Category: Career Success

How to Adapt Your Leadership to Different Cultures

Posted on Posted by Belinda MJ. Brown Categories Business Success, Career Success, Leadership, Team Success

Working with clients and colleagues in another country is a wonderful
opportunity to expand your business and meet interesting, intelligent
people. However, it is vital that you understand the cultural norms and
expectations in countries that are not your own, in order to connect with
your clients in a way that is meaningful and useful to them. So how do you
adapt your work and leadership style to a different culture?

Adjust Your Mindset

Adjusting your mindset is one of the most important strategies when
conducting business in a foreign country. You cannot just walk in and
operate the way you are used to, mainly because cultures in other countries
dictate otherwise. Not everyone shares the same point of view as you do, so
in order to be effective, you must adjust your own mindset to match that of
your clients.

The best way to do this is simply to be curious. Research business practices
and expectations in the country you will be travelling to, as well as the
customs and the people. This will give you a starting point for your
adjustment and help you feel prepared. Once you are on location, notice
how people behave and interact with each other. What seems to be
important to them? What are the power dynamics?

In the United States, there is very much a culture of collaboration, where
employees at all levels interact and share ideas openly. However, other
countries view honesty and outspokenness as disrespectful, or as reserved
for the most senior members. You can see why a businessperson in the
United States might need to tone down their approach in order to fit in and
meet expectations.

Recalibrate Your Services

Because different cultures and countries have points of view unique to their
experience you also will need to rethink the services you provide and how
they may need to change in order to be more beneficial. The strategy an
executive coach offers a client in the United States may not be appropriate
in Japan or Paris, but can be reframed in order to achieve the same result.
The same idea applies to other industries. If your focus is in customer
experience, you must recognize that not everyone wants the same results,
and will not have the same experience.

Reassess the Meanings of Core Values

While the casual business participant may think that most core values are
universal, the experienced practitioner knows that this isn’t exactly the case.
The concepts of Integrity and Trust might be present in businesses
worldwide, but the definition of these terms and what they look like in
practicality may not be the same. It becomes incumbent upon you to to find
out what such terms really mean in the country you are working in. Make
sure you understand your clients’ working definitions of these concepts so
that you are speaking the same language and are coming from the same
place. Discussing this upfront will prevent miscommunications, and will make
you feel more comfortable in your environment. Culture shock is a real
experience, but having a base understanding of a country and its norms will
help you make an easier transition. It will also help you avoid offending
others or doing something that would be deemed inappropriate.

Working with new countries broadens your horizons and strengthens your
skills in many ways. However, you still must provide value to your clients, no
matter where they are. If you work only in the way that is natural to you, it
is likely that you are not serving foreign clients in a way that is valuable for
them. And if you act in unexpected, unusual ways as deemed by a country’s
culture, your clients will likely have a strong negative response. Making such
adjustments to your mindset and services, and learning about the nuances
of core values will not only help your success, but the client will also feel
respected. Whether you research independently or have upfront
conversations about expectations, you can avoid most miscommunications
or missteps and set yourself up for a healthy working relationship.

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Finding Blame is Draining You: Find Out How to Quit the Blame Game For Good

Posted on Posted by Belinda MJ. Brown Categories Career Success

The blame game is one of the biggest problems draining our energy. Reports show that 80% of us are experiencing life at level one or level two energy where most thoughts are related to victim mode or anger mode.

We always blame someone else when we’re in victim mode. We feel that the environment, our job, and relationships aren’t doing well, but we aren’t the ones to blame. In anger mode, we’re fighting against others or ourselves about our value. We just want to win all the time. The energy we expel in these modes is called catabolic energy which is defined as draining.

There are two main reasons why we get in these modes: lack of self-awareness and lack of courage to take responsibility.

Confronting the Society of Blame

Every day we encounter challenges. We have situations where we feel conflict is inevitable. When you play the blame game, you disempower yourself and create problems from challenges rather than creating opportunities. Confronting this will help you strengthen your character, learn new skills, and become a more loving and productive person.

As humans, we think we are what we think we are. In reality, we are who we are and not who we think we are.

Years ago, we agreed as a society that it would be easier to live our lives if we didn’t have to actually challenge ourselves. Looking into the mirror and realizing that we might have hurt someone isn’t an easy thing to do. We put shame on top of the emotion that we don’t want to share.

Some of us have been playing the blame game with ourselves, which is even more disempowering. We blame ourselves for things that happened in the past and never get over it. There is nothing to be ashamed of here. We all experience this, including me.

Several years ago, I decided to quit the blame game for good because it was so draining. When I decided to hire my first coach in 2005, I was ready to do something about it. Now, I want to help you realize how much more you can get out of life by quitting the blame game.

Create Awareness Around Blame

The first step to end the blame game is to create awareness. Identify if you or someone in your entourage has exhibited blame behavior. Most of the time, we’ll be able to assess this in others more than ourselves.

These phrases are common signs of the blame game. Read on to see if they sound familiar.

“I don’t have the career I want because of xyz.”

“I’m not in a relationship because…I’m not good enough or pretty enough or those guys aren’t up to my standards.”

“My children are not grateful because…”

“My company has no consideration for me or others.”

“I didn’t get my promotion because my boss doesn’t like me.”

“I have no money because I couldn’t go to college.”

Life happens and our minds create our experience of life. The more aware you are, the more in charge you’ll feel.

Have Courage to Quit

Courage is what will help you break out of blame and reach your potential.

If I’d blamed people my entire life, I would still be living in a really nasty neighborhood in France, I never would’ve gotten a degree, and I never would’ve become an executive. Yes, I was born in a low-income family with a single mom and five siblings. Yes, life was hard, but it never felt that way. I worked hard, did what I needed to do, and went to school. In high school, I was told that it might be better for me not to pursue any college. I did it anyway. At age 20, I led 80 people for a large global corporation. It led me to incredible heights. If I had blamed the circumstances of my life, I would still be like many other people I’ve known in the same place sitting on the same block.

The more aware you are, the more in charge of your life you’ll feel. From a place of ownership and responsibility, we make choices, not excuses.

Notice Blame in Your Environment

Once you’ve acknowledged your participation in the blame game, how do you get out of your own way? An important step is to notice the blame game at work around you.

Ask yourself, how much do you contribute to others playing the blame game? Who in your entourage is nurturing a blame pattern? I wouldn’t be surprised if most of the people you spend time with are blamers. If the people surrounding you are blamers, their energy will be draining. When you stay in this environment too long, you’ll feel like a victim too.

I challenge you to take note of who surrounds you. You don’t need to cut off all your relationships. Simply become aware of it and what impact it has on your energy. By observing and journaling, you’ll create more and more awareness in your life.

Soon, you will become more alert so you can choose how you want to respond to challenges. The choice will be yours. The blame game is over.

 

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Characteristics to Look For in Your Next Executive Coach

Posted on Posted by Belinda MJ. Brown Categories Career Success, Executive Coaches, Leadership, Team Success

Corporate Training and Executive Coaching For Conscious OrganizationsFinding an executive and leadership coach that is the perfect fit for both you and your business takes a fair amount of research, but is well worth the effort when you connect with someone who can unlock your potential as a leader. If you’re new to leadership coaching, the process may seem overwhelming and it can be tempting to simply start working with the first coach you find. However, there are specific qualities you should be looking for in an executive coach to ensure that they are both qualified and a good match for your needs. Here are five steps you should be taking when shopping for a coach, and what they will reveal about their methods.

Evaluate their profile

It is essential that you interview any coach that you are interested in working with, just as you would with a potential new employee. This will be most telling about their style of coaching and approach. You are looking for someone who is open-minded, an active listener, and completely focused on the process. An ideal coach will create a safe and exploratory environment for you to grow, and will have forward-thinking conversations with you to help you find the solutions that work for you. They should  also feel strongly that any success belongs to you. Red flags include coaches who promise extraordinary results or have a one-size-fits all approach.

Check for Credentials

The leadership and executive coaching market is saturated with many professionals, but not all of them have the skills or experience to give you and your business the value you deserve. When looking at a potential coach, look them up on the International Coach Federation registries or the registries of the Board of Credentialing for Coaches. These two accrediting boards register coaches based on their experience, education, and the number of hours they have worked with clients. They also require continuing education to ensure that their coaches have the most current information and are keeping up with their skills.

Look Out for Coherence

It is important to evaluate the level of coherence a potential coach has between what they promote and what they themselves practice. In particular, you should find out if they have their own executive coach. Theoretically, if they believe in the power of coaching, they should also have a coach of their own so that they can continue to expand just as their clients are. Similarly, an executive coach should belong to a supervising group to reflect with on a regular basis about their practice as a coach. If an executive coach is encouraging your growth, but is not working to grow themselves as well, there is misalignment between their mindset and actions.

Understand the Coaching Process

An executive coach worth their weight must offer a customized approach in working with you. Cookie-cutter consulting isn’t providing you any value and certainly cannot be considered coaching. Valuable coaching is about adapting to you as the client, and bringing individual solutions for your specific situation. An executive coach is there to help you build and design the strategies for what you want and need.

Investigate References and Recommendations

Finally, when researching executive coaches, it is imperative that you look for their references and recommendations. Most commonly, you may be able to find these on the coach’s LinkedIn profile or perhaps even on their website. This will be useful to you in two ways. Firstly, you will be able to see who the coach works with, and whether or not they have worked with individuals or businesses that are similar to you. Secondly, you will get a feel for how the coach works and how they help manifest success for their clients, and whether or not that will be useful to you.

 

These key indicators are important to consider when researching possible executive coaches. You may be interested in an industry-specific coach, but here at Equanimity Executive, we don’t believe that is necessary. Coaches with industry-specific experience may wind up becoming more of an advisor or consultant due their inside knowledge, but keep in mind that this advice isn’t what you are looking for. You ultimately need a coach that challenges you and gives you the opportunity to create new opportunities for yourself.  Similarly, industry-specific coaches can have biases based on their own work and that may limit your exploration and innovation. As adaptive executive coaches, Equanimity Executive focuses on your needs as they are, from a fresh and open-minded perspective.

Looking for an executive or leadership coach may seem like an overwhelming prospect, but by considering these qualities, you will find a professional with the personality and ability to relate to you and your needs.

 

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How to Recycle Negative Energy from Today’s World Events to Make a Difference

Posted on Posted by Belinda MJ. Brown Categories Business Success, Career Success, Insights

There are many dramatic and saddening events that have happened in the world as of late. We’ve been almost overwhelmed with stress and negativity related to politics and world events.

This energy is contagious. Negative things are absolutely everywhere online and offline. I’m usually optimistic and I know how to practice detached involvement, but still this negative energy has had an impact on me.

Two places that I call home, Paris and Orlando, have been targeted in terror attacks. I didn’t want to blame anyone for this and feel a sense of victimhood because that’s just who I am. I believe there is a way for people to redeem themselves and I don’t want to judge at all.

Take Responsibility for Your Emotions

At the same time, I felt powerless. This is one of the worst feelings ever. When a situation seems unfair, negative thoughts and patterns follow that end up having an impact on everything in your life.

Many of us choose anger in this situation because it seems better than feeling powerless, but this catabolic emotion is actually draining you and making you feel worse. Even if you aren’t aware of it, you will bring heavyness to your environment and the people you’re with.

What can you do to channel the energy of victimhood to something more constructive?

As a coach, I’ve been practicing this for a long time, but when overwhelming events occur, anyone can get in a place where they just want to be angry. When this happens, make sure you are in charge of how you feel and how long you’re staying there. If not, everything around you will fall into a negative spiral.

Stay in Observation Mode

Change doesn’t occur with the snap of your finger. Preparing for change begins with simply noticing what’s happening. When emotions are coming into your mind and negative thoughts are popping up, stay in observation mode as long as you can.

Watch what is happening and write down your thoughts. Write down all the emotions you’re experiencing. When situations are difficult, you won’t just feel one emotion. You’ll see anger, guilt, conflict, and more. Write it all down to get it out of your head.

When we notice these emotions, sometimes we tend to get more upset. Be comfortable with it. You are in the right place. Observe and keep going. This is an important step to recycle negative emotion by first identifying the story you’re telling.

Plant the Seeds of Change

Write down where you want to be, how you want to feel, and what the ideal solution would be. Simply take out a piece of paper or take notes on your phone. It takes a few seconds.

This step will help you lower your level of stress and reconnect with your thoughts. You’ll begin to see potential opportunities in your situation.

When I was in the situation of processing all these terrible situations in the world, I was angry, sad, and powerless. The only thing I was thinking about was talking about it in a negative way. At first, I felt a bit better, but then I realized I was sharing my negative energy with the people around me.

I decided it was time to create something out of this negative energy. I wanted to channel it to build, design, or create something powerful. Negativity takes everything out of you, but what if you could create something that served you instead of drained you?

I imagined how I want to show up and make a difference in this world. What could it be? How would it make me feel? What could be the potential outcome?

Transform Energy into Action

The intention was about channeling my sense of powerless and anger toward something that would make me feel good and empowered. So I drove to Home Depot and set up a raised garden bed in my yard in less than 45 minutes. I planted herbs and re-planted all my other plants.

I felt accomplished and positive while I was setting up my garden. My stress level lowered dramatically. My mind was filled with positive thoughts of upcoming plans and delicious recipes with fresh fruit and vegetables. As my body moved muscles I didn’t remember existed, I felt alive. Mentally, I was given so much energy and creative ideas about how to help others. I was so confident that I could do something about it.

Today is the time to plant the seeds of change and focus on what will make you happy. What will help you bring change and positive energy to your life?

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Communication and Soft Skills For IT Engineers

Posted on Posted by Belinda MJ. Brown Categories Business Success, Career Success, Team Success

Why Communication and Soft Skills For IT Engineers?

We have been working and living with IT engineers for several years. One of their biggest challenge is to develop communication skills that will enable them to be great business leaders. Equanimity Executive is very excited to bring its expertise to those amazing professionals.

Equanimity Executive will provide communication skills training at the Idea Center in Miami, FL. The World Cup of Sales and LaunchCode are partnering on this project to offer IT engineers quality soft skills training so they can not only be successful technical professionals but great business leaders. If you are interested in attending one of our public session, please check the dates of our next training.

Communication Skills For IT Engineers Launcode

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Executive Coaching Social Community

Posted on Posted by Belinda MJ. Brown Categories Business Success, Career Success, Leadership, Team Success, Women Success

At Equanimity Executive we believe in the opportunity to engage with our prospects, followers, and clients around life coaching, leadership development and executive coaching topics. Our goal is to educate, develop and assist individuals and organizations reaching their goals.

Since the beginning of May, our team decided to design contests and activities which will support learning and personal growth at no cost, simply by following us. Those activities are a great way to deepen the connection we have with you as well. Many of you, newsletter subscribers (over 3500 in 2015) have been reading our content for years. Today, we have a chance to engage even more with you, our loyal and curious leaders and self-leaders.

Gabriela, our new Client Success & Awareness Specialist is dedicated to bring you fun and practical activities through coaching games and tools, reflective work and so forth.

We are excited to connect with you soon on social media and hope to help you reach some of your goals and raise your level of awareness.

Upcoming activities and events include followers and fans generated content as well such as a photo or video contest to get to know you better as well. This tap into the human drive to compete and learn on a more interactive way. We feel there is a need for connection to be able to apply everything that we share. You will never see the results you want, unless, you work on them and start playing in achieving them.

As a company we established a set of goals and concepts that we want to achieve. Belinda is constantly innovating and is looking to have fun doing it! Her purpose is to share life skills, help you build resiliency and become a true leader.

Our concept in a more detailed way is based on:  social media activities that connect with our fan based and engage with like minded people.

Join us on Social Media for our next adventures including

Weekly or bi-weekly activities

Free Information and Education about leadership, work life balance, stress management and more

Rewards in form of coaching services, spa gift cards and more

Opportunities to belong to Equanimity Executive (EQX) community

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Why men and women should be worried about our professionalism and not our high heels

Posted on Posted by Belinda MJ. Brown Categories Business Success, Career Success, Women Success

Tenue professionnelleComme vous le savez peut-être, je suis française. Né, élevé et vécu en France depuis plus de 30 ans. La tenue professionnelle fait partie de notre culture et elle a une signification différente. On s’attend toujours à ce qu’une femme professionnelle porte des talons hauts, un costume ou une robe ajustée, car le look professionnel compte pour votre carrière. Les cheveux et les mains doivent être impeccables.

J’ai remarqué que travailler un emploi professionnel signifie un certain nombre de choses, y compris s’habiller pour impressionner dans de nombreuses organisations aux États-Unis. Surtout pour les femmes qui veulent un rôle de direction. Une volonté de regarder la pièce et d’agir, elle s’applique aux deux sexes. Cependant, une connotation sexiste persiste encore à ce jour sur les femmes qui travaillent dans des bureaux partout dans le monde.

Une perception cruelle?

D’une manière ou d’une autre, les femmes sont jugées sur leur apparence. Les femmes vêtues de jupes crayon moulantes et de talons hauts sont considérées comme excellentes pour l’image de l’entreprise, mais pas pour des rôles stratégiques, tandis que les femmes vêtues de pantalons amples ne sont souvent pas considérées comme des leaders potentiels. Même pour tenter d’équilibrer leurs tenues, les femmes du bureau reçoivent des commentaires sarcastiques et un jugement cruel de la part des deux sexes.

Certains peuvent penser que la solution claire à ce problème est que les femmes s’habillent de manière plus professionnelle – pas de décolleté, pas de jupes courtes, des talons de chat minou uniquement, etc. Le plus conservateur, mieux c’est. Le seul problème avec cela est la censure flagrante qui l’accompagne. Les femmes, tout comme les hommes, ont le droit de s’habiller comme elles le souhaitent, dans des limites raisonnables.

Valorisez le professionnel de chacun que vous rencontrez, quelle que soit son apparence

La vraie solution à ce problème est simple: chacun doit s’occuper de ses propres affaires. Se concentrer sur la tenue d’une femme, certes, ce n’est pas extrêmement révélateur, plutôt que sur la façon dont elle se conduit en tant que femme de carrière professionnelle est imparfait et faux. Ce n’est pas sa tenue!

Au bureau ou en dehors, la valeur d’une femme n’est pas basée sur les vêtements qu’elle se sent suffisamment à l’aise pour porter sur son corps. Tout vêtement qu’une femme se sent assez bien pour porter en public est une étape importante de son développement personnel et doit être traité comme tel. Un jugement et une dépréciation persistants sont dégradants et amènent une femme à moins penser à elle-même; cela fait également que les autres la considèrent comme «moins que». Une conversation ouverte sur la tenue professionnelle peut être nécessaire pour répondre à l’apparence et à la convivialité de l’organisation, mais ne doit pas gêner ou limiter les individus dans leur «ÊTRE».

La seule chose importante dont les gens devraient s’inquiéter au bureau est de savoir si tout est fait et bien fait. Cela ne se reflète pas dans ce que les gens portent, hommes ou femmes. Distraire ses collègues avec des commentaires est bien plus distrayant que les tenues que les femmes portent.

Nos conseils pour contester la perception que les autres ont de vous:

1-Demandez des commentaires constructifs sur votre tenue vestimentaire pour évaluer quels sont les principaux attributs ou défis que les gens perçoivent à propos de votre façon de vous habiller
Ne vous sentez pas offensé par ce que les gens pensent, utilisez cette information comme une opportunité de relever ouvertement tout défi et de rediriger les gens vers vos forces et vos qualifications

2-Soyez propriétaire de votre style et respectez l’apparence des autres
. La meilleure façon de perfectionner cette compétence est de se concentrer sur ce qui est dit et non sur ce que vous percevez. Ne vous laissez pas distraire par une tenue ou une apparence de quelqu’un.

3-Soyez attentif
Dans un même bureau, les individus viennent de différents milieux et de cultures différentes. Soyez simplement conscient de la façon dont votre tenue vestimentaire peut déclencher inconsciemment quelqu’un en raison de sa foi, de son système de croyances ou de son éducation dans une autre partie du monde. Ce qui est acceptable pour vous, peut ne pas l’être pour eux et vice-versa. Soyez curieux au lieu de porter un jugement et vous pourriez apprendre quelque chose sur une autre culture que vous ne connaissiez pas.

Coaching exécutif pour les femmes

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How your emotional quotient will help you lead

Posted on Posted by Belinda MJ. Brown Categories Business Success, Career Success, Leadership, Women Success

Accept Differences With EQAs the worldwide workplace continues to diversify, our understanding of the essential qualities that make successful leaders tick only goes deeper. People with a high emotional quotient, or ‘EQ’ benefit from a number of very unique advantages. Rather than being all about a head-first, top-down management style, different companies are each finding their own leadership solutions, and employing a wider range of skill sets in these roles. And while experience, education and authority still play a role in every leader’s repertoire, we are learning to give more credence to aspects of emotional intelligence that affect the way leaders do their jobs. Here are just a few advantages:

Accepting differences

The ability to relate to others means a leader is more able to play to their individual team members’ strengths. Rather than forcing workers to conform to pre-existing roles, a flexible leader with a high EQ will understand how to best use the tools they have at their disposal. Also, having the flexibility to work with anyone in any situation should be an indispensable trait that all leaders have.

Excellent motivators

A boosted emotional intelligence lets the best leaders push team members past their limitations and offer an extra bit of motivation. This creates more efficient and directed work, but also instills a more healthy corporate culture. Before you know it, the infectious enthusiasm of your high-EQ leaders will spread across the entire workplace.

Always mindful

Leaders who put their subordinate’s needs before their own are great at keeping their team working at their fullest potential. Targeted feedback offered on a consistent basis keeps priorities straight, and timely responses to any inquiries or requests keeps workers happy. In time, a well-tended to corporate environment will create an atmosphere of trust, and a more developed network of communication.

Accountable

Those who benefit from a higher EQ know that a leadership position does not place them above their coworkers. Keeping oneself accountable to the rest of the team will encourage others to follow suit and help drive a self-directed workplace. It is no secret that reliability and consistency are the best way to earn long lasting respect.

 

How is your EQ? Find out Today! 

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Employee disengagement: the core cause and the sure cure

Posted on Posted by Belinda MJ. Brown Categories Business Success, Career Success, Leadership, Team Success, Women Success

Whether you’re a manager or an employee, chances are you’ve had personal experience with disengagement in the workplace. Disengagement takes on many forms; zoning out, apathy about the company and its mission, lagging production and minimal effort are just some of the symptoms. This blog post will help you better understand the one core reason that employee disengagement happens, and what can be done to fix it.

The one reason is this: employees feel dehumanized. If you think this is an over-simplified reason, bear with me. You see, much like employee disengagement takes on many forms, the dehumanized feeling that leads to disengagement comes from a variety of sources.

One can be insufficient compensation. No matter how contentious the current debate about the national minimum wage is and no matter how pervasive the idea is that employees should just suck it up and be grateful for having a job at all in a limping economy, the fact of the matter is that employees won’t invest more than minimal effort and engagement in a company that doesn’t invest enough in them to keep them happy and comfortable.

Other employees feel dehumanized because their individual talents, expertise and skills are overlooked. Employees may or may not have the same credentials that their higher-ups do, but they often have unique insight through hands-on experience about how a business runs, what’s not working and how certain facets of the business could function better. Unfortunately, this knowledge often goes unnoticed and unused. Employees may also be harboring untapped talents that could make the work environment more enriching, pleasant, cooperative and unique. Not having those individual characteristics acknowledged or valued is immensely frustrating and dehumanizing.

Employee DisengagementSome employees feel dehumanized by a poor work-life balance, gaps in communication between departments, burnout, lack of bonding experiences with coworkers and a whole host of other issues.

But much as these issues all have a common factor, so do they have a common solution: re-humanization of the work space. This involves higher-ups taking a personal interest in the well-being, insight, personalities, attributes and worries of employees. Managers and employers should make it a point to know their employees well enough to understand what would make each of them feel more valued by the company. For example, if a manager finds out that an employee is a skilled painter, utilizing that employee to paint the break room would make that employee feel more valuable to the company. Even if the company is too small to accommodate mass raises in salary, taking one necessity off employees’ plates, like providing lunch so they have one less expense, makes employees feel like their bosses are human beings too who want to give them a voice and a sense of worth.

The moral of the story here is that working men and women are most likely to remain engaged in the workplace if they feel they are being fairly valued to the best of the company’s ability, if they are sought out for practical advice on the company’s operations and if they are recognized and celebrated as individuals with unique assets to bring to the table. It’s not enough to just be employed, to be cogs in a machine. They have to feel like they’re being treated as human beings.

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Why turning 40 or 50 is better than Christmas morning!

Posted on Posted by Belinda MJ. Brown Categories Career Success, Women Success

Vous défaites l’arc, déballez le colis, et à l’intérieur se trouve une version de vous-même âgé de 40 ou 50 ans. Maintenant, si vous êtes bien en dessous de ce score, avez la plus grande partie de votre tour à jouer, vous secouez peut-être la tête tristement à la pensée d’un tel cadeau indésirable. D’un autre côté, si vous avez renversé quelques quilles de plus, gagné un coup ou deux, vous pourriez hocher la tête en souvenir.

Au milieu se trouvent ceux pour qui c’est une réalité. Il se pourrait bien qu’une course autour du parc à la poursuite de votre chien de la famille soit un peu plus difficile qu’auparavant. Peut-être ces CD – vous vous en souvenez? – vous avez acheté les années précédentes ne semble pas aussi à la pointe de la musique qu’autrefois. Peut-être, juste peut-être, que vos orteils ne sont pas aussi pleinement visibles qu’ils l’étaient auparavant.

In times past, at 50, you’d be middle-aged. Not now, not yet, and not for quite a while. As medical skills keep improving, as health and fitness advice becomes more worthwhile, you are simply entering your prime. That midlife crisis you might even have been promising yourself is almost a generation away – and probably won’t even happen then!

Instead, you truly have the chance to open a new chapter in your career. Experience has been gained, now it’s time for it to be used. A TV analyst, examining the skills of an international sportsman, once shrewdly assessed that the individual had simply played the same single international fixture 40 times over. Nothing seemed to have been learned from the experiences he had been through, no significant changes made to his past patterns of behavior. Or, as Muhammad Ali once put it: ‘A man who views the world the same at 50 as he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life’.

50 ans et transition de carrière
This is a time of opportunity. It’s YOUR time to define yourself and your career. However, many people fall into the trap of defining it through their dislikes, or through striving simply to meet the expectations of others. This can be through work peer pressure, and family demands or expectations. With the former, often there is a desire to drag people down to the level of performance where others feel in their comfort zone. At this time of your life, you have the emotional intelligence and practical experience to refuse to be bound by these constraints. You have learned enough, although you’ll always learn more, to forge your path rather than simply follow a trail left by others.

This is a time to appreciate what you have learned and to know how best you can put it to use in the years ahead. It is time now for that new chapter – or maybe even a brand new book – but a defining one, not simply a retelling of what has gone before. Coco Chanel once told us: ‘Nature gives you the face you have at 20, it is up to you to merit the face you have at 40 or even 50’. If your face has reached that milestone, it’s time to turn it proudly to face the world on your terms, to meet your expectations, to make it into the place where you want to be.

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