This past weekend was a beautiful fall weekend with a blue sky and a warm fall afternoon. I decided to actually do no work and to just enjoy the beauty that surrounds me here deep in the colorful woods of NJ. As I was sitting in my gazebo contemplating life and fall and drinking in the last warm days of 2011, I began to think about all of those who are dissatisfied with something in their lives. I bean to ponder the continuous in fighting over political parties and who has the right answer, the protesters who are again present on the pages of history as they have been so many time before, those folks roaming aimlessly in the mall trying to find something to buy, the families in turmoil around money and power within the family. It made me very sad.
Then it dawned on me. All of these people are chasing after something that can never be filled. No matter the outcome of the political solution, some folks will not be happy. The yelling will dull to a smoldering smoky grumbling, but the unrest will still be present. Those who are protesting will wake up and realize they can't live in a park for years on end and slowly disappear back to the life they had before. Those malls will fill up every weekend with people searching for something to fill the void and they will never be full. Those families will always be struggling because they have no common ground to agree upon and life will be miserable until they make a bigger decision.
We are trying to quench a fiery thirst that cannot be easily quenched.
Let me ask you, what is it that you are continuously searching for each day?
When you strip all of your own pretense away and the story that you tell yourself about what you think you need and want, what is actually left? It is actually something much deeper. Deep inside of you that you can't put your finger on. It is a longing for something that perhaps you have never felt before or that you may have felt long ago and it is only a distant whisper.
Look around you right now. What is that? Are you not surrounded by more shoes than you can wear on any given day? Are you not standing with the refrigerator door open looking for something to eat and there is no blank shelf space? Are you not totally connected on every social networking site out there and texting so that you have callouses and yet you are still lonely?
What is missing?
Where does on go to find "IT"?
Who has found "IT"?
Tell me if you have the answer.
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Last time we talked about Personal Growth and today I'd like to talk about the second of the the three growth areas: "Professional Growth". Now I am sure that when I write the words, you know exactly what I am talking about. I would like to take you further into this conversation and really challenge you to think about this one.
As a professional coach, I have clients who are looking for a new job, those who have lost their jobs and those who are just feeling unfulfilled and empty in a dead end job where they feel stuck. I have a series of questions and thought provoking conversations around what these clients really want out of a job and to get out of their heads and really to plan and think about where they want to be, what they want to do and most important how they are going to get there. To my amazement over and over the thought that they might need new skills, new or different knowledge or that they might just need a whole new base from which to grow is not on their radar.
In today's tough economic environment the best investment you can make is in the re-education and expansion of yourself through "Professional Growth". Yes, there is so much unemployment, but there are also millions of jobs that are going unfilled, for this very reason. The skill set of the workforce does not match the skill set that the work place needs. This gap can only be closed through retraining and re-education of the work force and this come through Personal Growth.
It probably has not gone unnoticed by you, but whatever your field is has advanced tremendously since you spent your first day on the job. Technology even in the "trades" has forced tradesmen and women to become more current with technology and the use of their essential equipment on the job. This is a form of "Professional Growth". Nurses and technicians in many fields are routinely sent to training to update their skills and knowledge in order to meet the growing demands of their jobs. This training says nothing about your mental capacity or your knowledge. When there is something new we learn and adapt and it is no different in your professional life.
I am reminded about my first iPad2; the Apple sales person told me to: "just play with it" and you will get the hang of it. To me the whole piece of technology was foreign and it was like trying to scale Mt. Everest without training. With lots of help and time, I got the hang of it.
So, what do you believe when it comes to the topic of "Professional Growth"?
Where did you get that belief from?
Is this belief moving you forward or holding you back in your professional life?
Where do you want and need to grow your knowledge and skills in the "Professional Growth" area?
Who would you ask today about that?
When will you sign up?
What will happen in your professional life once you complete this area of growth?
Filed under Awareness, Grow, Growth, Start Grow Prosper, Women In Business by
Sometimes in our lives we come to a season when we believe or feel that something more is needed. When I coach clients on this, they usually have a hard time putting what they feel into words, and they stumble around with their thoughts. Let me ask you: when was the last time you actually "grew yourself"?
Perhaps you are a newly wed and you never had any type of instruction on laundry, preparing a complete meal, decorating a home, planting a garden of flowers, home maintenance, working with multiple people and calendars, planning a vacation for four, saving money for holiday entertaining and so on. Where would you go to get this information? I know the two obvious answers: text a friend or put the topic in the Google search bar.
But, I'm talking about something more enriching that the quick fix. I'm talking about really learning something and storing it in your memory to pass on to your own children and to get a set of personal bearings in your life from which you can draw on.
Were you ever taught by a parent, or other role model or influencer in your life that bettering yourself through knowledge was essential to keeping a healthy active alert mind? Who was that person? What advice have you actually heeded?
You know we all get those community magazines about what our local community is teaching. I know that when I was a young bride and mother, I was always looking in these items to find things that I might like to learn or that my children expressed an interest in.
Let me give you an example that really taught me something that I still use today. When my husband began to climb the corporate ladder he often liked to have dinner parties for those in his direct report circle to create new relationships and to bond with those he worked with. The entertaining part was my forte and I loved being a hostess. So one day one of these events was on the family calendar and I wanted to do something different and to challenge myself and to expand my own expertise as a hostess. I looked into one of our community newspapers and found a class on how to make these elegant flowers from vegetables. The price was reasonable and included the unique tools for the job. I loved it. I was amazed at the tools and what they could do and how I could create a visual presentation that had my husband and guests all talking. I still use those skills today and believe it or not I still have those same tools some 30 years later.
Now this is just a very small example, and you probably have something that is weighing on you and you have no idea how to solve the problem. It's time for some personal growth.
You know, no one knows everything. So what do you believe about "Personal Growth Opportunities"?
Who did you learn that from?
How will you use what you learn to enhance your life, your family's life and those whom you come in to contact with?
Filed under Awareness, Feedom, Growth, Start Grow Prosper, Women In Business by