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A career coaching
article:
Want real change in your life? Take action!
by Cathy Goodwin, Ph.D.
It's easy to begin a year with analysis: months, days
and even years of "thinking." Many of us would like to
believe that "reaching goals" begins with an armchair, a
self-help book and a beer.
But if you really want to
see some change, remember that action creates energy.
Have you ever spent a whole day driving? Lying on the couch with
a heavy-duty remote control? At the end of the day, you're
exhausted.
Action fuels thought.
The world looks different as you sit in your living room. When
you get off the couch and face the outside world, your questions
-- and your answers --seem new.
Action tests our readiness
to change. Are you thinking of hiring a career consultant?
Before you pick up the phone, take some small action on your own.
Get a list of articles from the library or web. Make some phone
calls.
Do something different.
In a tape version of her recent book, Thunder and Lightning,
Natalie Goldberg advises writers to overcome blocks by changing
small elements of their lives. Take a different route when you
walk home, she suggests; if you normally drive with your left
hand on the steering wheel, try the right.
Some ideas:
- Do something alone that you normally do with
others: shopping, traveling, eating in a restaurant.
- Do something with others that you normally do
alone.
- If you have a routine for evenings or weekends,
make a change. In his book, ,
Allen Wheelis pointed out that changing yourself is pretty
simple. If you want to stop being a thief, don't steal. If you
want to be a writer, write. Sounds simple -- but it works.
Sometimes, if you are lucky, external events force you
to change in a positive
direction. Serendipity has moved from the woo-woo category
to mainstream career research.
Can't get moving?
If you are really, really
stuck, but you can't get yourself to take even one action
step, pay attention. Sometimes you are at a point in your life
when it's time to do nothing, but inability to act may signal
clinical depression or anxiety.
Do you want someone to share
your thoughts as you try out different actions? Moving --
but you're not sure in which direction you want to end up? These
questions suggest you can get help from a career or business consultant.
Maybe you believe in New Year's Resolutions, or maybe you prefer
to take life as it comes.
Regardless, I can promise your next twelve months will bring
exciting new changes and opportunities...if you jump off that
couch and begin taking action.
I offer one-to-one consultations on career strategy.
Read additional articles.
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