Winter Thoughts

About a week ago or so, grey clouds blanketed my city, a wet mist and sometimes rain fell steadily, a very damp chill settled into the air, my bones, and my hardwood and tiled home, and winter firmly announced its arrival (at least by Central Texas standards). About this time, I noticed that my thoughts and feelings started to cloud over a bit too. As the dreary weather continued for many more days, I noticed that my and other people's vibrational frequencies were sinking lower and lower. We were all spiraling downward a bit, some more than others.

As I increase my own self-awareness, I am developing the ability to observe my internally generated negativity from a third person perspective. Standing in the place of an observer of your own thoughts and feelings can sometimes be enough to interrupt them and allow you to shift to a higher, more positive energy level. But this past week I struggled a little longer -- unable for several days to let go of my critical thinking about a number of issues: several relationships, my coaching business, finances, my children. This thinking did nothing to improve any of these issues and certainly created low-level anxiety and somberness.

I have been studying and learning more about how humans use thought, and conducting numerous informal experiments with my own experience with thinking and my observation of others. While our minds are one of our greatest assets when used in an intentional, focused fashion to learn, study, reason, communicate and solve problems, it is also one of our greatest liabilities. If you haven't noticed, your mind bombards you with approximately 65,000 thoughts a day. You may think you are in control of your mind and thoughts, but it is really the other way around. The mind runs on incessantly, on autopilot, unless we affirmatively develop practices and techniques to quiet it down.

When the mind is in the autopilot mode, it is at best an unfortunate, unconscious barrier to connecting with our intuition, inner creativity, wisdom, and the peace and lightness that accompanies being truly present in the moment. Instead of focusing specifically on the task right before us, whatever it is, we run through our list of things to do, or the conversation we need to have with our partner about the kids' schedule, or the lyrics of the song we just heard on our iPod. This kind of thinking doesn't result in any real negative experience or feeling association, but it does deprive us of a very peaceful and joyful sense that we would otherwise experience by being completely focused in the present moment.

Farther down the spectrum, the mind actually creates incredibly negative interpretations and stories that we grab on to as truth about otherwise neutral facts and circumstances that we observe through our senses. While we might be able to readily acknowledge this statement when we see someone experience some pretty severe paranoia, we probably don't see as easily the ways that we create negative, false interpretations about everyday occurrences -- the email our boss sent us, the tone in the help-desk technician's voice, our partner's quietness, our friend's failure to return our call, the neighbor who never says "hi" when we pass on the sidewalk. The degree to which we engage negative interpretations about people and circumstances, and the events that trigger this thought process in us, depend in large part on the often unconscious assumptions and beliefs that we have developed about the world over time.

One objective of the coaching relationship is to bring to a client's awareness their assumptions and beliefs about themselves and the world that are serving as obstacles or roadblocks to their development and achieving what they desire. Even without a coach, we can begin to look generally at whether our world-view assumptions and beliefs serve us in a positive way. What I mean by "positive" is whether your thoughts cause you to experience the world as a safe place, filled with abundance, and full of possibility. Or do you see the world as unsafe, with scarce resources, and fraught with obstacles and limitations? Do you believe that people are basically good or evil, coming from a place of goodwill or ill intent? Even if you believe that you fall on the side of "positive" thinking, you can still increase your effectiveness in the world and experience more joy and less negativity by closely watching how you use thought, and by developing practices to become more present focused.

Fifteen minutes a day of quiet, present moment contemplation can have a tremendous, positive impact on our moods and energy. Doing yoga, tai chi and other similar mind-body integration practices have the same effects. But for those that can't seem to make room in their day for these activities, there is another practice you can develop that doesn't require any more time and will yield some of the same benefits.

Throughout your day, as often as you can, focus only on what is immediately in front of you -- the task or activity that you are at that moment engaged in. In the shower each morning, bring your awareness and focus to each of the discrete tasks you do rather than the meeting you have later that morning. If you are in the car, turn off the radio (and the Blackberry) and focus specifically on everything associated with driving: the feel of the steering wheel, the hum of the motor, the cars directly in front of you. Turn all of the most mundane tasks -- unloading the dishwasher, folding laundry, mowing the yard, taking out the trash -- into opportunities to practice present moment awareness. I predict that you will find it very difficult to do. But the more you practice, the easier it gets and you will start to crave the sense of peace and relaxation that flows.

Contemplating and undertaking change in our work and life is a challenging process that can be navigated most successfully with increased awareness of ourselves. Noticing how we use thought and developing practices to turn our mind off "autopilot" will greatly enhance our effectiveness.

Wishing all of us sunny skies and warm-weather thinking.
Teresa

Possibilities

I have been reading a new gem of a book - The Art of Possiblity -- by Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander.  I stumbled onto this book in an unusual place (a clothing store) while Christmas shopping and it became one of admittedly several items I treated myself to while I was hunting and gathering presents for others.  It was originally published by the Harvard Business School Press in 2000 and then published by Penguin Books in 2002.  

The word "possibility" has been crossing my path over and over again since I decided to embark on my new career and life journey.  I suddenly hear friends, coaches, ministers, politicians, and business leaders using it.  I see it referred to in books and articles I am reading.  I find myself saying it in a variety of different conversations and contexts.  I suspect that this word has always been in my environment, but is just now coming into my consciousness; similar to the experience you have when you buy a new car and suddenly begin to see how many people drive the same vehicle.  Or when a woman becomes pregnant and she starts to see dozens of pregnant women on a daily basis. 

When I began to think about the word "possibility" in more depth, I first wanted to see how it was officially defined.  According to one dictionary, possibility is something that is capable of happening or occurring; capable of favorable development or potential.  One of the outcomes that clients can typically expect to experience with a professional coach is the ability to envision new possibilities for themselves that they weren't previously able to see or embrace.  Often these possibilities are created from the same set of circumstances that previously presented obstacles for the client and were a source of discontent.  

The Art of Possibility gives readers a number of tools for transforming apparent roadblocks into new pathways.  The Zanders' premise is that "many of the circumstances that seem to block us in our daily lives may only appear to do so based on a framework of assumptions we carry with us.  Draw a different frame around the same set of circumstances and new pathways come into view.  Find the right framework and extraordinary accomplishment becomes an everyday experience."  

It is interesting to me that the book was commissioned by the Harvard Business School Press for a business as well as a lay audience.  But what fascinates me is that Rosamund and Ben work primarily in the arts.  Ben is the conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, and is also a gifted teacher and communicator who often speaks to corporate executives and other leaders around the world.  Rosamund comes from a background of family therapy, but also facilitates conflict resolution in the corporate world.  She is also an accomplished landscape painter.  So I was intrigued to learn what the Harvard Business school thought these two individuals had to say about "possibility," as well as explore further the institution's apparent acknowledgment that the synergy created at the intersection of the arts, business and personal growth is important in shaping the leaders of our corporations, and the future of our global markets and society.  

The Zanders outline a set of 12 practices that individuals can implement that are designed "to initiate a new approach to current conditions, based on uncommon assumptions about the nature of the world."  They posit that based on historical transformational phenomena -- like the Internet or major scientific paradigm shifts -- transformation happens "less by arguing cogently for something new than by generating active, ongoing practices that shift a culture's experience of the basis for reality."  So the practices they present in the book are not intended to be for mere self improvement, or to achieve incremental changes.  But they are instead designed to cause a total shift of "posture, perceptions, beliefs, and thought processes."  I will attempt to describe briefly three of the practices that I found particularly attractive -- Rule Number 6, It's All Invented, and Giving an A.  

The Rule Number 6 practice is first illustrated in an engaging and amusing story-joke that reveals its essence as "Don't take yourself so g___damn seriously."  In all circumstances, we are admonished to lighten up and by doing so we might just light up those around us.  When we practice Rule Number 6, we invite more play and fun into our lives.  We also begin to shed certain less desirable aspects of our humanity -- pride, entitlement, the tendency to look out for Number One -- and open ourselves to the possibility of meaningful connection and cooperation with others.  The Zanders share several anecdotes involving a musical performance, a contract dispute, and "The Best Sex Ever" game to illustrate the power of Rule Number 6.  I hope over time I can encompass a little more Rule Number 6 into this Blog.

It is terribly hard to convey the rich meaning of each of the practices without simply wanting to copy major pieces of text from the book.  The book contains such a unique blend of personal anecdotes, parables, jokes, excerpts from literature and other writing conventions that my own words to describe its themes seem exceedingly ordinary and ineffective.  I will continue to quote from the book directly and paraphrase to some degree and hope that I haven't gone too far over the lines.  

The concept with It's All Invented is that at a very fundamental level, our experience of the world is created from our brain -- from our thoughts and feelings.  No matter how objective we try to be, the mind constructs.    So if "it's all invented anyway, we might as well invent a story or a framework of meaning that enhances our quality of life and the life of those around us." This doesn't mean that you can simply wish new circumstances to magically appear in your life.  But you can choose underlying assumptions that support and enhance what you desire.  When I presented the very metaphysical supposition that your thoughts create your reality to my very rational, logical, scientifically-inclined husband the other day, and asked him whether he thought this was true, he said simply "of course."  So much for my thinking that I was bringing astounding new revelations to his attention.  

But the practice described in The Art of Possibility explores a slightly different concept than what is being written and discussed in great detail concerning the latest research into the mind-body-life connection (i.e., change your thoughts, change your life).  The Zanders' focus is on the network of hidden assumptions and meanings that we all bring to our interpretation of the world and the people we encounter.   It appears to me to be similar to the "Ladder of Inference," which is a model for problem solving and understanding human behavior articulated by noted business writers Chris Argyris and Donald Schon in their book Theory in Practice.  If you step back from the beliefs that you have developed (and the story you have invented based on those beliefs) and look at what assumptions you are making (probably even unconsciously) about a situation, you can choose to invent a different set of assumptions that when applied to the situation allow for the possibility of a different choice and outcome.

The practice of Giving an A has several layers of meaning, but it is fundamentally about assuming the best in others and viewing them as coming from a place of ultimate potential and possibility -- even absolute actualization -- rather than a place of deficiency or having to prove their worthiness before we will accept them or legitimize them.  I think a great way of implementing Giving an A is in the context of conflict with an important person in our life.  If you can assume even in the midst of their stubbornness, their arrogance, their lack of empathetic responses that at their core they are a person who is doing their best and probably coming from a place of good intention despite outward appearances in the moment, you let go of the labels you project onto their behavior (e.g., stubborn, arrogant, uncaring) and create a space and an opportunity for them to shift into a place of cooperation and connection.  We have little if nothing to lose by trying this approach, as our other strategies for managing conflict (e.g., assigning blame, becoming defensive) have likely yielded little satisfaction or meaningful resolution on either person's part.  

A large portion of the chapter is devoted to Ben Zander's often humorous description of his first experiment in Giving an A to his musical students at the beginning of the semester.  The only condition he put on their grade was that they write him a letter immediately, but dated at the end of the semester, that described what they did to earn the A.  By allowing his students to project an A onto themselves (and their work and performance in his class) at the beginning of the semester, they were able to actually manifest this A work as the semester progressed.  

One of my favorite sections of the Giving an A chapter is titled "The Secret of Life."  Ben Zander shares an endearing anecdote that illustrates how one student's experience with Zander's Giving an A experiment also revealed the inherent brilliance and truth of It's All Invented.  Mr. Zander explains that a few weeks into the the first semester of giving an A he asked his class how it had felt to them to start the semester off with an A, before they had to prove themselves in any way.  A young Taiwanese student raised his hand and explained:

"'I was Number 68 out of 70 student (in Taiwan).  I come to Boston and Mr. Zander says I am an A.  Very confusing.  I walk about, three weeks, very confused.  I am Number 68, but Mr. Zander says I am an A student...I am Number 68, but Mr. Zander says I am an A.  One day I discover much happier A than Number 68.  So I decide I am an A.'

(Ben then observes that) this student, in a brilliant flash, had hit upon the secret of life.  He had realized that the labels he had been taking so seriously are human inventions -- it's all a game. The Number 68 is invented and the A is invented, so we might as well choose to invent something that brightens our life and the lives of the people around us."

I experienced my own encounter with It's All Invented in my first year of law school. Having historically been at the top of my class, or very close, in both high school and college, it was initially quite disturbing to receive several fairly low first semester grades, which would count anywhere from 20-30% toward my first year final grades.  I struggled for a number of days, maybe even weeks, with my new "less-than identity" -- an average student in several classes.  I questioned, at least briefly, whether I had made the right decision going to law school.  Finally, one day I thought to myself:  I liked myself before I received these grades.  I thought I was smart and capable the moment before I saw these grades.  How could I have suddenly changed because I opened a piece of mail?  Well, of course, I hadn't.  So I decided to mentally reinvent myself as a like-able, smart and capable law student again.  And sure enough, I was.

Like Ben Zander did with his students, I am going to give myself an A for the work I will do as a coach over the course of my life.  I earned this A because I invented a new career and life-framework for myself, and I shared my experience and vision with others who also became wildly happy and successful, and I ardently practiced Rule Number 6.

Teresa

Reflection and Anticipation

New Year's Eve brings a time of reflection and anticipation for many people, myself included.  Part of my living a purposeful and passion-filled life involves taking time to reflect on what transpired for me this past year -- events, relationships, accomplishments, disappointments -- and develop further insight into how they influenced and shaped both my "person" and my life.  And like many people this time of year, I look forward to the next year and envision what I want to create, experience and achieve.  

The most significant development this past year for me involved both loss and unexpected gain.  When my company was acquired by a larger competitor and it became evident that most of the people in my department (including me), as well as many others that I had worked closely with in other functional areas would not survive, I experienced much grief over the loss of a job I enjoyed and business relationships that I knew would not continue in the same fashion.  I didn't realize until the loss was imminent how much I enjoyed working with the people that had come to be a part of my weekly, if not daily, experience.  I was particularly surprised at the intensity of my grief given that many of the people I was working closely with I had only been introduced to in the past year.

One of the characteristics that can occur during times of acute change in the workplace is that people open up, let their guard down, and let others into their previously private places.  As the acquisition/dissolution unfolded over the course of several months, I began for the first time to have meaningful conversations with colleagues that I had worked with for months and in some cases years.   Some of these co-workers I saw almost daily, and others I had never met face to face and had previously interacted with only superficially.  These colleagues shared their values with me.  They shared their life philosophies with me.  And in some cases their fears.  It was inspiring and, simply speaking, great.  It was also bittersweet, because it took losing our jobs to gain these new ways of connecting.  There are many wonderful, spirit-filled people in the workplace.  It is a shame that due to our corporate cultures, our insecurities, our belief that we are different and separate from each other, that we keep our spirits hidden away at work.  

I wonder how much happier, productive, creative, insightful, and effective we could be at work if we allowed our full selves to show up on a regular basis?  Exploring this topic and helping others experience these results is one of the intentions and visions I have for my clients (individuals and organizations) that I intend to manifest through my coaching.

It is impossible for me to examine this past year without reflecting on several special, important, and in some ways life-changing relationships that were revealed to me as a result of my association with Solectron.  Some of them were existing relationships that evolved and changed in unexpected and delightful ways, and others were new ones that were delivered to me like a surprise package.  They all are divine and serve to inspire, heal, inform and enrich my life significantly.  They are relationships that won't continue in the same fashion as before, but will instead become richer, fuller and bring continued growth and blessings to my life.  I am grateful to all of you.

The holidays have served as both an intermission and a bridge for me -- creating a symbolic time-out from the busyness that we get caught up in as well as providing a transition from the life I was living in 2007 to the one I am going to create in 2008.  The lack of outwardly-directed activity and structure -- businesses closing, friends focused on their families and celebrations, no meetings or coffees or lunches to attend -- has felt at times like an unwelcome interruption to my favorite team's bowl game.  It has also given me time to be more present with myself and my family, and to gain some perspective on the events that happened in 2007.  

I am anxious to turn my attention to next year.  It holds tremendous potential. When I am feeling hopeful, optimistic and inspired, I know that pursuing my life-purpose in my work will bring new and wonderful people and experiences into my life, deepen my existing friendships, and provide me with an abundance of financial reward.  I know I will have a positive and affirming impact on those I engage with as well. As the friend of author and former attorney Tama J. Kieves said, "if you're this successful doing work you don't (absolutely) love, what could you do with work you do love."   The coming year will also present additional change and challenges -- intellectually, emotionally and financially.  But I am developing new tools, new insights and a deeper faith to manage the inevitable unsteadiness and sometimes downright terror that accompanies major changes and associated challenges.  

I have noticed that writers in the area of personal growth, coaching, and other spiritual endeavors almost always include inspirational quotations.  This is one of my current favorites:

The world lies in the hands of those

who have the courage to dream and

who take the risk of living out their dreams

 -- each according to his or her own talent.

The Valkyries

Blessings and peace for the New Year.

Teresa

Dancing with the Stars

I received a very thoughtful and special present from my husband today.  A book titled This Time I Dance!  Creating the Work You Love by Tama J. Kieves.  I won't describe the details of how it came into his possession, but let's just say that there was definitely divine guidance involved.  He knew it was the perfect book for me when he read that the author had been a successful Harvard Law grad and corporate attorney who left her large firm and substantial salary to become a writer, career coach, workshop facilitator, and general encourager to others wanting to pursue their dreams.  

In addition to the obvious reasons that the book is a good fit for me at this stage in my journey, there is another less obvious reason that has special significance to me -- its title.  Dancing is a former creative endeavor of mine that had tremendous positive influence in shaping my childhood and young adulthood.  For 16+ years I was a performer, choreographer, and teacher (to children and adults) and even dreamed about performing on Broadway.  I remember 2 very distinct reasons that I let my mind tell me I should not pursue this dream with any seriousness into my collegiate years: (1)  I couldn't sing, and (2) I thought I should pursue an education that would yield a good living. 

I started to reconnect to my dancing self in recent months as I began telling friends who didn't know me as well what a major influence it had been in my early life.  I also picked up a journal at The Crossings in September that has a beautiful impressionistic painting of a woman dancing on the front, and an inscription inside that reads "DANCE YOUR DREAMS.  Whatever feeds your spirit, Makes your heart sing, Fuels your passion.  Do it.  Dance your dreams woman!"  I know that part of creating the work I love involves getting back to dancing.  Stay tuned.  

So, now I need/want to explore a dilemma that I struggle with.  When I tell people that I am pursuing a new career involving coaching, I can expect most of them to ask me some or all of the following questions:  (1)  what is coaching?  (2) how is it different from consulting, or mentoring, or being a therapist?  (3) what type of coaching are you going to do?  These are all very good questions for which I feel I should be able to answer effortlessly, lest I look ridiculous.  But I often struggle to get what feels like an intelligent, authentic answer out of my mouth.

I have developed somewhat of an elevator speech for the first two, but the third is particularly tricky to fit into a brief conversation.  I usually start by explaining that there are all types of coaches -- career coaches, life coaches, executive and entreprenurial coaches, sales coaches, creativity coaches, spiritual coaches, etc.  (I have even met a successful coach who identifies herself as an "etiquette and protocol coach.")   I then explain that I am pursuing career and life-purpose coaching (as if someone is going to know what I mean by "life-purpose coaching"), and possibly executive coaching and coaching in organizations.  

But my truly honest answer to "what are you going to do" is "whatever I love, am really brilliant at, and is financially rewarding." (I am learning to trust that they are all one in the same, but that is for another blog...).  The deeper truth is that while I know that I am being called to the coaching field, I don't know yet what I will truly love and be really brilliant at in this field.  This unknowing is very unsettling on many levels.  I will possibly blog on this topic in detail another time.  I have some ideas, some I referred to in my first blog and above.  But at this point in my journey, all of my ideas are like different costumes I am trying on for an upcoming performance of a dance for which I have not yet choreographed or even selected the music.  

There is a delicate balance I must strike in answering the fundamental question of "what am I going to do?"   On the one hand, I need to continue reading, reflecting, praying, meditating, writing, and training to help get more clarity for myself.  More clarity will empower me with descriptive language and a powerful message that can be conveyed with authenticity and confidence to others.  On the other hand, waiting for absolute or perfect clarity in hopes of it yielding the perfect message, packaged in a perfect elevator speech is, I know, a futile exercise (as is anything that has perfectionism as a goal).  I have to find a way to do more coaching with the training, life experience, and other information that I have now, and trust that what I show up with to offer others is not only "good enough" for now but just what they need.  

I am striving to find the right balance.  Some days balance looks like many, many months if not years more of learning and training.  As my husband pointed out, it took 3 years of law school plus many more years working to become a competent lawyer.  On other days, I am certain that I will develop a thriving business in a matter of months.  After all, I have been coaching friends and family informally for years.  And I am actively studying and training.   How long do I need to stay in the chorus line before I am ready to be the star?  The good news is that I do know the path that I need to travel to reveal the answers that are buried within.  I am walking firmly down that path.  I will eventually achieve the right balance.

The dance I am performing in right now I call CareerVisions -- Career and Life Purpose Coaching for Professionals (or anyone who wants to experience more passion and purpose in their life).  Website to come.  I am reading, reflecting, praying, meditating, writing, training and coaching.

Teresa Walden

teresawalden@sbcglobal.net

teresa@career-vision.net

Beginnings and Priorities

I am beginning this blog with excitement and a little trepidation.  I was encouraged to do it as a means of getting my thoughts organized, and my voice defined, as I continue down my path of career and life transformation.  I have always loved to express my thoughts in written form, but I am definitely going outside my traditional comfort zone with this writing.  I don't know if I have anything meaningful to say.  But I guess the only way to find out is to just see what comes out.  Here goes...

As many of you know, I am transitioning from a corporate legal career to developing a professional coaching business where, at least initially, I want to help professionals develop more passion and purpose in their careers and life.  I also have a strong interest in working with executives and managers in companies and organizations to develop robust, brilliant leadership qualities that are values-based but also highly effective in achieving the organization's desired financial, business and other goals or results.

It is somewhat scary to put this intention out here so purposefully.  I am concerned about whether I have what it takes to succeed.  I am concerned about the stable income I have left to pursue a path that many can't do more than on a hobby level.  But, I know that I have the innate talents and strengths to achieve my dream and I intend to do everything I can (with help from both earthly and spiritual sources) to achieve this dream.  I am also blessed to have amazing support and encouragement from my husband and friends.     

Why have I decided to make this transition?  For a number of years I have contemplated making a major change in my professional life during my 40's.  While I loved my legal career and will miss many people and certain things about it, I feel very strongly that I want to contribute something else during my lifetime.  I also want to model some specific values to my children -- it's good to take some risks, a meaningful life is not just about having a secure job and cushy income but in being of service to others, we are not here to be isolated from one another but to connect with and help each other.  

While attending the ICF (International Coaches Federation) International Conference in November, I had the privilege of participating in a unique experience with what I believe are the brightest and most authentic and engaged people on this planet.  Coincidentally, I had recently done some journaling on what my aspirations, dreams, values and priorities were, and I realized that what I aspired to and wanted to share with others during my time on this planet -- to be a life-long learner, to use my compassion and listening skills and willingness to be "real" to help others, to continue to use my analytical and problem solving skills and my ability to bring clarity to information so as to make it more meaningful and understandable to others -- were wholly aligned with the coaching profession.  What was also amazing is that even though I was in the presence of thousands of strangers, I felt instantly connected.  I felt that these were "my people" and I wanted to start participating in the world in the same way that they were.  

I have always been interested in personal growth and development to a large degree. But now I am on an accelerated path with the intent of developing a business that is centered on assisting others with their own personal and professional development.  How am I going to do this?  Well, I don't have all of the answers yet, but I know that the first step is to develop myself -- intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually.  

A friend asked me the other day "what are your priorities?"  I found the question difficult to answer in just a few short words.  I wanted to say -- for the next 3 days, 3 months or 30 years? -- but failed to ask for this clarification.  Author, career and life coach, Renee Trudeau, advocates doing personal retreats once a quarter to get clear on your priorities for the next 3 months.  The purpose of doing this is so that you can organize your life to spend the majority of your time and energy on the people and things that matter most to you.  If you consistently do this activity, then you will always be focusing your time and attention on what matters most to you -- what a concept, huh?   It is amazingly simple advice that can't help but lead to increased satisfaction and balance in our lives; however, I used to resist this type of endeavor and suspect that the majority of people don't do this type of life planning.  I realize now that I just wasn't ready to connect with who I really am and show up in my life in the most engaged and purposeful way.   It takes courage to get quiet and crystalize for yourself what unique qualities you have, your values, your heart's greatest desires and how you want to share these with the important people and activities in your life.  It's also really scary when you realize you don't have a clue, and it's tempting to just not try.  But if you have a fundamental desire to figure out "who you are" and "what you want" then I can assure you there is a path to do it.

So, one of my priorities is to make regular time to get clear on what my priorities are. What am I doing to support this priority?

 -- I am writing this blog and journaling.  

 -- I am attending a 2008 teleconference goal setting session on January 2nd with the Career Coach Institute, a coach training organization that I am working with to obtain some initial career and life-coach training.  

 -- I plan to attend a personal retreat in early 2008.  

 -- I intend to do Yoga once a week.

 -- I am developing a meditation practice.

What are some of my other priorities for the first 3 months of 2008?  

 -- Be more "present" with my children, husband and friends.

 -- Continue my personal and professional development through informal and formal means to gain additional clarity on how I can best use my unique strengths, talents and skills to have the most effective impact as a coach (this will include beginning a year long training program with a world-class organization in March).

 -- Continue pro bono coaching for friends and acquaintances to develop my coaching skills.

 -- Start a PRG group (I am a certified PRG Facilitator) based on The Mother's Guide to Self Renewal by Renee Trudeau.  You can find out more about PRG and my group at www.reneetrudeau.com.

 -- Start an informal meditation gathering once a week to support myself and others in developing this life-enhancing practice.

 -- Network to develop additional personal and professional friends and contacts with the intention of doing whatever I can to assist them with their endeavors.  I know that whatever I give in service to others I will also receive.

 -- Continue exercising 3 times a week.

 -- Cook more.

Are you embarking on a new beginning?  What are your current priorities?  I would love to hear about them and support you in your efforts to focus your valuable time and energy on them.

Teresa

teresawalden@sbcglobal.net

teresa@career-visions.net