Mary Jeanne Vincent, Career Talk: Make epic changes

Today was our Toastmasters club’s first meeting after a two-week break for the holidays. We meet at 6:45 in the morning at the Meals on Wheels center in Pacific Grove. After the holidays it can be a little rough getting up and out of the house in time for the meeting, but the minute the meeting starts I know I’ve made the right decision. Our meetings are fun and get the day off to an energetic start.

The theme for the meeting today was, “opening doors.” While every day presents an opportunity to start fresh, there is something special about opening the door on a new year. By Dec. 31 I am ready to put the previous year to bed and move on to new adventures. The new year offers the opportunity to make epic changes and take epic chances.

The trouble, as one of my Toastmaster colleagues so aptly pointed out, is that it is impossible to make epic changes if we insist on dragging our accumulated baggage into the new year.  The key is figuring out how to let the old stuff go to make room for the new.  Over the years I have tried a number of approaches. While New Year’s resolutions get a lot of airtime, they have never worked for me.  It’s not just me, they don’t seem to be very effective for most of the population. What does work?  One creative strategy that works for me and which I recommend to clients is to write a success letter to my future self and date it Dec. 31 of the new year.  I envision the goals I want to achieve, the changes I will make, and growth I will embrace. I tuck the letter in the back of the calendar and give a copy to a friend to mail to me in December. I never fail to be pleasantly surprised when it arrives.

I am also a big fan of the annual Name Your Year workshop presented by my colleague, Denise Kaku. I’ve been naming my year and creating a vision board to accompany it for 20 years. I post my board where I will see it every day. My 2023 year was named “Adventures in French and the World.”  At the time I had no plans to go to France only a vague idea that I would continue with French lessons and maybe visit Quebec. Instead, I did something that I had longed to do but somehow never found the time for, I spent a month in France studying French.

What’s been on your “someday” list? Get a better job, change careers, travel to Africa, improve your public speaking skills? If you are interested in making your “someday” list a reality here are a couple of ideas. Check out Denise Kaku’s Name Your Year workshop at https://kakuconsulting.com/embrace-2024-with-clarity-name-your-year-workshop-with-denise-kaku/. If you are thinking about becoming a better communicator, consider attending the free Toastmasters Unplugged event Saturday, Jan. 20, 7 p.m. at the Carl Cherry Center for the Arts. The event will feature entertaining speeches by Monterey Peninsula Toastmaster Club members, raffle prizes and refreshments. You can learn more at https://www.facebook.com/MontereyToastmasters?mibextid=kFxxJD.

As for me, I am taking the next few days to formulate my goals, envision my best 2024, and name my year. Here is to a fun and fabulous 2024!

Mary Jeanne Vincent, career expert and strategist, has a coaching practice in Monterey. She may be reached at 831-657-9151, mjv@careercoachmjv.com, or www.careercoachmonterey.com