May 2009 Vol 2, Issue 5
Creative Coaching Group
LIGHT ON THE SUBJECT
 the Creative Coaching Group newsletter

Greetings!

 
Jan CarleyIt's amazing what the sunshine does to one's psyche.  Living in the Pacific Northwest, with an average of 166 days of rainfall a year in Vancouver, makes us hardy sorts and patient beyond words for this glorious time of year when the Japanese Cherry Trees bloom, and the bike trails beckon. Changes in the season can change our perspective in an instant.
   
Changes are in the air for many of us right now - some of them are changes that we chose for ourselves, some of them changes that have been foisted upon us due to economic or other life circumstances. My mom recently turned 85 and we had a wonderful family celebration for her.  It blows my mind to think of the changes she has experienced and had to adapt to in her lifetime. 
 
How we choose to approach change is critical to our happiness. What are your strategies for embracing change?  I invite you to comment on my blog. (click here)   And then, what do you do when the one thing in your life you always counted on unexpectedly leaves you high and dry? Read about it in my feature article below.  
 
Happy Spring! Vancouver in Bloom
 
Cheers,
jan signature
Jan Carley
Certified Executive Coach and CEO of Creative Coaching Group
FEATURE ARTICLE:  EMBRACING CHANGE

R.I.P Melitta Coffee Maker

Tragedy struck this week.  My faithful Melitta coffee maker (a 1981 wedding gift from my aunt and uncle) blew up!  For 28 years that brown and beige drip coffee maker has been my constant - my North Star.  Every morning it greeted me with the familiar hissing/dripping sound and aroma of dark French roast.  That coffee maker was the one constant in my life - through marriage, divorce, relationships, jobs beginning and ending, through grief and happiness, through childbirth to empty nesting - that coffee maker was there for me every day.  Coffee early in the morning to jolt me awake and coffee shared late in the morning on my sunny deck.  What on earth was I going to do now?  How could I possibly adjust to life without my Melitta?
 
It brought to mind the much larger topic of change - how do we react to change?  Do we embrace it? Fear it?  Dread it? Welcome it?
 
We all need constancy in our lives - things that we can count on  - no matter what.
And we also know that lives change, friends get busy, family move away, relationships end, and kids move out. If, as the ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus said "There is nothing permanent except change", how can we create a grounded base for our life so that the swirling funnel of change doesn't carry us away?  How can we approach change as a positive development and make it work for us?  

Tips for Embracing change: 
 
1/ Change that gets foisted upon you: 
Changes that you have no control over are tough ones and it can be easy to jump into the victim role without even thinking. For example, say you just got laid off - that is a really lousy situation. So go ahead - be mad, be sad, be scared. Take the time before frantically perusing the want ads to consciously grieve the change. The length of time one needs varies from person to person and situation to situation. And then, when you are ready, just as consciously put yourself into possibility thinking by switching from thinking about the job you lost to planning the job you want next and the steps you want to take to get it. Once you consciously switch your focus away from scarcity you open up your future possibilities.  
(if you missed last month's ezine article on how to change your focus click here)
 
2/ Change that you create yourself:  
Here is the hard one - feeling the boat rocking because of changes that you consciously made yourself.  Wow, you might think "what was I thinking? Why the heck didn't I stay safely on the shore?"  
Some of you may have found out like I did, that in relationships for example, it is almost more difficult ending a relationship than being the "dumpee" because the total responsibility for the decision is yours and yours alone.  So what to do when you initiate a change, and are feeling some rocky bits because of it?  
It's time to sit down and remind yourself why you made the change and trust that you made the change for sound reasons. Write a list of the ways the change will ultimately be good for you and what possibilities the change will open up for you. Pin that list somewhere you can see it, or fold it up and put it in your wallet. Keeping a reminder of why you made the change will re-fill you with the courage you need to continue with that change whenever you feel those moments of doubt. 
 
3/ Change that you would like to create: 
I was talking to my friend Brenda who was reflecting on why she hadn't made the positive changes to her business that she had been talking about making for a year and she said "sometimes staying with the status quo is easier than making a change".  Absolutely true.
If you are in that space of wanting to make a change, but are paralyzed into complacency, take a moment to do a PRO/CON list and reflect on why you want to make the change. What will your life look like if you make the change?   What will it look like if you don't make the change?   Take a look at that PRO/CON list - how does it balance out? 
Remind yourself daily of why you want to make the change. And plan one tiny step per week to get you started.  Once you begin to take even a baby step toward the change, you will rock yourself out of your inertia.
 

As for me and my morning coffee - after a week of  sleepily trundling over to my local coffee joint with morning eyes barely open, I have stepped into a new era on the advice of a very persuasive young barista, and have purchased a "french press".  It is low tech, very few movable parts, and word on the street is, it makes great coffee.  Faithful Melitta - I will not forget you.  You served me well...but now it's time to change and embrace a new era of java.
LIGHTBULB OF THE MONTH 
 blue bulb                       
 "Change is inevitable - except from a vending machine"
                                                             -Robert C. Gallagher 
COACHING THROUGH CHANGE
"I was all ready to go internally but I needed the support, and a good sounding board in order to cut through the overwhelm, focus and mobilize my energy on the right goals. " - G.T.

Are you ready to take steps to make a change in your life?   Have you been waiting for that one sign that lets you know THIS is the time?  Well here is that sign!  Check out our Spring "Coaching through Change" Super Specials and experience the power of individual coaching to help you clarify, focus and take action. Coaching will kick-start your thinking and support you through the changes you want to make. Coaching sessions can be conducted on the telephone from anywhere in North America, or in person if you are in Vancouver. All sessions are with Internationally credentialed business and personal coach, Jan Carley. 
 
CHANGE INTENSIVE: 
Two (3) hour coaching sessions in one month! These sessions will dig into the very core of what you want to change and set you up with realistic and attainable action plans to achieve those changes. Coaching sessions take place bi-weekly, and include email support and "homework" between sessions.
*One month of coaching (Two bi-weekly (3) hour sessions) plus 30 min. intro session $549
 
CHANGE IN A MONTH:
One month of weekly coaching sessions to clarify and intensely focus your change action.
*One month of coaching (Four (1) hour sessions)  $399
 
THINKING ABOUT CHANGE: 
One coaching session to clarity!  If you are thinking about making a change but not entirely sure where to start, or what change you want, a coaching session will start you on your way.
*One (1) hour session $125
  
 
To book your "Coaching through Change Super Special" or to get more information please 
email Jan at: jan@creativecoachinggroup.com   or call her at 604 873-1763
 
QUICK LINKS
 
If you would like to reprint any part of this ezine in your blog and newsletter, please feel free to do so as long as you include the following credit information: Jan Carley inspires possibilities by coaching "from the inside out". Sign up for her free ezine, LIGHT ON THE SUBJECT, for more creative articles and tips on giving your life and business the "inside edge". Creative Coaching Group, www.creativecoachinggroup.com
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