Category Archives: Advice from a Life Coach
January 9, 2019 How to Actually Keep Those New Year’s Resolutions
Another year nearly gone means another year to create and accomplish! New Years is a great time to take a look at your own personal and professional development, and decide where next to chart your course. What’s the best way to keep these New Year’s Resolutions? Whether career-oriented or personal, setting attainable goals is important for fulfillment and vitality.
That leaves us with the question that’s always asked: what are the best ways to keep your resolutions? Here are a few tips to keep in mind:
1. Everything Starts with Realistic Goals
Taking stock of where you’re at in your life and where you can go in the year ahead requires a good timeline! Look back at your development throughout the previous year and reflect upon how much you’d like to get done in the year ahead. Incremental challenges to increase productivity are often attainable and great motivational tools. Did you learn the basics of a new skill for professional development? Set out to become an intermediate or advanced learner!
2. Make It Visual
Often mental resolutions can wither or be pushed aside by more urgent projects. Keep written reminders for yourself in calendars and planners of the long-term goal you’re working toward. If you’re known to respond to structure like this, take it a step further and set intermittent and smaller and deadlines to meet them to keep your steppingstones clear.
3. Give Credit Where Credit is Due
Achieving any part of a year-long resolution should be celebrated! Brains respond well to positive reinforcement. Like self-care, self-celebration is an important part of seeing resolutions through to their end. Reward good behavior and accomplishing tasks with fun rewards, like a favorite dessert or a small weekend getaway.
4. Collaborate
Friends and coworkers may just be the added umph you need. A group mentality is a great external motivating factor in getting work done that needs to be done. Collaborators help keep deadlines firm and goals clear. At the same time, sharing resolutions can foster closer and improved working relationships between you and your colleagues. If your resolution requires seeking out a new skill or group of people, enlisting help outside your existing circles to meet resolutions can provide excellent opportunities to network as well.
Do you feel inspired to tackle your resolutions head on? Sometimes all it takes is a little push. I wish you good fortune in the new year! If you’d like a little more guidance, I’m here to help.
MARGARET SMITH IS A CAREER COACH, AUTHOR, INSIGHTS®DISCOVERY LICENSED PRACTITIONER, FOUNDER OF UXL, AND CO-FOUNDER OF THE TAG TEAM. SHE HOSTS WORKSHOPS FOR PEOPLE WHO NEED CAREER OR PERSONAL GUIDANCE. YOU CAN VISIT HER WEBSITE AT WWW.YOUEXCELNOW.COM
Tags: achieve goals, achieving your year end goals, goal setting, keep your new years resolution, make your new years plan, new years, new years resolution
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- Posted under Advice from a Life Coach, Changing Your Life, Goals
December 26, 2018 Be Merry and BRIGHT!
As this year draws to a close and a new year is beginning to poke over the horizon, my sincerest wish for you is to step into your true self this year and become what you’ve always wanted to be.
Whether that means a transitioning to a new career or company, shifting your mentality/outlook, or finally deciding to pursue one of your dreams, I hope you will be bold and courageous this year.
Remember, you don’t have to do it on your own. Rely on trusted friends, close family members, or outside coaching to help guide and fortify you as you take your first steps into a brave new year.
If you’d like, I would be happy to help you get started. Attend one of my 2019 Insights Deeper Discovery workshops, read my book on leadership, or work with me one-on-one as a coach.
I’m here for you in any capacity that you need me.
Wishing you and yours a happy holiday season.
Tags: Better Business, better you, career coach Minneapolis, Career Coaching, make your new years plan, Margaret Smith licensed Insights practitioner, new year strategies, new years resolution
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- Posted under Advice from a Life Coach, Changing Your Life, Goals
December 12, 2018 Women Leaders: Have you been told you’re too aggressive?
We have to laugh, otherwise we’d cry. The workplace is often still a difficult place for women to navigate. We struggle to be heard, position ourselves as authority figures, and give constructive feedback to others without being seen as “too aggressive” or “threatening.”
Author and former tech executive, Sarah Cooper, finally had enough of tiptoeing around her male co-workers, just to make them feel validated. Her response: A series of satirical cartoons depicting how women can appear “non-threatening” to men.
The cartoons show female leaders in various situations—sharing their ideas, setting deadlines, finding mistakes—and how they can react to them in “threatening” vs. “non-threatening” ways.
Though the cartoons are hilarious on the surface, they portray a sad truth: women leaders are still fighting an uphill battle to gain recognition, authority, and respect.
How will you change your language so that you’re more assertive and less apologetic?
How will you stand up for yourself?
How will you make sure your voice is heard?
Your actions will set a precedent for how you’d like to be treated, and you will also help pave the way for future female leaders.
To read Sarah Cooper’s article and see her cartoons, please click HERE.
Tags: aggressive women leaders, margaret smith leadership, Margaret Smith Minneapolis career coach, Sarah Cooper cartoons, Sarah Cooper leadership, women at work, women fearless leaders, women leaders
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- Posted under Advice from a Life Coach, Leadership, Uncategorized
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