Don't stand still

Spring is here (in the Northern Hemisphere, at any rate – you guys in the South have had your turn for a few months…) and The New Forest, where I live, is changing almost daily. The days are noticeably warmer now, a welcome change from winter. The most noticeable change in the Forest this month is the increased level of birdsong. 

Finches sit on top of the gorse bushes, Great Tits in the upper branches of the bare-limbed trees, Robins perch on top of the hedges, Thrushes in the distance. All singing at the tops of their voices and for a worthwhile cause – it is the start of the mating season, the annual ritual when birds look for a partner.  In the background, somewhere deep in the forest, the ‘rat a tat, tat’ of woodpeckers boring holes in trees also signals that the nesting season is beginning. To round it off, I heard the first cuckoo of Spring this morning, the annual sign the ‘Spring is here’.

The birds sing for two reasons. Firstly, the males sing to attract a mate. This is why they choose a prominent position, where they can be seen and their voices carry. ‘Look at me’, they sing, ‘Choose me. I’m big and strong and just the father for your chicks’. Males also sing to mark out their territories and to defend them against rivals.  Each species has its own recognised song and the effect of the medley of different tunes, repeated over and over again, is magical. It’s part of Spring, like the daffodils, the clocks going forward and the sound of lawnmowers being used for the first time since last Autumn.

This is the start of a process which is repeated every year. It’s similar to many annual tasks and projects that we find ourselves carrying out in our working lives. The birds, though, will start afresh with a new plan. Many species find a new mate every year; most build new nests and many build these nests in new territories. They don’t expect to come out of the winter and pick up ‘business as usual’. They have to sing (advertise) for a new mate, find a suitable nesting site and start the process of bringing up their new family.

In our working lives, how much time to do we invest in planning for annual projects, the ones that we did last year and will do again next year and the year after? Very often, we expect everything to carry on much as usual. We’ve done it before and it worked, so we’ll do it again the same way. This is especially true for people in midlife who have been in the same role for a number of years or who run their own business.

Whilst this approach is fine, do remember the birds singing in the trees. They are thinking about how they will do it this season, who they’ll do it with and where they’ll do it. Do take some time to review what happened during your main projects last year and make any necessary changes this time around. What worked, what didn’t? How has the environment around you changed? Were the right people involved at the right time last year, or did you have some last minute panics? Was everything in the right place at the right time? What has changed since last year?

Time spent up front planning your work is always time well spent, as the birds singing to attract this year’s mate will testify!

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Rob Horlock has established The Mid Life Opportunity (www.midlifeop.com), a community for people in Midlife. Advice and Guidance is available from The Mid Life Coaching Panel. It’s free to join - click here

The Midlife Jigsaw

Most midlifers will have completed their fair share of jigsaw puzzles. From 20 piece puzzles as a child, though 100 piece puzzles when you were a little older to 1000 piece puzzles when you were on holiday with the rain lashing against the windows of your holiday home. And plenty more in between.

What did they have in common? Most likely, you would have completed the outside first, then completed the ‘obvious’ patterns, then filled in the more difficult bits – the blue sky, the green grass or the tiger’s body. What your puzzles would also have in common, very often, would be the odd missing piece. Maybe some pieces had fallen under the table or perhaps a previous ‘puzzler’ had forgotten to put a few pieces back in the box (how irritating is that!)

So what?

 Have you ever felt like a lost puzzle piece? Have you ever felt that everyone else’s life is running along very smoothly – their piece of the puzzle is nicely slotted into position – while yours is going pear-shaped? Perhaps your relationship has come to its natural end. You look around and all of your friends seem happy in their lives; they are sitting comfortably in their position in the jigsaw while you feel like the missing piece of the puzzle.

Perhaps you’ve lost your job with no apparent chance of finding alternative employment in your area. You and the jigsaw piece under the table will have a lot in common. The recession of the early 21^st century is very reminiscent of a jigsaw puzzle. Most people are largely unaffected (although they think they are) and are nicely placed in the correct position in the jigsaw.

Some people lose their jobs and become the jigsaw pieces that need to find their position or worse, they become the puzzle pieces that fall under the table or get lost. These are the people who have born the brunt of the recession and have struggled to find themselves back in the mix. For many, their position in the jigsaw remains elusive and they continue to struggle to find gainful employment. For others, their jigsaw piece remains outside of the puzzle but through hard work, thinking outside of the box and a fair degree of lateral thinking, they find their rightful place back in the jigsaw.

It’s a very rewarding feeling to complete a complex jigsaw puzzle. It’s even more rewarding if your piece of the puzzle is retrieved from under the table and finds its rightful place back in the puzzle through your ingenuity, resourcefulness and sheer hard work.

You don’t have to remain outside of the completed puzzle but you could choose to do so. Don’t!

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The Mid Life Opportunity (www.MidLifeOp.com) is a community for people in Midlife. Advice and Guidance is available from The Mid Life Coaching Panel. It’s free to join - click here

Career Advice for the Over 40s

Guest post by Lorraine Wright

Why do people in their 40's, 50's and even 60's suddenly find themselves looking for work? Here are two real-life scenarios.

At 61, James C. felt secure in his executive job at a prosperous aeronautical firm. In 30 years, he had never taken a sick day, and had brought millions in revenue to the company. So he was completely blindsided when, caught in a nasty dispute between two battling VP's, he ended up being handed an early, and definitely unwelcome, retirement. He was devastated and angry, and considered legal action.

Elizabeth N. also felt secure. After 25 rewarding years of staying home and raising a family, she had never wanted a career. She, too, was blindsided when an unexpected divorce left her, at 45, as a single mother with three young children, little money, and nothing on her resume but an outdated college degree and a few part-time retail jobs.

Solutions?

James was at first understandably bitter and angry, and even considered legal action, but quickly realized this was counterproductive. And he wasn't ready to retire. He decided to get a job, any job. Through networking, he heard about a company looking for someone to oversee a huge contract. The catch was, the company needed someone who could travel overseas immediately, and work with no supervision whatsoever. In other words, they needed someone mature with years of experience. James got the job, and worked successfully for this company until he decided to retire.

After taking a few months to get her bearings and deal with the emotional shock, Elizabeth invested in several computer courses. Then, she applied to a Temp agency, and over the next four years developed many new skills, gradually advancing to higher level jobs. At age 50, when she heard of an office manager's job, one requiring a mature person, she jumped at it, and was finally able to support herself doing a job she enjoyed.

Why else do people over 40 find themselves looking for work? There are many other reasons: People are downsized, laid off, or their companies shut down with almost no warning; some people take early retirement, picturing how wonderful a life of leisure will be, only to find themselves bored witless after only a few months; others are horrified to see a lifetime of carefully-invested money melt almost overnight to half or less of what it was, due to the shaky economy. Some people have their retirement dreams shattered when their investor disappears with their precious and hard-earned nest egg, and sometimes, women are widowed, and suddenly find themselves with much less income than they expected.

At first many people in these situations feel shell-shocked, and paralyzed. But with a little time, some good financial and career advice, and armed with knowledge and a good resume, many people in their older years can find themselves happily and gainfully employed.

Every situation is different and success is never guaranteed, but don't give up: "Success is almost totally dependent upon drive and persistence. The extra energy required to make another effort or try another approach is the secret of winning." ( Denis Waitley )

Lorraine E. Wright http://21stcenturyresumes.ca 21st Century Resumes designs technology-friendly, attention-grabbing resumes and cover letters, customized uniquely for each job seeker, to present them at their very best in today's crowded and competitive job market.

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The Mid Life Opportunity (www.MidLifeOp.com) is a community for Mid Lifers. Advice and Guidance will soon be available from The Mid Life Coaching Panel. It’s free to join - click here