Wisdom Worker Solutions Blog

Not a summer goes by that I don’t think of that great old song:

“Summertime, and the living is easy.

Fish are jumping and the cotton is high.

Your daddy’s rich and your mama’s good looking.

So hush pretty baby, don’t you cry.”

Great lyrics and an appropriately laid back, lazy tune. Problem is, the lyrics no longer ring true. How about a 2008 version, something like: 

Summertime, and living’s not easy.

Gas is jumping and airfares are high.

Your ‘folio’s not rich, nor the markets good looking.

So go ahead baby, have a good cry. 

Done with that? OK, now to the essential point. As we age, the skills of resiliency and adaptability become all the more essential to our psychological, biological and social health and well being. Ironically, the present economic environment can be helpful in that regard. Not even the most died-in-the-wool control freak believes he can fight the near-daily rise in gas prices or make his case to the airlines. How do I know that? He’s me! And so, in the year I enter my 7^th decade, I’m being afforded (!) the opportunity once again to learn to let go of all that I can’t control, and make reasonable plans for things that might happen outside of my personal preferences..

 Perhaps, before summer’s end, I’ll have gotten closer to the benefits of living easy. I may even take up fishing!

Posted by Tom Farley
Millions of my fellow baby boomers have now turned fifty or more. With each day that passes, we each become increasingly aware of the uncomfortable fact that we are not immortal. We do have an appointment with death that we won’t miss, and our time, on this earth anyway, is not limitless. For many boomers this realization has resulted in an energetic, focused course of self examination, a review of life so far, and a deep pondering of the purpose of our remaining time. These simultaneous examinations are even having a notable societal impact. For instance, Oprah recently led an entire global community on a weekly course centered on Eckhart Tolle’s best selling work, A New Earth, Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose, which I highly recommend. I was amazed to observe nothing short of a movement. So many people, literally millions, all were pondering their life’s meaning, all around the world, at the exact same time.

“Eleven Tips on Getting More Efficiency Out of Women Employees: There’s no longer any question whether transit companies should hire women for jobs formerly held by men.  The draft and manpower shortage has settled that point.  The important things now are to select the most efficient women available and how to use them to the best advantage.

1.  Pick young, married women….2.  When you have to use older women, try to get ones who have worked outside the home at some time in their lives.  Older women who have never contacted the public have a hard time adapting themselves and are inclined to be cantankerous and fussy.  It’s always well to impress upon older women the importance of friendliness and courtesy. 

 9.  Be tactful when issuing instructions or in making criticisms.  Women are often sensitive; they can’t shrug off harsh words the way men do.  Never ridicule a woman – it breaks her spirit and cuts off her efficiency.”

Recently, a colleague forwarded this Guide to Hiring Women.  Obviously, I haven’t given you all 11 tips.  Trust me, you’re not missing anything of substance.  My first read was for the humor, the laughable suggestions that passed for useful tips.  But then I started to wonder, just how far have women come, ‘baby?’ 

This question has become more pertinent as months disappeared while watching a woman, an African American male and a male of age campaign for the highest office in the nation.  Before you stop reading, this commentary is NOT about politics.  It is about stereotypes, biases and disrespect.  In her reluctance to give up her hard-fought ground and concede to Obama, you could almost hear Hillary being described as ‘cantankerous and fussy’.  Insults and comments have been hurled at her in public rallies that would never have been tolerated if the subject had been race.  And when she ‘shrugged off the harsh words’ the way a man would, you could see the disappointment that they couldn’t ‘break her spirit’. 

Of course, the response is typically that these negative reactions wouldn’t occur if it wasn’t this particular person – Hillary is just a polarizing figure.  But in my heart of hearts, I don’t believe that’s the real answer.  I think some of our most stereotypical behavior has been played out in public and dismissed as a personality conflict and worse yet, tolerable.  If we discount the Queens of Ancient Egypt and Colonial England, worldwide, women began taking leadership roles following WW I.  The countries of Sri Lanka, Argentina, India, Netherlands, United Kingdom and the Philippines, among others, have or have had female Presidents and Prime Ministers.  There are 7 women who lead nations today.  Equally enlightened countries to the U. S. have been acknowledging competence for centuries. 

So what was the Guide’s publication date?  1943.  I’ve been alive almost that long.  “Have we come a long way, baby?”  You bet, if you consider that the real opportunities appear to be a half a world away.  

Posted by Keitha:

George Elliot said, “The strongest principle of growth lies in human choice.” However, to take advantage and learn from those choices it requires a person to be able to take the time to reflect and discern those choices.

I recently went to a state conference for human resource management. One of the workshops I attended was about the importance of meaningful conversations. In our busy world of activities, meetings and deadlines all that we have time for in human exchanges are surface amenities. Coaching is one way to carve out intentional time for substantive interactions with another human being who is focused on you. What a gift to yourself!

The primary purpose of coaching is to define and achieve goals designed to enhance the quality of your life. Coaching is about co-creating and collaborating on a plan that will move you forward to whatever you decide should be the outcome.

The assumptions of a coach working with you are that you are capable, competent, and complete. You already possess the knowledge and solutions to your challenges and are requesting help to unlock those hidden solutions through the use of powerful questions. In order to find those hidden solutions, you must take time for yourself, reflect and answer some of those powerful questions that might come up such as:

What do you want from your life?

What do you want to become? (You are never too old to ponder this question)

What accomplishments have been satisfying to you?

What activities or commitments give you energy?

What activities or commitments drain your energy?

The most valuable intent of coaching is that the coach is there for YOU!

posted by Beth, Coach for My Plan After 50

Richard is a 55 year old who has worked in the banking business for the last 25 years. Richard decided to invest in coaching after being told by his doctor that his weight put him at high risk for chronic health problems, including diabetes.

Richard’s story isn’t that different than a lot of people’s. Richard had unsuccessfully attempted diets in the past but found that after a couple of weeks he was no longer following the prescribed food-intake suggestions. Richard also had difficulty being committed to any kind of exercise program. However, this new fear of disease gave Richard motivation. His mother had had diabetes, so he was well aware of the complications that came with the disease.

Richard sought the services of a coach to help him in losing weight. The first step that Richard pursued, with the help of his coach, was to set realistic goals for himself. Instead of stating that he would lose 100 pounds in the next year, Richard broke his weight loss goal down into small, achievable steps. In the first month he reached the goal of eating breakfast every day at home rather than stopping for coffee and donuts on the way to work and limiting his afternoon snacks to fruit instead of the candy bars that he had previously been eating.

In regards to his exercising, Richard realized, through talking with his coach, that the routine of going to the gym daily was not what he enjoyed. Previously he had felt like that the gym was his only exercise option, but he had quickly became bored with that routine. With the help of his coach Richard explored other forms of activity that he enjoyed. He decided to play racquet ball three times a week with a neighbor. This was a sport that he enjoyed both for the social aspects of playing with a friend and also for way he felt after the session. An additional activity that Richard decided to add was walking with his wife in the evening. This gave them time together as well as giving Richard the additional exercise he needed to begin to meet his weight loss goal.

Richard set his own goals but had the support and encouragement of his coach. By keeping his goals attainable and being accountable to his coach, Richard was able to achieve the weight loss that he desired.

To me, Richard’s story is a profound example of the power of coaching.