Why Now?

Have you ever reached the point when you say to yourself "Why Now"? I am at that point, life was beginning to go smoothly then all hell broke loose - So now I (and most likely you too) need to make another transition. Maybe, in fact, we are all at that point with the Covid-19 Pandemic.

Transitions are not easy. They seem to come just when you think you have everything all set. Why is this, I ask you dear reader? "Why now"?

The answer is not why now, but maybe "why not"? Let's face this transition with some grace and positive forward movement. Let's go with Why not! Let's look at this time as time to make some changes.  Change takes courage and begins with little steps.

What's Most Important to You?

Do you take time out to think about what is most important to you? Do you take life as it comes or do you make life what you want it to be? There may be no right or wrong answers to these two questions, however those who fail to plan, often find their life results less than they desire.

I have found taking “formal planned  time” to focus on what is most important to you is key to creating the life you want.Taking time out from your day-to-day activities can be tricky and complicated, especially if you lead a busy life. However, if you are a busy person, then taking time out is as easy as making an appointment or two with yourself. A few hours will likely be enough for you to create a clearer understanding of where you want to go.

Individuals who are focused can pre-plan their “future vision session” .  They can do this by creating a list of questions to consider during the session.  This will allow a more focused and directed time. However, if you are a person who has trouble focusing, working with a life coach for a few sessions might be the key to creating the life you want. The life coach can help you by asking great questions, and then you can find your own answers.

Terry now provides life coaching services. Check out her website for more details.

Achievements and Accomplishments

I have kept an Accomplishment Journal for close to thirty years. This is a small notebook that contains a running list of my life’s accomplishments and achievements. This is a very personal but powerful tool.  Think of it like a running “to do list” but one that has been done.

Accomplishments are personal goals I have achieved (Distinguished Toastmaster Award), business developments (designed initial NSGCD/ICD Certificate and Certification program), new skills I have learned (begin blog – Transition Your Life) , developing my website www.terryprince.com, books I have read and finally finished (Bleak House), big or special trips I have made (Sweden/Italy).

Sometimes the accomplishments I list and record are private acknowledgments I have received (emails, letters, small tokens).   These accomplishments however, are not all tangible awards, promotions or credentials. Instead the accomplishments I list are often conversations I have had, times when I have been fully present or times when I supported my family members, business partners or friends with certain activities, ideas, actions or inaction’s.

The accomplishment journal provides me a sense of my life’s history, patterns and of stretch. When I want to venture into something new, I often spend a short period of time reflecting on my achievements and accomplishments. This gives me the strength and courage to proceed and go forward toward new projects or goals.

Consider taking the time to locate a small attractive book to become your accomplishment journal. Make your first entry –

• 12-17 Purchased an Accomplishment Journal

Time to Listen More

Now is a good time for us to listen. The holiday season brings many social gatherings and events. Listen more and learn. Instead of delving right into a conversation, spend more time in listening mode. This may give you an opportunity for deeper communications in the long run.

Let's say you are attending a neighbor's party. When you choose to listen instead of providing small talk, you can find out all types of information. This event could provide you with the knowledge that:  your friend Sally has just purchased a new car, Jody was laid off and is in need of a new job,Margie is worried about her aging parents, Martha is looking for help with social media for her new business.

All this information gleaned at the neighborhood party can then translate to Sally has an old car to sell.  Jody, who needs a job, can be referred to Martha who needs some help with social media. Margie, with the aging parents, might just need an ear to vent, or she may need some local resources you have to share.

When you listen deeply, you can potentially give the gift of helping move things along, make a job connection or give much needed comfort and assistance. Being a good listener takes extra work and effort, but it really can pay out healthy dividends for yourself, your friends and your community.

Get Ready To Be Ready

The expression Ready, Set, Go is likely an adaptation of the prompt On Your Mark, Get Set, Go used by a variety of racing fields (swimming, running) to prepare their participants for action. 


We can use the Ready, Set, Go to prepare our day or even our life for upcoming changes.

Being Ready

To be ready we can prepare our tools, equipment, and even our physical being for the upcoming action. We can improve our knowledge on the subject, increase our skills and education. We can prepare our body for the upcoming physical actions or anticipated requirements by eating nutritious and healthy foods. 


Getting Set

While getting set means getting on the "mark" in the physical racing world, we can get our brain on the mark, by being in the right mindset. This includes being truly focused on what is before us. By avoiding distracting veins of thought we can be instead set on our upcoming event. We can also actively work to prevent beginning conversations in our minds that get our emotional being unsettled. 


Going On

The Go part of is the first step on your new path. Take a deep breath and begin. Since you have already done the Ready and the Set it is likely that the Go part will be the easiest.    



Getting ready and set are by far the most important parts of making a transition.  Be prepared to spend some time and do some work to fulfill the preparation of "Ready" and "Set".   


Have you used Ready, Set, Go in your life transitions?  

This is a best of post - from 2010.

Small Steps to Getting Things Done

Getting started is often the hardest part of any task. Think about some "small steps" you can do to get part of the process or project done.

One of the ways to view the task in today's modern world is to decide if your task involves Electronic Communication Activities or Non-Electronic Communications Activities.  By determining this you can set the stage to begin your task. You can also steer yourself away from the electronic distractions which are more of a tendency to increase procrastination. 



Electronic Communication Activities 

• Turn on the computer or phone
• Mentally draft an outline of the conversation or email/test before you actually begin
• Look up a phone number or email in your files
  
• Get into a blank document  (if you have to draft a letter) or set up an email or text
• Start typing or speaking

Conversely if you don't have a "screen" or electronic task at hand, you can consider using this list of steps:

Non-Electronic Communications Activities

• Turn off the computer
• Turn off the cell or mobile phone
• Visualize or decide what needs to be done first
• Get out the tools you need to do the job
• Go to the needed location 
• Begin your process

This is a best of post from 2011 - I am posting this because I need to take my own advice to heart.

Done

Today I completed my 100 books challenge using Good Reads to record my progress. While I certainly enjoyed the variety of books, I think I will set my challenge for 2013 to be 75 books. I also want to add in about 5 more books from the BBC list.

What are your reading plans for 2013?

Ahead or Behind?

There are days when we think we are "ahead" and days when we are falling "behind". On the best of days we are right where we are suppose to be.

Here are some strategies to help you: 

When you are Ahead

First, mentally acknowledge yourself for being at the "ahead" stage rather than the "behind" phase. Second, take some time to build in a well earned break. Third, review the elements of your success. Sometimes we have developed new skills that have allowed us to move forward. Glean these as takeaways for the future.


When you are Behind

First take a deep breath, acknowledge where you are. Realize that this will not be forever.Second, spend some time working on strategies. How you might speed up, or move your project along? Sometimes we have to pull out of other unnecessary or less important activities to reach a project goal.Third, seek help. Many times we fall behind because we fail to enlist help. Sometimes that is what we need to move forward.

This is a best of post from 2010.

Look at "Shoulds" and "Coulds"

Are you failing to listen to the should and the could's in your life? By transforming our shoulds into "do's" and "will"s we may accomplish many things.  However, sometimes our should and coulds are things we might want to avoid doing entirely.

1. Take a look at your shoulds and coulds

Spend some time over the next few days listening to your inner talk and your external communications. Take note of the number of times you express or think the word "Should" or "Could". If you have a high frequency of shoulds or coulds, (Perhaps 5+ a day) you may want to spend some "thinking, development and planning" time around them.


2. Delve into the shoulds and coulds

After you have listened to yourself over the last few days, you may find some frequent shoulds and coulds. Take time to jot them down in sentence form.

I should get more sleep at night
I wish I could keep my desk clear
We could buy a new car



3. Analyze your should and could's for future work and change.

Let's say you want to get more sleep. How can you go about making it come to fruition? By brainstorming you may come to some possilble solutions.

For example:  

I should get more sleep -  To get more sleep, go to bed earlier or stay in bed longer. The should becomes a will when you decide to go to sleep earlier or set your alarm for a later morning wake up.

We could buy a new car - Deciding to buy a new or different car, is a process and project. You may choose to get a new car when your current car reaches a certain mileage, or if maintenance fees exceed the cost of a monthly payment. Your new car might be more advantageous when you have to start driving to your new company's office (which is further away) to keep fuel costs down. A new car might make more sense after you have paid off other debts or saved a certain dollar amount. The could becomes more of a strategy and plan development when you look at the when and why components.


4. Transform your should and could's to wills, when's, why's or later decisions. If you formalize and bring these shoulds and coulds  to the next phase you will allow more space for things to happen.

5. Erase your negative should and could's from your mental and verbal vocabulary.  Sometimes we have stuck should and could's which can not be easily transformed into action or do not warrant further thought about.

For Example:

I should have said  ..... instead of ......
I could have read the directions three times and caught my mistake (after improperly assembling a complex piece of furniture)


Spend some time working on your should and could's and you will likely transform your life.


This is a best of post from 2009.

Changing Your Mind

There are times in life when we find ourselves changing our minds about certain things. These changes can mean we have found new insights or ways of dealing with things or feelings.

A change of mind can be because you have comprehended a different perspective, felt more aware or differently about something.

When have you changed your mind about something?

Challenge Yourself

September is all about learning. It is the traditional back to school season. This is a great time to think about self improvement. Be brave and think about what areas you are in need of improvement. Make a list and then plan to work on making some improvements, by consciously contemplating what might help you gain forward motion. This could involve taking some classes in the near future, reading or researching the subject. It can also mean using a coach to help hold you accountable to making this happen.  

Get Your Creativity Cooking!

Creativity is not always at hand when we need it most. This is especially true when we are cooking up a transition in our lives. Sometimes we need to try to be extra creative, so we can get some new ideas that set us on our way.

The secret to being creative is trying to simply "be". Being isn't easy. It takes time. This time includes practice, persistence and above all, patience.

Here are six "be" concepts which can be done or not done. These ideas are in no particular order.

1. Be still
2. Be moving around
3. Be aware of your senses
4. Be willing to temporarily close out some of our senses
5. Be in a different environment
6. Be in our normal environment by just hanging in there with a different frame of mind

Let's think of creativity as a salad for those in the Northern hemisphere, and a soup, for those in the Southern hemisphere. It takes a few good ingredients to make a soup or salad special. Try a mixture of the ideas from numbers 1 - 6.

Let me know if you cook up any new ideas. You will be well on your way to preparing something good before long.

This is a best of post from 2009

Practice Year-end Productivity

Get a jump on 2012. Follow these December productivity techniques to wrap up the business year and be ready to roll in 2012. Most of these tasks will individually take less than twenty minutes. So invest the time and get set up to be a more productive you in 2012.

• Clear out your desk drawer
• Wipe down your bookshelves in the office
• Purge any unneeded reference material, seminar binders.
• Update your credentials to reflect the year
• Update your contact management system with new contact information or changed addresses
• Clear unused files and folders off your computer desktop 

Looking for more tips? Check out the free monthly tips on my website.

This is Transition Your Life's 150th post. I started this blog in August of 2007 with the goal to write about transition and change. I also started a second blog in 2009 - Terry's Thinking which is designed for coaches, professional organizers and consultants.

Ask Good Questions

Do you ask questions? The questions we need or want to ask are often the ones that help us find the answers.

Questions work best if they are relatively short and direct. Complex questions can get us bogged down in terms of perspective and framework as well as intention. Extremely complex questions can also confuse the person who is suppose to be answering them.  A complex question may not get answered because the "answerer" may loose his or her sense of place. 

Gary Lockwood, a business coach said "a significant reason to ask good questions is to help the person you are asking. Asking well-crafted, intelligent questions causes people to think profoundly. When someone thinks more deeply than before, new ideas, new answers and new possibilities emerge".

Everyone asks questions throughout their day and life. They can be internal questions or external ones. Take for example the internal question Shall I work on this task or another? This small question will drive our actions. By making sure your internal questions are positive, you can have more impetus to move forward. A negative internal question creates a bad starting attitude and may delay your progress. Shall I work on this mind numbing task or quit for the day? Work to compose your internal questions to get the best results.

External questions such as Do you (my boss) want me to work on this assignment now?, can be altered by inflection of the voice or a significant pause. Do you want me to work on this assignment NOW? can be taken as a passive aggressive statement. So be mindful of how you present your questions as much as choosing what to ask.  

When you ask questions is also an important factor. A question answered by a tired individual or someone who wants to leave the room is likely not to be as good as from someone who is refreshed and energized. Make your questions count, choose to ask them in the best possible time. When the timing is bad try to communicate at a later time. Delayed questions may still be answered, and in fact getting better results. 

Spend some time over the next few weeks observing how you ask questions. Review if your questions are getting answered. See if your questions get thoughtful answer. If your answers are not clear start working on your questioning skills. 

Working on our questions is a lifelong journey. In the words of Francis Bacon - "Who questions much, shall learn much, and retain much". Improve your questioning skills and improve your life.

Change Your Attitude

Change and transition's are generally difficult. If you have been involuntarily made to change, a change of attitude may make a big difference.

Three ways to change or transition your attitude:

1. Try looking at things with a perspective outside of yourself.
2. Visualize a good outcome and rethink strategically how to get to that place.
3. Be grateful you have to experience this discomfort and appreciate the insightful lesson's you will learn.

Growth comes from change. Start with changing your attitude. You will enjoy the journey much more.

Read about other concepts of change

What's it all about?

If you are a new viewer here at Transition Your Life, you may be wondering what this blog is all about.

This blog is about change and making transition. It is here to serve as a mental prompt or idea generator for you, when you are experiencing a life transition.  This means you could also be starting on a change, in the middle of a change,  or even just pondering change. 

Change is what we all do. The only thing constant is change. Change is seldom easy.

When I started my blog in August of 2007, I wrote:

This Site is for testing ideas and thoughts before setting out on your next journey, whether it be a career change, new family, or even post retirement.

The goal of my site is to keep it simple, keep it short -- occasional postings under 300 words. 
 
So I think I have been keeping up with the concept. Keep reading.

Ready to Go

A new year is about to appear. Here is a best of post to help get you ready.

The expression Ready, Set, Go is likely an adaptation of the prompt On Your Mark, Get Set, Go used by a variety of racing fields (swimming, running) to prepare their participants for action.


We can use the Ready, Set, Go to prepare our day or even our life for upcoming changes.

Being Ready

To be ready we can prepare our tools, equipment, and even our physical being for the upcoming action. We can improve our knowledge on the subject, increase our skills and education. We can prepare our body for the upcoming physical actions or anticipated requirements by eating nutritious and healthy foods.


Getting Set

While getting set means getting on the "mark" in the physical racing world, we can get our brain on the mark, by being in the right mindset. This includes being truly focused on what is before us. By avoiding distracting veins of thought we can be instead set on our upcoming event. We can also actively work to prevent beginning conversations in our minds that get our emotional being unsettled.


Going On

The Go part of is the first step on your new path. Take a deep breath and begin. Since you have already done the Ready and the Set it is likely that the Go part will be the easiest.   



Getting ready and set are by far the most important parts of making a transition.  Be prepared to spend some time and do some work to fulfill the preparation of "Ready" and "Set".  


Have you used Ready, Set, Go in your life transitions? 

Time to Listen

This is a Best of Post - but well worth repeating!

Change is hard, listening may be even harder. When we are changing we may find ourselves having to find more time to listen. Listening takes energy.

Finding the right people to listen to is not easy. Missteps are usually found along this path. The best method for selecting good "listening" is to go with your intuition. Listening to a person who is soothing might be good, yet they can lull us into a stasis, state of complacency or even a paralysis of indecision. Listening to someone who causes us major anxiety may not be a good choice either. However, sometimes the individual's who causes us minor anxiety and inner turmoil are helping us develop new thoughts, thinking patterns and helping us change.

Listen to learn, listen to grow. Change will come.

Who do you plan on listening to?

Things of the Past

Time to clear out the dusty and old, to make room for the new. Today, I am looking at how to handle past office and business material. Business owners who have been in business for over 10 years, know that the material starts to acquire. This is especially true if you haven't changed your office location in over 5 years. The following might help you when clearing out the past from your office.


Non Serving Usage
Outdated expired, no longer relevant items come to mind. I ran across a hidden pile of blank outdated forms. These found a home in the recycling bin.

Former Client Files and Material
If you have been in business a while, it is likely you understand the value of record retention. I have a five year client policy. However sometimes material is a useful template or example for other things. This is where a template vs. a client file becomes of value. Transitioning files over to templates, maintains your record retention plan and helps you understand the importance of what you have learned, created or observed.

Example/Template Files 
Even example or template files can become overwhelming or overfilled. Periodic clearings can help prevent overload.   


Aging Technology
I recently disposed of a plethora of floppy disks containing financial information. Of course, I had to make them unusable first - this took time. Some never used disks I donated to my community through freecycle.


Historical Reminders
Not all old items are unwanted. I ran across an old newsletter from an association that had a wealth of memories, and brought up a few "I need to call that person" notes to add to my to do list. After I added that, it was easy to toss the material. Sometimes I found information that was useful for my business time line. So I placed that in my time line pile. Stay tune for more on this in the next few months.

Historically Significant
Occasionally you may run across some items of ephemera, that might be of value to your community or business community. It helps to understand the concept of ephemera. Check out my article on my website for information on this topic.   



By keeping the above in mind, you may have an easier time of clearing out. Business Anniversaries are a cause for celebration, and a good time to make time to clear out the past, to make room for the new.

October is Terry Prince's business anniversary month. Terry started her business in October of 1983.

 

Shoulds and Coulds - Time to Revisit

Last year, I wrote a post about shoulds and coulds - I think it is a good time of year to visit it again.  

Are you failing to listen to the should and the could's in your life? By transforming our shoulds into "do's" and "will"s we may accomplish many things.  However, sometimes our should and coulds are things we might want to avoid doing entirely.

1. Take a look at your shoulds and coulds

Spend some time over the next few days listening to your inner talk and your external communications. Take note of the number of times you express or think the word "Should" or "Could". If you have a high frequency of shoulds or coulds, (Perhaps 5+ a day) you may want to spend some "thinking, development and planning" time around them.

2. Delve into the shoulds and coulds

After you have listened to yourself over the last few days, you may find some frequent shoulds and coulds. Take time to jot them down in sentence form.

I should get more sleep at night
I wish I could keep my desk clear
We could buy a new car


3. Analyze your should and could's for future work and change.

Let's say you want to get more sleep. How can you go about making it come to fruition? By brainstorming you may come to some possilble solutions.

For example:  

I should get more sleep -  To get more sleep, go to bed earlier or stay in bed longer. The should becomes a will when you decide to go to sleep earlier or set your alarm for a later morning wake up.

We could buy a new car - Deciding to buy a new or different car, is a process and project. You may choose to get a new car when your current car reaches a certain mileage, or if maintenance fees exceed the cost of a monthly payment. Your new car might be more advantageous when you have to start driving to your new company's office (which is further away) to keep fuel costs down. A new car might make more sense after you have paid off other debts or saved a certain dollar amount. The could becomes more of a strategy and plan development when you look at the when and why components.

4. Transform your should and could's to wills, when's, why's or later decisions. If you formalize and bring these shoulds and coulds  to the next phase you will allow more space for things to happen.

5. Erase your negative should and could's from your mental and verbal vocabulary.  Sometimes we have stuck should and could's which can not be easily transformed into action or do not warrant further thought about.

For Example:

I should have said  ..... instead of ......
I could have read the directions three times and caught my mistake (after improperly assembling a complex piece of furniture)

Spend some time working on your should and could's and you will likely transform your life.