Author name: Carrie

Professional Coach and Facilitator

Don’t Wait for New Year’s—What to Do in December So You’ll Hit the Ground Running in January

We’re almost halfway through December—incredible, right? I’m finding it hard to believe the end of the year is in sight. The crazy all-over-the-place weather certainly didn’t help with the confusion; in Philadelphia, as in many places, this fall was a full-of-surprises game called “What Season Is It, Anyway?”

But there’s no doubt about it—here we are, closing out another year. And that means you have a powerful opportunity.

What you do in the next three weeks has the power to positively shape:

  • the value you gain from the past year (and yes, there is huuuuge value buried in there, even if it was a really tough year for you)
  • the momentum and energy with which you greet the new year
  • …and the focus, structure, and support you’ll have to get you where you want to go over the next year of your life.

Here are three concrete ways to set yourself up for a great new year: …

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Getting Older Panic (Brought to You by They Might Be Giants)

“You’re older than you’ve ever been and now you’re even older
And now you’re even older
And now you’re even older
You’re older than you’ve ever been and now you’re even older
And now you’re older still
Time
Is marching on
And time
Is still marching on
This day will soon be at an end and now it’s even sooner
And now it’s even sooner
And now it’s even sooner
This day will soon be at an end and now it’s even sooner
And now it’s sooner still
TIME is marching on!
And time…is still marching on!”

—They Might Be Giants, “Older”

There’s something very cathartic about hearing your tough experiences well-articulated. And I think this song articulates the experience of 3am-sit-up-in-a-sweat-OMG-where-the-hell-am-I-going-with-my-life Thirtysomething Panic pretty well. As well as the 3pm-sitting-at-my-desk-OMG-what-am-I-doing-here panic.

Did your heart rate rise a little just reading those lyrics? …

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Back to School for Grownups: Create Your Own Fresh Start

When I was little, I LOVED laying out my school supplies for the beginning of a new school year. Fresh pencils (or, once I was in high school, pens—that transition from pencils to pens was how we knew we were cooler and more grown up)…

Spiral notebooks…

And the binders! Oh, the binders!

I LOVED the binders. (Yes, yes I am Leslie Knope.) Fresh new containers, ready to be decorated and filled, bit by bit. Empty, and thus paradoxically full of possibilities.

Do you ever miss it? That feeling of a fresh new school year? That clean-slate-fresh-start-anything-could-happen-this-year sensation? …

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Working on Labor Day (and What a 90something Badass Named Mother Jones Can Teach You about Thirtysomething Panic)

It’s Labor Day, a national holiday in the US, and I’m working. And feeling so grateful for that.

I considered taking the day off. Don’t get me wrong, I am a huge believer in taking time off, in vacation, in rest and replenishment, in designing and maintaining boundaries between work and the rest of life that serve both of those arenas…and I took some gah-lorious time off this summer. …

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Are You Waiting Until You’re Comfortable?

Think about a problem, a question, a desired change, a toleration, or an unmade decision you’ve had in your life for a long time. (Hint: if you feel that nagging “UGH—still stuck!” feeling when you think of it, you’re on the right track.)

If you know in your head, heart, and gut what your next tiny or huge step or steps should be—if you have been contemplating forward movement for a long time, but not committing to action—ask yourself this powerful question: …

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On Not Liking Yourself Very Much Lately

Do you feel not-so-crazy-about-yourself these days?

Are you seeing yourself acting again and again in a way that doesn’t line up with who or how you want to be?

When you start to recognize that it’s been a while since you felt good about yourself—like, since you thought, for the most part, yeah, I’m pretty great!—here’s a powerful turnaround for you: …

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I Don’t Have Time: What Are You Making More Important Than the Most Important Things in Your Life?

Do you often tell yourself you’ll “figure out” the important stuff as soon as you have time?

Every night as you go to bed, you think about how you want to change your career, or improve a relationship, or start a project.

You may even get feverishly excited with ideas—and then those ideas have to wait until tomorrow.

Or next week.

Or next year.

Or whenever you have time.

Or money.

Or energy.

Because after all, you have A Lot To Do.

You don’t have All The Money In The World.

You only have So Much Energy.

So naturally, the steps you need to take to get on purpose and on your path get shuffled to the bottom of the to-do list. …

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