Tag Archives: Change

Retreat at Work

Posted on by

Having a “regular job” the past 7 ½ years hasn’t been the norm for me. Project work, consulting, tutoring, along with freelancing, sprinkled a few other “moonlighting” gigs have gotten me through. This followed what felt at the time was being “kicked to the curve.” A role I was perfectly suited for and really loved being in, ended when our idiot governor at the time thought he knew better than anyone how the state’s workforce development system functioned, and de-funded parts of it. His petulance at the time affected me directly and ended six years of successful local and statewide initiatives.

In August, I went back to work. My new position is a part-time one. I’m still surviving as a writer. This requires maintaining a patchwork-quilt of income streams. I’m also spending a few Saturdays each month advising young drivers on safer practices behind the wheel.

To be honest, I wasn’t sure embracing change would end well, or even last more than a few weeks. But I’d been a satisfied consumer at this not-for-profit committed to delivering healthcare in a way that still values the patient, so I knew firsthand that their core values were genuine. When I learned they were looking for people with customer service experience and skills, I applied.

Being in a healthcare setting as an employee isn’t that far afield for me. One of my better jobs I had found me landing at Healthsource back in 1997, when they were still locally managed. Continue reading →

A Different Approach

Posted on by

It’s always easy to focus on yourself. I know, I know—your situation is important and you don’t have time to think of anyone but yourself, or to ask about how I’m doing.

I’m re-evaluating most of my relationships. I remember a friend of mine from years ago mentioning that the “masses are asses.” My recent experience would validate his assessment. However, I’m trying to give people the benefit of the doubt and maintain a positive view of my fellow humans. Continue reading →

Things I’m Working On

Posted on by

How often can we start over again? Two times? Five times?  Fifty? I don’t know if there’s a definitive number.

Being able to begin anew is a skill we’re all going to have to cultivate. It’s not natural and works against the instincts and the cultural prescriptions that most of us have imbibed. Those messages framing our personal stories began in school and probably before; often, they are working against our own best interests. Continue reading →

The Power of Local

Posted on by

I received an email the other day. It was from someone who I once had a secondary connection to. While this person is certainly an intelligent, thoughtful person, their email was another one of those Henny Penny, “the sky is falling,” type of screeds. I read the email and the link attached and felt powerless. There was nothing I could do to change the problem being highlighted because it was too big for me. It was a macro level problem, and I need to stay focused on the micro level realities of life.  Continue reading →

Becoming excellent

Posted on by

Excellence

Let me make an observation. Excellence isn’t something that most of us strive for.  It seems that good enough is close enough. Perfunctory is too often the norm. It infects our work culture, our politics, our interpersonal relations, and our communities.

We expect excellence from everybody else though, don’t we?

What if we chose to pursue excellence in our own lives? Would it make a difference? Continue reading →

Going with the flow

Posted on by

Too many people are fighting a battle they’re doomed to come out losers in—resisting change. Change is becoming like breathing—it’s automatic and we don’t even notice we’re doing it. We don’t fight breathing, yet we resist any sign that things are going to change.

There was a time when I hated change. I fought it, hoping things would return to “better” days. Now, I’m more selective in the battles I choose to wage.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m a sucker for nostalgia and “the good ‘ole days” like most people of a certain age. I like history, appreciate what life was like growing up in a small town, and I even drink Moxie. I even have a new book out about it. Yet, I’m trying to adapt, and get better at staying ahead of the curve, or at least not becoming an anachronism. I will also say, I’m not a fan of change for change sake, or always following the latest flavor of the month; just wanted to get that out there. Continue reading →

Time to get started

Posted on by

The hardest part of change is getting started. Actually, probably the hardest part of most anything is the start, especially if you’re given to procrastination. It’s so much easier to put it off ‘til tomorrow, or next month, or even next year. I know, I’ve been there.

For several years, when I was 50 pounds heavier than I am now, I’d jump on the scale and think, “I need to lose weight.” I wasn’t ready to get started with joining the gym, increasing the calories burned, and taking responsibility for the calories I was consuming. Once I made that fateful decision in 2009 that I wasn’t going to be heavy any longer and started exercising and eating better, the weight started coming off and I’ve managed to keep it off by continuing to exercise and eat sensibly (most of the time). Continue reading →