It’s the season of new beginnings. If you’re truly committed to a fresh start, you’ll need to keep your energy levels up. Luckily, most of us can find ways to replenish without having to radically change our lives, careers or schedules.
Dr. Amanda Guthrie, Naturopathic Doctor, (http://wholehealthtoronto.com) offers an Uplifting/Depleting Exercise to spark a different approach.
Start by making a list of all the things you do every day. Be as specific as you can be (i.e. ‘making calls’, ‘emailing’ rather than ‘working’).
Classify these activities into three categories. 1) list things that give you more energy and make you feel more alive; 2) list everything that lowers your mood or your energy; and 3) list the activities that are energy neutral.
Take a look at how much time you spend in each category. How can you increase the time and effort you give to uplifting activities and decrease the time and effort you give to depleting activities?
Can you do anything differently?
This exercise helps us to be consciously present and to make more mindful decisions, moment by moment, and day-by-day. Start the new year by cultivating energy-nourishing activities that maximize wellness and build a foundation for real and sustained change.
(credit: Segal, Williams & Teasdale. “Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression, 2nd Ed.” The Guildford Press, 2013).
Real Life Results, by Morgan Cowie
It sounds like hyperbole but it’s the truth. I walked into my first coaching session with Lianne feeling completely lost. For years, I’d felt that the contributions I was making to the world and my community were totally meaningless and that I had very little to offer. The pressure I was under seemed insurmountable and I was ready to break under the weight of it.
Now, a few months and five sessions later, I feel valuable, capable and (mostly) at ease. The funny thing? I didn’t change anything about my job or my obligations! Lianne gently but skillfully connected me to the things that I find most important and I realized many of my needs could be met within my current structure. The stressors that I felt were unmanageable were easy to alleviate when Lianne helped me recognize their root.
Today, I have a lot of tools that allow me to see clearly how to pair my innate and learned skills with my current priorities and obligations. And I have a ton of hope for the future. I am really clear about what is most important to me, what my strengths and challenges are, where I’m willing to compromise and where I want to hold strong. I have an extremely clear vision of my own value and what I can do to stay graceful under pressure.
Lianne doesn’t tell you what to do. She helps you hear the voice inside that already knows. Without Lianne’s coaching, I’m sure I would still be battling every day with a sense of worthlessness and failure. I am so grateful for her insights, her guidance, and the knowledge and tools I take with me.
Start 2015 with a career boost by joining one of Tikkato’s professional and career development workshops:
Career Tune-Up: Simple Steps to Career Growth
Saturday January 31, 2015,
1:00 – 4:00 pm, Toronto
With Anne Carbert, Career Counselor & Coach, a chance to reflect and dream, and to clarify your own concept of career growth.
Powerful Conversations at Work
Tuesday March 31, 2015, 6:00 – 8:30 pm, Toronto
With Lianne Krakauer, Career & Leadership Coach, an evening of hands-on learning on how to create more positive, dynamic and productive workplace conversations.
Parental Leave Tips for Lawyers
Wednesday, January 14th, 2015, Hamilton
I am part of this roundtable session hosted by the Hamilton Law Association for lawyers taking a parental leave. Find out more by emailing rleonard@hamiltonlaw.on.ca.
If you are a woman lawyer or paralegal working in a small firm or sole practice and preparing for a leave, you may be eligible for 6 hours of career coaching through the Law Society’s Career Coaching Program.
Lianne Krakauer is a career and leadership coach with 20 years of experience in professional services, law, education and the public sector. She works with individuals at all levels to find ways to re-invent their careers and bring about positive sustainable change. Lianne has led workshops and presented on a wide range of topics related to career and leadership development, communication and coaching. Lianne has a Bachelor of Laws and a Master of Education, both from the University of Toronto; and a Bachelor of Arts from Western. She has a Graduate Certificate in Executive Coaching from Royal Roads University and specialized training in Solutions Focused Coaching. She is certified to administer the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator®, a psychological instrument that supports individual growth and team development. Lianne is a Professional Certified Coach, a designation granted by the International Coach Federation which recognizes coaches who have completed over 750 hours of individual coaching. In her free time she can be found on her yoga mat in a favourite warrior pose.
