Cross Train Your Brain
You know how some people at the gym do the exact same workout every day? Have you noticed that these people never seem to make any progress with their fitness level? That’s because they are using the same muscle groups in the same way and these muscles become accustomed to the workout and after a while, they are no longer challenged.
Well, the same goes for our brains. If we continue to do the same thing day after day without challenging our brain, we won’t learn anything new 
or expand our skill set. In short, we will not reach our full potential in our personal or professional lives. What a waste!
At first it may be painful and perhaps scary to try something new. We are so comfortable knowing our current limitations that the idea of pushing ourselves forward is daunting. But just like the fitness metaphor, the benefit of cross-training our brains to learn new skills can only help us in the long run.
I wrote last week about Susan Bulkeley Butler, first female partner at Accenture. She chose to cross train her brain every three years by forcing herself to change positions within the company to expand her skill set and build her resume. The result was that she reached her goal of becoming a partner in the firm.
In our current work environment, there may not be a clear path to the top, but one sure way to move your career forward is to challenge yourself and seek opportunities to increase your skills and knowledge base.
What have you done lately to expand your skill set or stretch your comfort zone?
Preparing for 2012
It’s a new year and another opportunity to celebrate! As the holiday season and 2011 come to a close, we welcome 2012 with much fanfare. Parties, fireworks, horn blowing and champagne mark the beginning of another year.
It’s also a great time for reflection. What was special about this past year? What was disappointing? We all have memories that we cherish from 2011 and memories that perhaps make us sad, angry, or dissatisfied.
I was thinking this morning that in preparation for 2012 I would like to focus on the positive things that happened this past year and bring that positive energy to the start of this next year. How to do that?
How about packing an imaginary suitcase for your journey through 2012? Let’s take out a BIG suitcase and pack all the positive and wonderful things we want to bring with us in to the new year. As we reflect back on the past year, we can consciously leave behind whatever we think is not serving us in a positive supportive manner. (For instance, I’d like to leave behind the 5 pounds I gained over Christmas!)
Here are some suggestions:
- First and most importantly, pack all your accomplishments from this past year. Write a list of every success no matter how small and put it in the suitcase along with a large container of pride for your achievements. This will help you continue your success in 2012.
- What memories from this past year bring a smile to your face? Is it something that your children did? A new grandchild? A special time with family and friends? Make room in your suitcase for this! We certainly want to bring smiles and positive feelings into the new year.
- Another important thing to pack is our gratitude for living another year in good health and having family and friends around us for love and support. Pack the gratitude for everything that you have to offer; your unique talent, your skills, your experience, your clients, your colleagues.
- Last but not least, I think we need to leave some room for the opportunities that 2012 will bring to all of us. We need to have enough room in our suitcase so that these opportunities will not only present themselves but become reality.
What will you pack for your journey into 2012 and what do you want to leave behind?
Happy New Year and best wishes for a healthy and prosperous 2012!
Have you lost touch with who you are?
A prospective client called me last week about my coaching services. She had read an article of mine about how to prepare for an interview and was seeking help to better position herself for employment. We talked for a couple of minutes and I asked her what she does. It’s a simple question, right? We are asked this question all the time, but when I posed the question to her she could not answer it. There was silence on the other end of the phone.
“See”, she said. “This is my problem.” I can’t talk about myself let alone describe what I do. Turns out she is a financial analyst and had dropped out for 18 months to have a child and seems to have lost her way.
Of course, I hear this from men and women who are employed as well. We all get so tied up in our daily lives and everyday tasks that it is easy to lose touch with who we are and what is special and unique about us. We lose touch with who we are. I mean who we REALLY are.
Why do we lose touch? Well, we get distracted by the clutter in our lives. We are bombarded daily by the media with new promotions, new opportunities, new gadgets and technology, new theories. It’s easy to get distracted from the essence of who we are unless we are willing to take the time for introspection and meditation.
What’s missing is the connection with our core essence. What makes each of us unique?
I do many workshops to help professionals connect with their value and what I have discovered is that many of us are so disconnected that we lose our way. We need a foundation. We need to re-establish this connection with our value and establish a strong belief in ourselves and our capabilities and strengths. I’m not talking about the normal hype or the mundane adjectives we often use to describe ourselves, but the connection with our true authentic selves.
Do yourself a favor and take some time to re-establish this connection. What are your strengths and what do you contribute to your organization, your family, your community? How would others describe you? Dig deep until you truly understand your value, not what you think others expect of you or what you think you should be. If you dig deep enough you will find your core essence.
It is this core essence that provides the foundation for your confidence and well-being. It is this foundation that will free you to talk about yourself in a positive way and promote yourself with conviction.
Can You Take a Break from Work?
I did something really important last weekend. I took a whole day off! I have been consistently working seven days a week for months without a break and my coach strongly suggested that I try to take one full day off each week. Well, if my coach told me to do this and it was part of my assignment, I could not refuse.
I have to admit I was very anxious about this. If I do indeed take Sunday off, what will my Monday be like? Won’t I be even more stressed than if I worked the whole week?
I had to make a plan. I knew that if I stayed around the house, I would be compelled to look at my computer and blackberry and do some work. I know myself all too well. So I planned a trip with a friend to go to Provincetown for the day. It was a beautiful day and a perfect time for an outing on Cape Cod. We took the ferry from Martha’s Vineyard and drove the length of the Cape, listened to great music, ate a fabulous lunch at an outdoor café, and shared some small talk.
My next challenge was to not discuss business all day. I didn’t do too well in this category, but this “taking a break” thing is a process for me, and at least I was off to a fairly good start. After all, I physically removed myself from my office and work environment. (I do think I might have cheated though when I came home that night and did a little work before heading to bed. Don’t tell my coach!)
Monday morning I felt refreshed and energized and not at all stressed. It was a good experiment for me and a great lesson as well.
Sometimes our drive to be successful drives us to work compulsively. Can you relate to this? Intellectually, I’m sure we all recognize this is not healthy. I know that I certainly do, yet pulling myself away from work once a week to do something entirely different makes me anxious; a clear sign to me that this is unhealthy behavior.
I am mindful that at least once a day I need to leave my desk and my office and do something unrelated to work. I am mindful that once a week I should take twelve hours of respite to renew my energy, spirit and passion for my work. What I have discovered is that when I step away from work my creativity kicks in and I can actually think more clearly.
Case in point, for weeks on end I was trying to think of a new name for my radio show. Women Mean Business is trademarked by NAWBO and though I was unaware of this when the show launched, I did receive notice from them to stop using the name. I loved the name and racked my brain trying to think of something equally sticky and clever. I even ran a contest on LinkedIn to get more ideas. Trying to get a new name was on my mind night and day. Here’s the lesson though. As soon as I let it go and stepped away from the problem, a solution came to me. Miraculously out of the blue, the new name, Head over Heels, popped into my brain. WOW! I could not believe it. This process of “letting go” really worked.
If I can pass along any wisdom about this it is to be mindful yourself of how your drive to be successful can work against you at times if you don’t take a break and let go. Not only is it not healthy, but the consistent compulsive need to work actually stifles your creativity and is counter productive.
This is a process that I’m just beginning myself.
Well, need to get back to work. :>)
Stomping Your Parameter
This is a guest post by Debbie Phillips.
Recently I was in New York City to lead a Women on Fire® Tea Party and to meet with reporters, editors and producers.
It seemed everywhere I went someone said something to me about “reinventing” themselves. Or, they commented that someone else has, should or is planning to. I was even asked if my work leading the Women on Fire organization is a reinvention after my career in journalism, politics and television production.
Hmmmmmm? It never occurred to me to think of it that way.
On my way out of the city, at the airport, I picked up More Magazine and what’s on the cover? You guessed it! A full-length article on “Reinvention—For the Risk- Averse.” The article actually contained some good strategies for changing careers.
But. Ugh. Something strikes me very wrong about the idea we have to “reinvent” ourselves every time we make a change toward what it is we truly want. “Reinvention” sounds like we aren’t good enough and we need to figure out something…anything…to become, and then try to be it.
The soul would much rather fail at its own life than succeed at someone else’s. – Poet David Whyte
Instead, what if it’s simpler than that? What if we made our life’s work to recognize our natural gifts, strengths and desires and create a plan to express them in the world?
That way, each mark forward (sometimes appearing as two steps backward) is the measure of getting us closer to what we were put on this earth to do.
Rather than the inevitable periodic “reinventions,” we would steadily refine what we want and love to do, and become more and more of who we authentically are. Over time, rather than a start-stop-start, we would g-r-o-w into who we are becoming.
Mary Lynne Musgrove, a career counselor in Columbus, Ohio, described to me 20 years ago the progression of my career as “stomping your parameter.” The idea is that when we are in our 20s, 30s and 40s, we are collecting skills and knowledge and gaining experience, expertise and wisdom. By the time we are in our 40s, 50s, 60s and beyond, we put all of that brilliance together and do the work we deeply desire.
Think Madeleine Albright. She went from immigrant child to newspaper intern to mother to college to divorced wife to politics to the National Security Council to U.S. Ambassador to The United Nations to becoming our country’s first female Secretary of State. (With many stops in between!)
Today, at 72, she has grown into one of the most trusted international leaders and advisors in the world.
She didn’t have to reinvent anything. She “stomped her parameter.” She kept moving forward allowing one experience, hardship and success to build upon another.
Living from true passion is what propels us forward – every step of the way.
Debbie Phillips is the Founder of Women On Fire® a national coaching organization to extend the outreach of inspiration, strategies and support for women to be successful. She is the author of Women On Fire: 20 Inspiring Women Share Their Life Secrets (and Save You Years of Struggle!) and co-executive producer of the film Inspire Me!
You’re Driven, But Where Are You Driving?
Most of the professional women I coach, whether entrepreneurs or corporate executives, are driven. I recognize certain characteristics that accompany this drive. Very often these type A personalities are totally focused on the work at hand and tend to be more reactive than proactive. Head down and nose to the grindstone.
Does this sound familiar?
If this is true for you, I would like to ask you, where are you driving and most importantly, who is driving?
The benefit of strategic thinking is to step out of your box and look objectively at yourself and your career. Strategic thinking moves you from reactive to proactive, is future/goal oriented, and allows you to see the bigger picture.
It is important to take the time to identify who you are. What are your strengths? How have these strengths helped you past positions and how are they helping you now?
What are some of your recent accomplishments and what do they say about you?
Create your own brand message and connect with your value and talent. This is who you are and what you need to communicate to others about yourself. Be clear about what you want others to know about you.
Next, identify where you are headed. What is your career goal? Who are the key influencers you need to be in front of in order for you to reach your goal?
Create an action plan to be visible and credible with these key people.
Don’t make the mistake of thinking your career will just happen without good planning and strategic thinking.
Who’s Driving? Know yourself. Be clear on your personal message and what you want people to know about you.
Where are you Driving? What is your goal? Who needs to know more about you for you to reach your goal and create an action plan for ongoing communication of who you are and your personal brand message.
Choose to be Successful
One thing that all successful people have in common no matter what their career or talent is that they see themselves as successful and they have an abundance of positive energy.
Do you realize that you can CHOOSE to be successful?
Do you realize that your thoughts create your reality and that if you believe you will be successful, you WILL be successful?
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