Tag Archives: career coach Margaret Smith
July 20, 2016 Volunteerism and Purpose
This past Tuesday, I headed to Kraków, Poland to work as a volunteer for World Youth Day (WYD). This worldwide event takes place every three years and is a gathering of like-minded youth who value service, love, and faith. The festivities are actually held over the course of a week, so the name World Youth Day is a little deceiving. During my time in Poland, I will be mentoring youth from my hometown of Stillwater and volunteering my services to help make WYD 2016 a success.
It will be a long, tiring trip (among thousands of youth!), but I’m certain it will be worth it. I have found that any time volunteering is NOT time wasted. Volunteering is one of the things in life that keeps me energized, motivated, and (most importantly!) gives me purpose.
I firmly believe that the path to a happy life is to find a purpose. For me, that means spending time giving back to my community and the world at large. Even in my work as a career coach, I try to give back to my clients. I approach my work with the mentality, “How can I help YOU?”
Part of the reason I became a career coach was because I wanted to give back. After retiring from my career at 3M, I knew I wasn’t finished. I had spent nearly 30 years building up a skill set, and I wanted to share it with others!
For many people, retirement doesn’t mean “quitting,” it means opening up a new chapter of your life and giving back in different ways. I am reminded of a story I heard of a couple that retired, purchased an RV, and began traveling around the country. After only a month or two, they began to grow bored and anxious to do something more meaningful. At the same time, they also realized that they kept bumping into other retired couples who were doing the same thing—traveling around the U.S. in their RVs. That’s when they were struck with the idea to form a volunteer group with their fellow travelers and do something meaningful at each of their stops.
They decided to work with Habitat for Humanity (since nearly every city has a local chapter) and formed a group called the “Care-A-Vanners.” That group spends one or two weeks in each city they visit, building homes for those in need. And, since they are traveling as a group, the Care-A-Vanners have developed meaningful relationships, while at the same time utilizing their talents and making a difference.
Having volunteered several times through Habitat for Humanity, I am aware of the profound impact their projects can have on other’s lives. My husband (who is a carpenter by trade) and I frequently travel to Clarksdale, MS to help with Habitat’s building projects and we often see and reconnect with the same group of people. I even have a pen pal in Clarksdale—a young woman who I mentor. You might say that we’re accountability partners for each other! I help her focus on her dream of going to college and she reminds me of the very real impact of volunteering and spending quality time with another human being.
Do you know your life’s purpose? If you’re having trouble nailing it down, I challenge you to try volunteering. There are so many causes that need your help—environmental, educational, political, social justice—that you’re bound to find something that motivates you and gets you excited to make a difference.
Let me know how your purpose-seeking is going! Write me a note in the comments section, or send me a message. Happy volunteering!
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: becoming a mentor, career coach Margaret Smith, find your purpose, meaning in volunteering, UXL career coaching, volunteerism and purpose, World Youth Day
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- Posted under Changing Your Life, Goals
July 6, 2016 Get Inspired! 11 Ways to Recharge Your Imagination and Get Motivated
I hope you had a chance to watch the fireworks over this past Independence Day weekend. I know I always find inspiration and awe when I’m watching the bright colors burst across the sky. It makes me think of possibilities and all the wonder we can find in the world if we just take the time to look.
What sparks your imagination? If you’re feeling a little lackluster lately, maybe it’s time to find inspiration in the world around you. Try a few of the following activities in the next couple weeks and reclaim your imagination and motivation!
1. Take a walk WITHOUT your cell phone. Observe the world around you and notice the different colors, shapes, types of people, houses, and landscapes.
2. Visit an art gallery and really take the time to immerse yourself in the paintings and sculptures. Get up close and look at the brush strokes or the texture of the bronze/wood/metal.
3. If you’re able, work in a new location today. Bring your laptop to a coffee shop, library, or other public area and notice how you work differently in the new environment.
4. Add some spice to your life by taking a cooking class! Enroll in a class that teaches you how to cook a brand new dish or uses a technique with which you’re unfamiliar.
5. Call an old friend. Talking with someone who you haven’t spoken with in a while can spark old memories and get your mind churning.
6. Attend a concert. Whether it’s a rock show, a piano recital, or the symphony, music can tickle parts of your brain that you don’t often use and give you a healthy dose of inspiration.
7. Talk with a child. If you’re not often around small children, the complicated and insightful things they say might take you by surprise.
8. Learn a new skill. Be it wood working, stained glass-making, or Microsoft Excel, it’s a good idea to stretch your brain and get inspired by something new.
9. Travel! Get outside your comfort zone AND your zip code. Learn about new cultures, foods, and ways of living by traveling somewhere brand new. Challenge yourself to venture outside the tourist zones and mingle with the locals.
10. Join a meet-up group with the intention of making a new friend. When we become completely entrenched in our routines, it’s hard to find room (or motivation!) for making new acquaintances. Facilitate a new friendship by joining a local meet-up group that interests you and start talking with the other attendees. Check out Meetup.com for a long lists of clubs and meet-ups.
11. Open yourself. At the core of this list is YOU. Your attitude, your outlook on life, your optimism—those are the driving forces of a truly inspired life. If you open yourself to new experiences and new ways of thinking, you’ll surely find your own personal spark of inspiration.
Good luck on your search.
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: career coach Margaret Smith, find your motivation, find your spark, get inspired, ignite your imagination, Minneapolis career coach, Minnesota life coach, Twin Cities career coach, ways to find inspiration
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- Posted under Advice from a Life Coach, Changing Your Life, Goals
June 29, 2016 Managing Perfectionist Tendencies
Our society greatly emphasizes perfection, or striving toward perfection, so it’s very common for people to feel that they need to do everything without flaw. This way of thinking is taught to us right away as children when we are told things like:
“Color inside the lines.”
“Don’t wear your pants inside out.”
“Ride your bike in a straight line.”
From there, we go to school where we are not only expected to strive for perfection in academics, but also keep up with our peer group in music, sports, and the latest trends. So much pressure to appear perfect, according to others’ measurements!
Many people rebel against the pressure to be perfect, but some of us never shake it. Not that it’s inherently bad to strive for perfection—it’s just that, you have to know when to let go and let the little things slide.
The true perfectionist thinks in all-or-nothings. If something they do doesn’t live up to perfect standards (which translates to impossible standards), then they believe they are a failure and their efforts were a complete waste. This becomes a vicious cycle: the perfectionist sets unrealistic goals, fails to achieve them, feels that they failed utterly, and becomes discouraged and less confident in their ability to succeed in future endeavors.
Even when a perfectionist does great work, they have trouble seeing it as success, because their work will always appear subpar alongside the unrealistic expectations they set for themselves.
In fact, perfectionism hinders productivity as a result of this mental cycle. Those who set realistic goals are better able to perform because their goals are strategic, manageable, incremental. On the flip side, perfectionists are often so overwhelmed with their need to get everything perfect that they have trouble getting started. Perfectionist paralysis.
A few ways to get past this paralysis are to:
- Break down your task into bite-size chunks. Even breaking it up into one component per day works well. If you make a list to coincide with your breakdown, you’ll also have the pleasure of being able to check off accomplishments as you go.
- Give yourself some space from your work. This helps you keep the task in perspective. It is only a task, whatever it may be, however important, and you are not the task. Your value as a person is not tied to how well you perform.
- Provide ample time to nitpick. If you know that you fuss over the details, break your work into two general categories: the “just getting it done and not thinking” work, and the “going back over and obsessively getting it right” work. This way, you’ll be able to move forward without worrying about how perfect it is, since you know you’ll have time to get it great after it’s all thrown together.
- Know when to let it go. At some point, you’re going to need to stop your task and turn it in if it’s an assignment, deliver it if it’s a speech or presentation, or finish it in whichever other way you finish it. It will never be perfect, since nothing is perfect. You must learn to let go and trust you’ve done your best.
If perfectionist traits apply to you, remember: you simply cannot be good at everything. Some people will always be better-suited for particular skills than you. And this is okay! This is okay because your value is not determined by doing things perfectly, and if you tend to think this way, you’ll only continue to disappoint yourself. This is also okay because once you accept your weaknesses, you’ll be able to know your limits, set more reasonable goals, and hone in on the areas in which you thrive.
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: career coach Margaret Smith, improve performance at work, manage perfectionism, perfectionism, perfectionist tendencies, strategies to better performance, UXL career coaching, you can't always be perfect
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- Posted under Advice from a Life Coach, Changing Your Life, Uncategorized
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