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It's fall again, and school's back in session. No matter how old we are, it feels like a new year, doesn't it?
September marks important anniversaries and holidays for all of us, in one way or another, and October brings more: I'll be off to my high school reunion this year. Is that what “Homecoming” is really all about? Revisiting “home” after years that bring perspective? With these markers of time passing, the transition from sweet summer into sweeter fall, I've been reflecting on stress and relaxation and how these two states impact our effectiveness in, and out of, work.
The life transitions that we're always going through - whether or not we are aware of them - are profound. They are profound because at some point, we do stop and look at where we are and where we've been, assess how we've been doing, and look at if we're where we want to be or not…doing what we want to be doing, or not.
Most of us are living with a tremendous amount of stress, and we do work at relaxing. We rush to yoga, or to our massage, spend hours organizing a fun, relaxed meal for friends and family. But if we're making a life and career transition - by choice or not - we feel the strain of uncertainty tugging on us morning, noon and night. 'What's going to happen, and when?’ ‘How can I make [XYZ] happen and make it happen faster?’ ‘Will I ever find a job? The news says never!’ ‘This wasn't supposed to happen to me!' Yeeks! Can you feel the tightness happening in your body just reading this? I do, just writing this.
Dealing with this sense of contraction and rush and anxiety makes for a pretty unpleasant way of living. Because most of us believe that we are in charge of everything in our life - it's kind of the American way - we are often quite sure that we have to push and 'make things happen'. And then we blame ourselves when they don't. So we create more stress. Ugh.
My request here, is that we take a few deep breaths, shrug our shoulders up and down several times, and let go of all that holding on. Open your hands, unclench your jaw, and give it up. One of my teachers once said that relaxation, with action, equals confidence. That's really what we're going for, I think. From this place of relaxation, and maybe surrender, we know what action to take next. And can take it from a more energized and clear place. Time is going by whether we want it to or not. Let's aim to be more of our genuine selves by relaxing and listening to what we want and need to do, from clarity, not panic.
To support you in approaching your transitions from this perspective, we have new programs starting in October. These are designed to get your job search and career transition moving effectively. Take a look at our new career coaching workshops, which aim to help you answer “What’s Next?”, and then “What’s The Plan?”
In addition to the two new coaching groups mentioned above, we will also be offering a one-time workshop called “Strengths Found; Now What?”, where we’ll help you to analyze and put to use your inherent strengths. You can read more about this workshop, on our “Events” page.
I am also starting a pilot program on stress management and career transition, an experiential group designed to foster relaxation and internal connection that increases clarity about career and life transition. Group members receive personal and group attention; we will meet twice per month for three months, 2 1/2 hours each meeting. This new group is limited to seven (7) people, and the fee is $248.00 per person, which includes materials. I would like this to be a daytime group and invite those of you who are interested in this offering, to let me know days and times of most interest. I'll get back to you with the final information and location.
Of course, all of these group meetings and workshops are in addition to the one-on-one coaching services that we offer. If you would like more information about one-on-one coaching, please don’t hesitate to contact us to set up a time tospeak with me, or one of our other wonderful coaches. |
