Here’s something unique about me – I’m a big fan of advance directives. Sounds like a funny thing to get excited about but I sure am. Anything I can do to minimize confusion and chaos in the healthcare experience, and offer the gift of clarity to my loved ones in stressful situations – I’m in. It is complicated enough! I’ve completed mine – and I’m here to encourage you to do the same.

In all of our connected lives, we show our care in lots of ways. It’s built into our daily routines – a quick text to check-in, a small favor to help out a friend, an extra hug, jumping in to help out a colleague.  And then there are times when needs flare up and caring moves from an everyday hum to center stage caring or caregiving. Now in a leading role, it demands more attention – more time, energy and heart. And more pressure on ourselves to ‘do it well’.  

We’ve all got natural talents. And we can’t help but use them. They are a part of our core. A reflex. Perhaps along the road of life, you have flagged some of yours and have honed them over time into outstanding superpowers or strengths.  These Strengths are always available – standing by, waiting to be used. So we use them. All the time. Consciously or not.

The work of seeds busting through soil to the light is HARD. Our role in the garden – and in our lives – is to attend to the conditions which allow the process to unfold. For me right now, this looks like revisiting and leaning on a lot of the fundamentals that I relied on in the early days of my business – a decade ago. They are really proving their value once again, so I made a list to share here.

With increasing frequency, I am hearing clients muse on what life will be like after they step out from the role or career that they’ve had for years. For ease of discussion, I guess we can say that they are each imagining ‘retirement’. That word, however, seems limiting or old-fashioned. 

Are you familiar with the expression “Make-Work”? This is the stuff that really isn’t needed to be done – certainly not in the moment – yet we think it has to be done – and likely promptly. So, we do it – only to learn that it was not needed or not on point. Cue resentment, frustration, fatigue. The cure is simple. Ask more questions – of yourself….of others.