Career Corner: Spring Means New Beginnings

Spring is a time for renewal and rebirth. The signs of spring are everywhere. Flowers and tree are blooming and the days are longer, brighter and warmer. Our emotions are lifted by the extra light and warmth. We become open to change.

Most cultural traditions across the globe, celebrate spring or the rise of the vernal equinox as a time of new beginnings.

Spring festivals are calls to positive thinking and acting. Positive psychology has demonstrated a clear relationship among optimistic thinking, job satisfaction, health and longevity. Optimism can be developed.

Tips for Becoming More Optimistic:

• Believe in yourself.  William James, the father of American psychology, said: “Your belief at the beginning of a doubtful undertaking is the one thing that ensures the successful outcome of your venture…” When you expect the best, you release a magnetic force in your mind, which by the law of attraction, tends to bring the best to you.
• Recognize you create your own thoughts and have power to change them. Think and talk about what you want. Use positive statements about such things as being healthy and being in control.
• Concentrate on successes. Prepare a list of accomplishments and positive personality characteristics, or create a success collage using pictures that illustrate who you want to be and accomplish. View these daily.
• Review fortunate experiences. Note the role belief and hard work played in achieving successes, and strategies used to accomplish results.
• Be genuine. Discard preconceived notions of what others think, and recreate the person you are, and want to be! Don’t compare yourself with others. Judge your accomplishments against personal standards of self-improvements. Strive for excellence rather than perfection. Have realistic standards of excellence.
• Take your mind off problems. Participate in activities that focus attention elsewhere. View a movie, meditate, exercise.
• Break the worry habit. Empty your mind of worrisome thoughts before sleeping to avoid retention of these thoughts in your subconscious. Picture troublesome thoughts flowing out of your mind like water flowing from a basin.
• Forgive. Forgiveness is pardoning without harbouring resentment. Release old hurts. You don’t have to befriend the individual, but you must release negative emotions associated with that person. When you hold onto pain, you’re allowing that person’s actions to continue to hurt you.
• Define a clear goal, and expect success. Be motivated by desire and goal attainment. When you arise in the morning, review goals. Take one forward action step. Reward yourself for attaining this.
• Spring clean your home and work space. Remove clutter. Add a plant or flowers for beauty and energy boost.

Remember, spring is about new beginnings and cultivating optimism. Choose to capture that sense of freshness and renewal, and build upon it throughout the year.

Editor’s note: this has been a guest blog post by Dr. Carole Kanchier she is a career and personal growth expert, is author of the award-winning, groundbreaking book, Questers Dare to Change Your Job and Life (2014). A registered psychologist, coach, speaker, and columnist, Carole practices in Calgary: [email protected]

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