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How Sue Inspires Me: Recognizing Administrative Professionals Day. What Keeps YOU Going?

Sue seems ageless to me.  She’s been my administrative assistant two days a month for 15 years now. At first, I thought Sue mostly wanted my very part-time work as a retirement income supplement.  Then a couple years in, I learned that she found the work meaningful, helping me help people, a part of my two-person team. Wow, she was doing the work partly for the value of meaning, just like I encourage my clients. Does your contribution to the world bring you meaning, whether work, volunteering or family?

What can you do to keep you going? To keep things fresh? To keep you fresh?

Sue does just that and is an inspiration to me.  She might not think so.  She’s just been doing her thing. Church work, hosting weekly sing-a-longs, working out at the local community center. A long time effort has been her leadership in the Funeral Consumers Alliance of Western Pennsylvania, an affiliate of a national educational nonprofit offering funeral consumer support.  Sue was on the board for almost ten years, including as Secretary and Treasurer. A couple of years ago at the age of 76, she stepped up to be President of the group during a major transition period. About two months ago, I saw the fall newsletter she wrote announcing activities, including the annual meeting. It was so professionally done, and it struck me that she was in essence running a business, this meaningful organization.

How lucky I’ve been to have had Sue’s talents all these years. I wanted to recognize her today on Administrative Professionals Day.

Who might you want to recognize and thank for the support and inspiration they’ve given you?

What keeps YOU going? What might you do to help make your days on this earth even more meaningful?  If exploring a career change or retirement path, I’m happy to help.

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Creation Out of Chaos

Whether chaos of career or country, it can signify a state before creation where something entirely new and yet unknown has the potential to emerge. 

I’ve seen the chaos of COVID-19 cause people to re-examine values and make big time career changes. My hope is that the chaos of the country will cause kindness, compassion and deeper spiritual growth to emerge. Meantime, I take agency and action inspired from a place of love…in my family, community and country.

Taking action for career chaos or uncertainty may include self-reflection and career research; often working with a career counselor can bring some organization to randomly spinning thoughts.

As I have been contemplating the theme of chaos lately, I came across a blog post I made on January 12, 2021 following the January 6 attack on the US Capitol.  Below is a brief excerpt of the article I quoted that may be applicable during these times.

A Speed of Soul Encouragement – Acknowledging Grief, Claiming Love, Remembering Radiance – Excerpt

By Carrie Newcomer, Artist/Musician, originally posted in www.DailyGood.org, January 9, 2021

“My encouragement today is to claim agency and to claim love. Text, zoom, call or somehow connect with someone who you think of as a treasure in your life, someone that illuminates your life, who reminds you of the power of love and the remembrance of radiance. Reach out and affirm what keeps saving us – goodness, kindness, faithfulness, gratitude, generosity, hospitality, justice and love…always love. Lay your hand on your heart and know that you also illuminate the lives of others around you. You are also doing what you can each day, in your own way, to make the world around you a kinder place.

Today we acknowledge the shadows, but we lean into the light.”

In closing from Karen: May you find some calm and creation in any chaos of career and country.

CLICK HERE for complete blog post/article.

More about Carrie Newcomer HERE

Image: Chaos by Fenyou 2012, Creative Commons License

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Uncertainty: Book Excerpt

“Uncertainty is the only certainty there is, and knowing how to live with insecurity is the only security.”

John Allen Paulos

So many unknowns can create negative emotions during your job search, such as waiting to hear back on an email or after an interview. There will be unexpected questions during an interview for which you can’t prepare. When you do get an offer, you may wonder whether to accept it or whether you’ll hit a land mine once there.

The reality is that life is filled with uncertainty, even when you have a job. Managing uncertainty is important so you don’t get lost in feelings of fear and speculation.

Focus on what you can control, such as your schedule and job search efforts. Keeping busy, whether with a class or house project can divert your mind from worry. If your mind goes into a negative “what if” spin, remind yourself, “I can’t possibly predict the future.” Another strategy is defensive pessimism; this is increasing your confidence with coping by imaging a worst-case scenario and planning for it, such as making peace with an option to downsize your home. Mindfulness and stress reduction are additional strategies. You can choose to let uncertainty keep you up at night or see it as a challenge for practicing acceptance.

Affirmation: I accept uncertainty as part of life and find ways to cope.

Copyright 2021, Karen Litzinger, Help Wanted: An A to Z Guide to Cope with the Ups and Downs of the Job Search. Permission is granted to share for non-commercial purposes with this entire notation, https://KarensCareerCoaching.com/help-wanted

For 10 complimentary excerpts of the book arriving daily: https://KarensCareerCoaching.com/help-wanted-free-excerpts

You can order the book through either link above.