkup. Kind of like your car needs a 3,000 or 5,000 mile check-up, we could benefit from that as well. For one thing it gives us an opportunity to stop, sit down, and look at what we have accomplished so far. What has happened in these last four or five months? Are things going as planned? Did I even have a plan or is it now just a distant memory? Sometimes life deals us a hand that we did not anticipate and that throws all of our plans out the window. Other times we start on a plan and realize it really won't get us where we want to go or is a longer route than we need to take. So how is your plan?
Have you looked at it since you created it? If not, now is a good time to do so. If you have not been keeping to the plan or somehow gotten off track, there may still be time to get back on track. There is still time to accomplish some things in the last few months we have for this year, but it probably requires you to move into some form of action.
Again, figure out where you are headed and decide if that is still a reasonable and feasible goal. If so, what steps can you take to get back on track? If not, what goal can you put in place to work on? As we move into fall, fight the desire to sit back and just watch the leaves fall. Some activity that moves you in the right direction will feel better as we sit back this winter and reflect upon what we got done in 2011. It would be great to review the year in December and smile about actually accomplishing what you had hoped to during this year.
Mary Ann Davis, M.A., is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in private practice providing coaching and counseling for life's transitions; including a career or job change, planning for return to work or to school, coping with an empty nest, preparing for non-retirement, and other life planning issues. She works with individuals in person and via telephone assisting them to find solutions to life planning issues. Mary Ann is certified as a Master Career Counselor (MCC) by the National Career Development Association, a Life/Work Counselor by the National Employment Counseling Association, and is a Distance Credentialed Counselor (DCC). For more information on her services, please visit www.YourCareerPlan.com.
To contact Mary Ann, please call (513) 665-4444 x3 and leave a personal and confidential voice message or send an email to YourCareerPlan@cinci.rr.com.
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