As of this writing, tomorrow is 11/11/11. That is a significant date in terms of many issues, and I encourage you to think about what creative energy you can utilize to make changes in your life. Know that you have the capability to make changes - but you must believe and act. It is not sufficient to believe and sit back and wait for things to happen differently. If you do the same things the same way, you will likely get the same results. Also if you act differently but do not believe it will make a difference, it probably won't. That's why you need the combination of belief and actions to make changes in your life.
I, like so many others, encourage you to take some time, preferably today, to think about how you would like your life to be different in the future. You can begin to plan for a different future, but you need to know what you want and what should be different. You may wish to consider your personal relationships and your other life situations to determine what is working for you and what is somewhat lacking. If there are people in your life who are always down on life in general, consider how much time you need or want to spend with that person. Negativity tends to bring on more negativity. If there are people you have met who are positive and forward thinking, you may want to consider how you could increase time spent with those people. A positive attitude is very contagious.
Also think about the other aspects of your life. If there are areas in which you are not happy, think about what it would take to turn that around. Is it something within your grasp? Do you have the ability to bring about the change you desire, if you put your mind and your efforts into it? If so, develop your plan for a new way of acting and thinking. Make tomorrow the beginning of a better life for you.
Mary Ann Davis is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in private practice providing coaching and counseling for life's transitions; including a career or job change, planning to return to work or school, preparing for non-retirement, and other life planning issues. She meets with individuals in person and via telephone to assist them through her change guidance system. 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 her web site at 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.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
What Do You Want? (part 2)
Once you have narrowed down your list of things you would like to add in your life, I encourage you to find ways to create the life you want. I encourage my clients to develop plans to bring about the necessary change. Some of you may be more into planning than others, but I find it works well for most people.
Start by figuring our where you are now in relation to where you want to be in life. Are you just a few steps away from getting what you want, or will it be a long hill to climb? Only you can decide if the distance is within reach. If it is, then write out what you need to do to get you where you want to be. You may need to do some research on the topic, but through the Internet you can discover information about so many topics, that it is not as difficult these days as research used to be. So do some reading, if need be, and figure out what it will require.
Then think about how long you will allow to get where you want to be. Do you need to be there yesterday or will sometime in the next 18 months or 3 or 5 years suffice? What kind of time frame can you work with? Once you have that, you can begin to chart out what you need to do in smaller increments to get you where you want to be. Some people work best with a monthly planner. Each month they assign a task from their "To Do" list to move them closer to their goal. If you are working with a short time frame, you may need a weekly "To Do" list.
It helps many people to include as many details as possible in their plan so it is less likely they will miss a step. I also encourage you to include some check points in your plan - times when you will make a conscious effort to check on your progress. That tends to eliminate looking up in a few months or next year and finding that you started on your plan but somewhere along the line got derailed and it has been on the back burner ever since.
The other suggestion is that the items on your "To Do" lists should be things that are within your ability to do or to make happen. That way you are not dependent on someone else to help you get to where you want to go.
Life is short, I encourage you not to spend it wishing and hoping but planning and doing.
Mary Ann Davis is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in private practice providing coaching and counseling for life's transitions; including a career or job change, planning to return to work or to school, preparing for non-retirement, and other life transitions. She meets with individuals in person and via telephone to assist in developing solutions to their 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). Please visit her web site at www.YourCareerPlan.com for more information on her services. 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.
Start by figuring our where you are now in relation to where you want to be in life. Are you just a few steps away from getting what you want, or will it be a long hill to climb? Only you can decide if the distance is within reach. If it is, then write out what you need to do to get you where you want to be. You may need to do some research on the topic, but through the Internet you can discover information about so many topics, that it is not as difficult these days as research used to be. So do some reading, if need be, and figure out what it will require.
Then think about how long you will allow to get where you want to be. Do you need to be there yesterday or will sometime in the next 18 months or 3 or 5 years suffice? What kind of time frame can you work with? Once you have that, you can begin to chart out what you need to do in smaller increments to get you where you want to be. Some people work best with a monthly planner. Each month they assign a task from their "To Do" list to move them closer to their goal. If you are working with a short time frame, you may need a weekly "To Do" list.
It helps many people to include as many details as possible in their plan so it is less likely they will miss a step. I also encourage you to include some check points in your plan - times when you will make a conscious effort to check on your progress. That tends to eliminate looking up in a few months or next year and finding that you started on your plan but somewhere along the line got derailed and it has been on the back burner ever since.
The other suggestion is that the items on your "To Do" lists should be things that are within your ability to do or to make happen. That way you are not dependent on someone else to help you get to where you want to go.
Life is short, I encourage you not to spend it wishing and hoping but planning and doing.
Mary Ann Davis is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in private practice providing coaching and counseling for life's transitions; including a career or job change, planning to return to work or to school, preparing for non-retirement, and other life transitions. She meets with individuals in person and via telephone to assist in developing solutions to their 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). Please visit her web site at www.YourCareerPlan.com for more information on her services. 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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