photo credit: peasap

This week I started a wonderful new job working with some phenomenally talented people, managing a complex, statewide, volunteer-driven policy initiative.  It would probably fill up my heart and soul no matter the timing, but I’m back on the job after two years of time away from the office.  Its significance at this point in my life is big.

It’s always advised to “take some time between jobs,” but often this means a couple of weeks.  These past two years have been a great luxury, and helped me sort out the goals and objectives I want most to achieve in my work.  In a sense, I have been working during the time away from the office, but the project was myself.  The whole process got me thinking about two types of reflection.

There is the looking at the past, and analyzing and evaulating the decisions and results; there is also what we see of ourselves in other people around us.  They may be clients or colleagues, but those closest to us eventually have a significant impact on our sense of self, and our ability to bring our dreams from thoughts to realities.  The length of time I had away from my own old patterns made it impossible for me to deny the changes I needed to make.  While it is surely easier to wish others would change, in the end it is always us who needs to alter what is happening in our own lives.

If you are struggling with needing to make a change, you might not need the extensive time I took to get there.  You might just need encouragement and validation!  Below are some questions that may help you get there more quickly:

Where do  you see your reflection?  In evaluation by others, in your own ability to steer your professional ship, in the kinds of clients you attract, in your paycheck, in your relationships with your co-workers?  When you pinpoint your most common reflection, does it ring true, or do you want to see yourself somewhere else?

What one change could you make within yourself to see more of the person you want to be?

photo credit: moriza

As I prepare for a summer vacation, I am reminded of the time-honored tradition of “beach reading” — that glorious opportunity to read whatever we want to read, uninterrupted and guilt-free.

While I don’t want to tamper with a good thing, I got to thinking about why we bottle up our reading time for a rare and tiny window once a year. Could we do this kind of thing year ‘round if we really wanted to?

During the course of an average work week, we all read a lot of things: newspapers, magazines, online blogs and news sites, and the latest books for our professional fields. (Let’s not forget emails, tweets, and links from friends and co-workers!) It’s worth doing a quick analysis of your reading process to find out if you really are enriched by what you’re getting from that time.

I’ve discovered at least one hour of time that is eaten up by bad habits and aimless wanderings that I now direct toward reading for pleasure. Currently I’m reading Michael Pollan’s In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto. It is wonderful to discover I do in fact have the opportunity to stay current on issues of personal value to me, and not just time for world reports, business models, and which celebrity landed on the other’s face at the MTV Music Awards.

Honoring your personal interests is a critical component of being the most effective and balanced person you can be. Take time this summer to plan how you will bring beach reading into your life 52 weeks a year!