This above all: to thine own self be true,
and it must follow, as the night the day,
thou canst not then be false to any man.

- William Shakespeare

This article is excerpted from Connie's Life Coaching Blog. To read the complete article, just click on the link below.

January is an ideal time to begin the process of re- vamping or redesigning your life. When you are in, or approaching, a transition period in your life, where do you begin to redesign your life?

Well, think about it for a moment. If you decided to make a new recipe that you had never made before, what would you do? You have the recipe in front of you. You recognize some ingredients and some directions, perhaps, and are unfamiliar perhaps with others. So, the first thing you might do is to check your cupboards, pantry, and refrigerator to see which ingredients you already have and then you make a list of the items you will need to purchase.

The very first step is checking to see what you already have. In the Designing Your Life process, I call this Taking Stock. In this first phase, you take a good and thorough look at yourself and your life, and you identify all the things you bring to the table thus far. Whether you are in your teens or in your golden years, or anywhere in between, this is a critical first step in re-inventing your self or creating the life of your dreams. Here are some of the "ingredients" you might check out:

One of the many facets of Taking Stock that I recommend to my clients is to know and understand your Personality Type. This knowledge helps you to better understand many aspects of your life, including information about the best career choices for your type, the best relationship matches, and how to relate to and communicate effectively with people of personality types other than your own.

The personality typing system is based on principles discovered by Swiss pychiatrist Carl Jung. Assessments used to arrive at one's personality type include the Meyers-Briggs Type Indicator, the Keirsey Temperament Sorter, and the Jungian Typology Test. I have found through personal experience that any of these assessment tools will lead to the same result.

Here are two Web sites that I recommend for taking a personality type assessment and for gaining a detailed understanding of each of the types, including your own:

(1) Human Metrics: www.humanmetrics.com
On this site, take the Jung Typology Test. This assessment is free, and the explanation of the results is fairly complete. There are several other tests you can take on this site, which relate to many different aspects of your life. Not all of them are free.

(2) The Personality Page: www.personalitypage.com
The assessment on this site is also very good; however there is a small charge for taking it. The explanations of each personality type on this site are excellent, and you can read those for no charge.

I recommend to my clients that if they do not have access to the MBTI assessment or to the Keirsey Sorter (both of which provide detailed test scores which can be more finely interpreted than these online tests), then take the test on the Human Metrics site, and use the explanations of the types provided on The Personality Page site.

For career changers, I also recommend the following book as an excellent resource: Do What You Are by Paul D. Tieger & Barbara Barron, 4th edition, Little, Brown, 2007. This book can be ordered through Amazon.com.

This exploration can be both informative and fun. So enjoy!

LifeWork Enterprises is expanding its service offerings in the writing and editing part of the business, and has just launched a new blog: Komack Writing Services Weblog.

This blog will contain writing, editing, and publishing tips for both business writers and creative writers (not that business writers aren't also creative!).

Our address is: www.conniekomack.wordpress.com.

Are you ready to change your life? To find a new career or life direction? To design, build, and live the life of your dreams? If so, the Designing Your Life coaching program was made with You in mind!

The Designing Your Life process has been carefully crafted to help you to find your own answers to profound questions, such as "What is my Calling?" or "What is my life purpose?" or "How do I envision, and then build, the life, career, or business of my dreams?"

The program is offered in both indvidual and group coaching formats. Individuals can start this program at any time.

For people wishing to do the DYL process in a small- group coaching format, Connie is offering this program on Wednesday evenings this winter:

Dates: 6 weeks, from February 20 through March 26, 2008

Day & Time: 7:00 - 9:00 pm

Location: Connie's home, Rockport, MA

Fee: $475/person (includes copy of DYL workbook)

Group Size: 4 participants

For more information or to register, contact Connie Komack at connie@conniekomack.com or at 978-546- 9660.

LifeWork Letter is a complimentary monthly e-Newsletter from Connie Komack and LifeWork Enterprises, with tips, quotes, and short articles designed to enrich, empower, and forward the growth of your life, career, or business.

Feel free to share this newsletter with others. It is easy to do by clicking on the forward email link at the bottom of this newsletter.

As always, I invite you to visit my blog site and to read the articles on transition, change, and re- designing your life that are posted there.

Thank you for reading my newsletter and/or blog articles. Your readership is most appreciated and valued. I hear from many of you each month, and I always enjoy and benefit from your feedback. So please keep it coming.