Tag Archives: Personal Development

UNDERSTANDING MYSELF

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by Anja Uitdehaag

“The more you know yourself, the more patience you have for what you see in others.” – Erikson

 It is very easy to confuse “What we do” with “who we are”.

When I was younger, I associated job title and fitting into a group with my self-worth. I didn’t realise how much I drew upon my work as the source of my identity. I had spent so much of my life working toward what I thought were my important life goals only to find out that this was not the case.

I ended up thinking ‘There must be more to life, or to me than this’?

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Moving to another country: get ready to be surprised – Part 2

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by Nataliya Semenova

Two years I was offered an interesting job opportunity abroad. I decided to go for it, thus I relocated from Moscow to Amsterdam.

It turned my world upside down!

Changing the place of living (even if you move from one apartment to another in the same town) and changing jobs are on top of the scale among the most stressful events in one’s life. Even when all these changes are positive and are for the best, you go through a lot of stress. I know this is normal but nevertheless it is a good reminder during difficult times.

In part one of my article I focused on the practical sides of moving to a new country. Now I will take you through the emotional challenges you might face on your exciting journey: Continue reading →

THE IMPORTANCE OF REINVENTING YOURSELF

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by matheen

I couldn’t agree more when C.S Lewis said: “You’re never too old to set another goal or dream a new dream.” That is a fact. The only constant thing in this world is change. Not only is change — a way of life; but change is healthy for us. We need to embrace change and be able to adapt to where life leads us every single day. And change means reinvention. Every time, a major adjustment occurs in our lives —losing a job, moving to a new place, separating from a partner, getting sick — we must be in charge of who we will become when such a major shift happens in our lives. We need to go with the flow. We cannot resist change or we will be miserable and unhappy in our lives.

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Moving to another country: get ready to be surprised – Part 1

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by Nataliya Semenova

I never had a plan to change my country of living. But when an interesting job opportunity came up, I felt that I would certainly regret it if I didn’t give it a try.

For now I am living and working in Amsterdam for a bit more than 2 years, and if you ask me “how is it?” I would answer: “absolutely different from what I ever imagined.”

No matter how well prepared you are, how many hours you spend surfing the internet: reading, researching and studying the peculiarities of the new country (of course the more – the better!) – still there will be moments you feel like a student who was asked an absolutely different question from all he has been boning up. Continue reading →

Lindsay’s In Business: Mirror Mirror

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Femflection is excited to run its first interview with blogger and businesswoman, Lindsay Uittenbogaard.  Lindsay has been writing the story of her transition from employment to entrepreneur with Mirror Mirror in Femflection for several weeks.  Now, we get to hear more about where she’s got to, how her business concept is taking shape, and how she is handling these developments.

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So, you’ve been blogging in Femflection about setting up your own business.  Tell us, where are you with that right now?

It took several weeks to land the idea I’m working on right now.  It felt like quite an unusual position to be in actually – to know that you want to run a business but not have an idea in mind.

Once I’d investigated various concepts – from an art promotion business, to a one-stop home maintenance service – I have landed on something that is fundamentally about communications for the corporate market, which is my area of expertise. It also covers HR, learning, leadership and business improvement.

So here we are… it’s called Mirror Mirror – it’s a structured team situation assessment tool that helps team leaders with engagement, teamwork and performance.  It’s also a perfect team leader onboarding tool.  We’ve finished the design and are currently testing and refining it. Continue reading →

My career – my responsibility

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“Leaders who succeed take control of their lives. They don’t wait for others to hand them opportunities and they don’t believe they are owed anything. Leaders figure out what kind of glass cutter – or skills – they need to cut through or around their current obstacles.” (Liz Weber)

Personal career responsibility means accepting that you, and only you, are in charge of your own destiny.

Don’t wait for things to happen – make them happen! Don’t wait for a promotion to land in your lap and for management to offer you a new job on a platter. Don’t expect others to make things happen to you.

Choosing to be a victim of your circumstances makes you lose control over situations that come your way. Be specific about what you want. Don’t just think: “I want to get ahead”, but figure out exactly what success will look like. What position do you want and when? Once you have a solid and clear idea of the direction you want your life and career to go, make sure you have a plan to help you excel. Make your personal development plan and make a commitment to yourself to follow it through.

Your career is your responsibility!

Anja Uitdehaag

For more content visit our website http://www.femflection.com

Situation 27: CHANGING PRIORITIES

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Femsy is struggling with the fact that since she is working in “Co-Colours” her friends are complaining about her more hectic working schedule. Femsy realizes that not only her job has changed, but as a result her life has changed as well.

(Click on the pictures to see them in full size) Continue reading →

Growing Your Career

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“A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step” (Lao-Tzu)

If you want to continue moving forward in your career, you must continue growing your skills.

Once you have a solid and clear idea of the direction you want your life and career to go, it is also important to have a plan to help you excel.

Make your personal development plan a commitment to yourself!

Your development plan could look as follows:

  • What do I want to achieve 6 months, 3 years and 5 years from now?
  • What are my strengths and areas for development?
  • What do I want to learn? (learning objectives)
  • What do I have to do? (overview of learning actions)
  • What support and resources will I need? (i.e. books, regular review meetings with your manager, sparring partner, coach etc.)
  • How will I measure success?
  • Completion date

Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it.

Begin it now!

On Femflection.com you will find useful websites for your continuous personal development.

Anja Uitdehaag

How To Slay As A Single Working Mom

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by matheen

We all know how challenging it is to be a working mom with a partner or a husband — but imagine — what more if you’re single and alone? Certainly, solo parenting has its own special and unique set of challenges. Below are a few lists of common issues that single moms share and struggle with: Continue reading →

Comfort is a Choice

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“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be?” – Marianne Williamson.

Women quite often have doubts about their capabilities. Research shows that men in comparable positions are much more confident in their capabilities than their female peers, even when they are no more competent. A prime example is that if a man can fulfill 60% of the requirements of a job description, he will apply, while if a woman cannot do the full 100%, she will not. Continue reading →