So, for those of you who know lyrics to songs, you may recognize that as a phrase from a holiday song from long ago. In that instance, it is a somewhat romantic song, that I think is very pretty. But my question has a little different purpose - what are you doing New Year's Eve in relation to your plans for you for 2012. Well, maybe you plan to create your traditional New Year's resolutions. Or maybe you just have a party on your agenda. Maybe you plan to watch whatever sporting events are on TV. The fact that New Year's Eve falls on a Saturday this year may change your approach to the day.
But whether you work on this on New Year's Eve or some other day - before or just after the beginning of the new year, I encourage you to think about what you plan to do for you and with your life during the exciting year of 2012. We may not know what to expect in terms of some predictions, but we can make the best of our days that we can. Think about what you would like to accomplish - and this might be at work or in your family or your other personal life. What happens to so many people is that we have ideas and sketches of plans in our heads, but in my opinion, until we get it down on paper, it is not really a plan. (Of course, that reference to paper, could also include a computer file, for those who have forgotten what it is like to write things on actual paper!)
So think about what you would like to accomplish, be it something small, medium sized or really big, and begin to develop some plans to make it happen. I really find that having things written out help me to think about what steps I actually need to take to bring the plans into reality. I think it also helps to identify some time frames for when you will complete each part of the plan and develop a system of checkpoints to increase the chances that things will happen in a timely manner.
Happy New Year!
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, coping with a job loss, planning to return to work or to school, preparing for retirement or non-retirement, and other life changes. She has been working with adults in person and via telephone for over 25 years to assist them in finding 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). For more information on her services, please visit her web site 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.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Winter Solstice
This year the Winter Solstice will occur on Thursday, December 22. This is generally thought of as the shortest day, thus the longest night, of the year. It is considered by some as a time of rebirth or of reversals. As such, it seems appropriate that I should encourage you to think about your life and plans you have made, or intended to make. This opportunity for reversal could be a time when you decide you will no longer tolerate a situation that is not healthy for you. Or perhaps just adjust some circumstances that have gotten out of hand and beyond your reach. It could be a time when you decide to take better care of yourself - perhaps resume that exercise program you had started in the summer or the act of leaving your work at work. Maybe you had promised yourself that you would start watching what you eat and adding more veggies to your diet.
Perhaps you're one who wants to spend more time with family or friends but haven't actually gotten around to doing things differently. Maybe you just want to disconnect from technology so you can reconnect with people who are important in your life. Or maybe it is time to start that college program you have been looking at or finish the book you started reading last spring. It could even involve cleaning out your closets to clear the way for new things or clearing your mind to be open and available to new thoughts.
It could be any number of things that you either have not gotten around to or have started, but not completed, or have gotten off the track of your good intentions. You may even need to make a list then you can determine the order in which you plan to do those things that still matter.
Take this opportunity of reversal/rebirth/realignment to regain some control, or order, or peace, or whatever in our life could be improved upon and make 2012 a better year for you.
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, preparing for retirement, planning to return to school or to work, coping with a job loss, or other life transitions. She meets with individuals in person and/or via telephone to assist in 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). To learn more about her services, please visit her web site at http://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.
Perhaps you're one who wants to spend more time with family or friends but haven't actually gotten around to doing things differently. Maybe you just want to disconnect from technology so you can reconnect with people who are important in your life. Or maybe it is time to start that college program you have been looking at or finish the book you started reading last spring. It could even involve cleaning out your closets to clear the way for new things or clearing your mind to be open and available to new thoughts.
It could be any number of things that you either have not gotten around to or have started, but not completed, or have gotten off the track of your good intentions. You may even need to make a list then you can determine the order in which you plan to do those things that still matter.
Take this opportunity of reversal/rebirth/realignment to regain some control, or order, or peace, or whatever in our life could be improved upon and make 2012 a better year for you.
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, preparing for retirement, planning to return to school or to work, coping with a job loss, or other life transitions. She meets with individuals in person and/or via telephone to assist in 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). To learn more about her services, please visit her web site at http://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.
Monday, December 12, 2011
The World is Just Not the Same
I know, that is no big announcement. Anyone over the age of 10 probably realizes that the world is just not the same today as it was yesterday. And that applies if your yesterday was actually just 24 hours ago or if you think of it as 30 or 40 years ago. But the basic statement applies to our daily lives, our families and friends, and our ways of thinking about the world.
As we approach the end of yet another year, we may tend to think about what this particular year has brought and what it has meant. For many of us who are over the age of 30, this year flew by faster than any of the previous years - that is partly because time seems to do that as we continue to mature - and I think partly because we have managed to speed up our lives by taking away some of our own personal "down" time.
So many people these days are constantly "plugged in" which leaves no real time to yourself. That time when you can just sit with your thoughts and let them lead you wherever they will. Those quiet times when you can remember what your daydreams used to entail, when you had high hopes for your future. Without those times, we may lose track of our dreams or forget them entirely. Then when we are thinking about what we should be doing with our lives, we are often at a loss. We may have lost that ability to create something different from our own thoughts. We may have become afraid to think about what we would like to change or do differently in our lives.
If this applies to you, I suggest you unplug for a while - try it in small installments - maybe just 15 or 20 minutes at a time and spend some time with your thoughts. If this needs to be sitting in your bathroom or bedroom with the door locked, so be it. Spend some time thinking about how your life has developed and what, if anything, you would like to do differently. After you have done this for a few days, begin writing down the thoughts that come to you during your quiet time. After a while, you can begin to put together a list of those thoughts and determine which ones you are ready to develop into actual plans.
Find some time for you - time is still going to fly by too quickly, but maybe this way, when you carve out some quiet time next December, you will be able to smile about ways in which you have made changes or at least developed plans to do so. Best wishes.
Mary Ann Davis, M.A. is a Licensed Professional Counselor in Ohio providing coaching and counseling for life's transitions; including a career or job change, planning to return to work or to school, coping with a job loss, preparing for retirement, and other life changes. She meets with individuals in person and via telephone to assit them to find solutions to life transition 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 message or send an email to YourCareerPlan@cinci.rr.com.
As we approach the end of yet another year, we may tend to think about what this particular year has brought and what it has meant. For many of us who are over the age of 30, this year flew by faster than any of the previous years - that is partly because time seems to do that as we continue to mature - and I think partly because we have managed to speed up our lives by taking away some of our own personal "down" time.
So many people these days are constantly "plugged in" which leaves no real time to yourself. That time when you can just sit with your thoughts and let them lead you wherever they will. Those quiet times when you can remember what your daydreams used to entail, when you had high hopes for your future. Without those times, we may lose track of our dreams or forget them entirely. Then when we are thinking about what we should be doing with our lives, we are often at a loss. We may have lost that ability to create something different from our own thoughts. We may have become afraid to think about what we would like to change or do differently in our lives.
If this applies to you, I suggest you unplug for a while - try it in small installments - maybe just 15 or 20 minutes at a time and spend some time with your thoughts. If this needs to be sitting in your bathroom or bedroom with the door locked, so be it. Spend some time thinking about how your life has developed and what, if anything, you would like to do differently. After you have done this for a few days, begin writing down the thoughts that come to you during your quiet time. After a while, you can begin to put together a list of those thoughts and determine which ones you are ready to develop into actual plans.
Find some time for you - time is still going to fly by too quickly, but maybe this way, when you carve out some quiet time next December, you will be able to smile about ways in which you have made changes or at least developed plans to do so. Best wishes.
Mary Ann Davis, M.A. is a Licensed Professional Counselor in Ohio providing coaching and counseling for life's transitions; including a career or job change, planning to return to work or to school, coping with a job loss, preparing for retirement, and other life changes. She meets with individuals in person and via telephone to assit them to find solutions to life transition 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 message or send an email to YourCareerPlan@cinci.rr.com.
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