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Archive for the ‘Commitment’ Category

Apply Within Expanding Offerings & Reach

Sunday, January 17th, 2010

woman_clockIn 2009 I wasn’t an active blogger in this space, though I’ve been active on my blog for The Enterprising Moms and elsewhere. The year 2009 was one that brought lots of opportunities and challenges in all areas of my life and certainly impacted how and where I spent my time. My coaching business and this blog were two places where I chose to step back a bit and embrace opportunities available to me through my other ventures and to become more actively involved with my childrens’ schools.

The Enterprising Moms, the organization I founded for women who are ‘growing businesses while growing families’ grew immensely over the past year and got lots of traction. Our membership grew greatly, much of it by word-of-mouth referrals. We began offering networking and educational programs and workshops and held our first holiday Biz-aar last year. So many new opportunities and so many firsts! A truly rewarding year!

At my son’s preschool, where I’m a part-time co-director, I was able to put skills from past work experience and that with The Enterprising Moms to work in new and creative ways. At times, especially when I realized that this work was taking up more time that I had anticipated, it was overwhelming. But, because doing this work and having an impact on this wonderful non-profit holistic pre-school was important to me, I analyzed my time and developed new ways structure things to make it workable.

One of my favorite words is evolution, ‘a process of continuous change from a lower, simpler, or worse to a higher, more complex, or better state.’

I think of my life, and everything and everyone in it as evolving and by doing so, I’ve learned to embrace the fact that what works today, tomorrow and this month, may not be what works six months from now. Committing to a path based on what I know today, does not mean I have to commit to that path forever. Change is part of the process of life.  We can hold steadfast as the world, our circumstances, or children, etc. all change around us or we can accept and embrace change and integrate how we deal with change and transitions into the  way we live our lives.

There is tremendous freedom in giving ones self permission to explore, be flexible, be creative and to adapt as life changes – to evolve. It’s through is way of thinking that I have greater sense of flow in my life and all of it’s dimensions. It’s this sense of flow that helps me to address that feeling of stuckness that sometimes shows up and it enables me to reconnect with my essence.

And it’s this sense of flow and the process of evolution that’s breathed new life and opportunities into Apply Within and this space. In 2010 I’m expanding my offerings to including consulting and coaching services. I’m excited to work with moms (and dads) in a new ways and meet them where they are and offer different approaches to helping them get to where they want to be. You can learn more about my offerings and approach on my web site. In the meantime, please subscribe to this blog, ‘Living in Choice‘ and to ‘The Enterprising Blog‘ for more insights and updates and ponder the following:

  • Where do you get stuck?
  • What gets you unstuck?
  • How do you keep the flow in your life?

New Year’s Resolutions, or Not …

Saturday, January 3rd, 2009

It’s January 3rd — have you made your resolutions, yet? Fear not, neither have I. It’s not that I don’t believe in setting goals. I do, emphatically. But, I’m not a big fan of traditional resolutions. So, here are a few suggestions for getting the year off to a good start using a different approach …

Before you look ahead, look back and ask yourself a few questions:

What is your own personal definition of success?

  • Now, with that definition in mind (and canceling out the definitions of your spouse/partner, parents, boss, colleagues, friends and others), what were your greatest successes of the past year?
  • What did you learn from what you achieved and what are you going to do about it? (How will you use this knowledge moving forward?)

What were your greatest challenges?

  • What did you learn by confronting those challenges, or not confronting them, and what are you going to do about it?

Take some time to reflect on the broad spectrum of experiences from the past year. What can you take away from your peaks and valleys and the everyday rhythm of life that will have a positive impact on how you live your life tomorrow?

Now, looking ahead to tomorrow and beyond …

What do you want your life to look like a year (or five or ten years) from now (your ideal scenario; dare to dream!)?

  • Where are you?
  • What are you doing?
  • Who is there with you?
  • What are you most excited about?
  • What was your greatest achievement?
  • What was your greatest challenge and how did you handle it?

(Pay close attention to how you feel as you create this scenario and where you feel it in your body)

Flash back to today … Now that you have a better sense of what your future looks like …

  • Is the path that you’re currently on going to get you there?
  • If not, how do you need to be different in order to get there (more confident, resilient, aggressive, assertive, laid back, willing to ask for help/support, accepting of help/support, etc.)?
  • What do you need more of in your life in order to achieve your goals and how will you ensure that you get it?
  • What do you need less of in your life in order to get there and what changes will you make to ensure your success?

At the end of all of this, you won’t have a bulleted list, and you shouldn’t. The goal is to take the time to be with and learn from past experiences and envision what you want for the future. This enables you to create your intentions for the coming year from a more empowered place based on increased awareness, clarity and knowledge. The focus is less on the circumstances and logistics and more on how it feels — in your body and soul. Pay attention to your energy and use it create the goals that will set you on the path to where you want to be tomorrow, next year and five years down the line.

How do you set resolutions, goals, and intentions for the upcoming year? What helps to keep you on track?

Committing to Change

Friday, October 26th, 2007

“The moment you commit and quit holding back, all sorts of unforeseen incidents, meetings and material assistance will rise up to help you. The simple act of commitment is a powerful magnet for help.” — Napoleon Hill

I came across the above quote in an email signature recently, and it really caught my eye. Once upon a time, I would have read right past it. But, since I made the decision a few years ago to take my career in a new direction, I feel as though I’ve lived this quote over and over again.

When I decided change careers and become a life and career coach, it felt as though just about everyone with whom I came into contact was somehow connected to my journey. You know that feeling when you buy a car, and then suddenly you start noticing that same car everywhere? Well, that’s how it was for me. And at times, it felt surreal.

I’d always been a bit slippery when it came to making decisions. Whether ordering a meal off a menu, or a more complex thing, like buying a computer, I’d research and research until I’d accumulate so much information that I’d become overwhelmed and paralyzed, unable to make any decision at all.

But, there I was, in a job that was going the way of Apple’s Newton, and I needed to figure out what was next for me. With the help of a career counselor I figured out what I wanted to do and then (deep breath!), I made the commitment to do it.

Making that commitment was a huge leap for me. And, I found that once I made that leap, each subsequent leap or decision became a little bit easier. With every step that I took towards my goal, it seemed as though more hands were reaching out, helping to propel me further along my path. My mind became open to new possibilities and I became more willing to take risks. I developed a new sense of confidence my decision-making ability and a new sense trust in my choices.

Today, as I think about other major decisions in my life, like deciding, with my then boyfriend, to move away from Boston without jobs or even a certain destination, I marvel at how things just seemed to fall into place. I got a temporary job with an organization I was absolutely thrilled to work for and eventually landed a permanent position. A bookstore chain for which my husband worked was opening a new store in the very city where I landed a job. Once we’d committed to moving, so many things seemed to converge to facilitate the process.

What I thought of as strange coincidence then, I now realize stems from living in empowered choice!

What’s one thing you’ve been longing to do, but have been holding back on? Pick one thing, anything. Make a leap, open your mind, and see what happens …