You can try to ignore it until fall.

Summer is for relaxing, not career planning, right?

"I don't have time," you say to yourself. And to your friends/family/hairstylist/dog walker/grocery bagger

"I'll deal with my career issues later," you promise yourself. And how many times have you said that anyway?

That's crap. You're just kicking the can further down the road -AND - missing an opportunity to finally solve a problem that's been waking you up at 3am ALL YEAR.

Do something different this summer.

Pay attention and take action.

"What would you tell your younger self?"

This is the question I heard being asked over and over again to more than two dozen Women of Influence honorees last week.

Most of them replied with some version of this:

"Trust my instincts earlier."

They're waiting for an answer.
Shit! What do I say? My mind just went blank.
My hands are shaking.
Everyone on this Zoom is staring at me.
I prepared so well for this interview. Or so I thought.
I'm going to get rejected again if I can't come up with a good answer - right now.
I used to be good at this.
What can I do?

"It got quiet when I was in the right place."

That's what I heard the man say after describing his 9 year+ slog to get his undergrad degree.

It got quiet when he found the path that would light him up and send him on a (still going and satisfying) 25 year path in the wellness field.

6 months ago I found myself in between belief systems.
Could I do it?
Would I have to go back?

Sounds like a prisoner out on parole!

I just heard the most amazing reason ever to listen to yourself when you find yourself stuck in a decision to stay or leave #distressingwork!

It takes ENORMOUS ENERGY to keep yourself going and productive when it is NOT what you want to be doing.

ll around the picnic tables in the heat this summer you can hear this:

"What do you think I should do?? I feel so stuck in my #distressingwork!"

Go for a walk. Eat a Popsicle. Stick your head in the freezer.

These are all viable and desirable ways to spend the dog days of summer.

What is your theme song, dear Reader?

You know, the one you listen to when you are FEELING yourself? The one that reminds you of your greatness (and also amazing lip-syncing skills)? The song with the lyrics that inspire you to live the life for who you are now - not the person you put on like a shiny shirt at 23 and which now hangs in tatters (and is waaayyy too small!)

“Who am I, and how do I fulfill the rest of my life?”

That quote specifically comes from Isabella Rossellini in a recent New York Times profile entitled "How to Grow Old Like Isabella Rossellini."

"Ever been someplace you can’t leave and can't stay - all at the same time?"

That is a quote from the third season of the popular series, True Detective.
(I'm catching up on the show.)

What do you do when you feel too traumatized to go back into the corporate world? But you need work?

Start with deciding who you are going to listen to.

At the risk of offending everyone struggling on LinkedIn right now: what could be easy?

Stick with me here while I tell you the story...

This is the face of an energetic, creative and resourceful 7 year old (happens to be me) who had NO IDEA she had to come up with a "career" at some point.

Waaaaayyyy in the future.

You're almost there. Just reach down a bit further. I've got you.

This was the dialogue between me and my gymnastics teacher when I was 10 - every time I attempted a back walkover.

Are we there yet? What's next?
Are we there yet? What's next?

These are probably the thoughts you, as a professional woman in your 40s, have uttered (muttered?) to yourself along the path of your career.

Yesterday I had an attack of the "Shoulds." It definitely felt like this blue, scary monster breathing over my shoulder with horrid breath pushing me harder and harder to GET ALL THE THINGS DONE.

It took several hours of trying to meet its demands while also feeling exhausted and down before I remembered something:

We all need an Ophelia in our lives. Not the Shakespeare character - my actual friend, Ophelia (Ophie) who made this statement piece for me.

Pretty direct, eh? 😜

For everyone who has been stressed, afraid or outright traumatized by a #distressingwork experience, this is for you.

What is it like after you make a decision to leave #distressingwork?

See what my client exuberantly told me this week!

Why professional women (and many men) think they come to me for coaching-> to decide to stay or leave their #distressingwork

Why THEY really show up: