To everything (turn, turn, turn)
There is a season (turn, turn, turn)
And a time for every purpose, under heaven.

- From the song, Turn, Turn Turn, lyrics by the Byrds, adapted from the Old Testament, book of Ecclesiastes.

I spent last weekend with a group of close and dear friends. Some I have known more than thirty years. This was our annual winter gathering, which happens every February somewhere in New England. This year, we gathered in Kennebunk, Maine.

The highlight of this yearly gathering is a sharing circle, which takes up all of Saturday morning. Each person has a few minutes in which to share what has been happening in his or her life. The size of the group varies a little from year to year. This year we were 26 people, women and men, married and single, ranging in age from our 40's to our 70's.

This precious sharing circle is a microcosm of change. Most of us in the group are in a transition of one kind or another. Many of us are in what Gail Sheehy once labeled a Passage. We celebrate the birth of children and grandchildren and mourn the death of friends and family members. We share our news involving marriages and divorces, lost jobs and new careers, illnesses and recovery, relationships that are beginning and ones that are ending, graduations and retirements, buying or selling of houses, geographical relocation, challenges with children at home and the angst (or joy) of children leaving the nest - beginnings and endings of all kinds.

It is said that change is inevitable. Some people accept change easily and gracefully. Others resist, mentally kicking and screaming the whole way.

In coaching, one of our foundation principles is this: We either grow or die. For me, embracing this principle helps me welcome change rather than resist it.

Each transition point in our lives is...
A - inevitable
B - challenging, and
C - the fastest road to growth and ever-deepening wisdom.

Understanding and accepting this is key to managing change. Another thing that helps enormously in navigating change and transition is support - support of all kinds - support from family and friends, and support from professionals - coaches, counselors, therapists, support groups, workshops, seminars, books, audio programs, and more.

The next time you face a transition in your life, what sources of support could you engage to assist you in your passage?

My passion as a coach and trainer is working with people who are at a choice point in their lives or who are facing a natural, or forced, change or transition. Many transitions are also deeply transformational, much like the metaphorical cocoon time in which a caterpillar transforms into a butterfly. All transitions bring growth, maturing, and a deepening of insight and wisdom.

Several years ago, I developed a structured program created specifically for people who are facing a significant change in their lives. It could be a personal change, a career change, or a business change. The processes built into Designing Your Life are divided into four phases.

Phase One addresses the question Who am I? on a variety of levels from playful to practical to our deepest core. In this section of the program, we are taking stock of ourselves in many ways, with a clear intention of bringing forth and owning our strengths, skills, talents, and aptitudes. We then delve even deeper to also clarify and honor our personality type, values, beliefs, and life purpose. The answer to the question Who am I? can change several times during these processes. By the end, we know ourselves thoroughly, we have claimed the wholeness of ourselves, and we are clear about what gifts we bring with us as we enter the next phase of our lives.

In Phase Two, we shift our focus to the future. We ask the question Where am I going? We make use of imagination, play, and creative thinking and visualization to design, or re-design, our lives in ways that bring all of ourselves to the table. This phase is the one that inspired the program title, Designing Your Life.

Once we have a clear picture of where we are headed, Phase Three addresses the question How will I get there? Here we build the bridge between where we are now and where we want to be. This is the practical, nuts-and-bolts part of the program. The focus is on goal-setting, planning, and taking action.

By the end of these three phases of the program, we have identified our strengths, gifts, and purpose, we have imagined the future we desire, and we have begun taking concrete steps to convert our desired future into our current reality. Now what?

Phase Four poses the question How do I stay on purpose and live my dream on a daily basis? In this section, we explore some of the many ways that we can support ourselves in continuing to grow, develop, move closer to our dream, and live a successful, fulfilling, joyful, and balanced life. We address issues such as practicing extreme self-care, reducing stress, managing time, and using daily success practices.

We are all in some kind of transition most of the time. Some changes are so subtle that they barely register in our consciousness. Other changes are so dramatic and profound that they are truly life-altering, transformative events. The latter can be both exciting and scary. There is risk associated with change; sometimes staying with the status quo, even if unpleasant or outgrown, can feel safer than making the change. The Designing Your Life program/process is intended to support your change process and to convert that fear to courage and excitement.

If you, or someone you know, could benefit from the Designing Your Life program, please visit my website for more information, read related articles on my blog site, read the following article to learn about the DYL one-on-one coaching program, and contact me for more information and a complimentary coaching session.

Occasionally, I offer a series of Designing Your Life (DYL) workshops or classes for groups. Often the timing does not work for the people who wish to take it. And so, I have developed the Designing Your Life Coaching Program.

In this program, we work one-on-one with the Designing Your Life process. We meet for one hour, once a week, for 12 weeks. In that time frame, we cover the first three phases of the program. Sometimes, there is time to get into Phase Four.

We usually meet by phone, although if you live locally and prefer face-to-face sessions, that can be arranged. We use the Designing Your Life workbook to structure and support our sessions, although the sessions can be adapted to fit the needs of the coachee.

This program is designed to be especially helpful to a variety of people, including:

• High-school or college students and recent graduates
• Career changers
• Entrepreneurs starting a business
• People in relationship changes
• People in mid-life crisis or transition
• People relocating geographically
• Empty-nesters
• Retirees - current or future
• Anyone who is bored, restless, or otherwise dissatisfied with their current life or work
• Anyone seeking support through a transition

The DYL program includes many exercises designed to facilitate this process. Some are done during the sessions; many are done between sessions. To get the most out of this program, you need to plan time between sessions - an hour or two most weeks - to let things percolate as you do the assignments.

As you sign up, and before the first session, we discuss and sign a short Coaching Agreement that outlines the 12-week program and signifies our commitment to it. Receipt of the signed agreement, along with full payment, initiates the process. The fee for this 12-week, one-on-one, coaching program is $1250.00, payable before the first session. The fee includes a copy of the Designing Your Life workbook.

For more information, or to sign up, please contact me by phone at 978-546-9660 or by email at connie@conniekomack.com.

By now, I am eight and a half months into my yearlong experiement in letting go of things, behaviors, habits, beliefs, and other stuff that have been cluttering up my life.

If you have been following this experiment, or are curious about how it has progressed from the beginning until now, please visit my blog site and read the series of articles from the beginning, or just check out the latest installment.

Here's an excerpt from the most recent blog article: The best thing I did for myself this month in this Letting-Go Experiment involved a purchase rather than a discard.

Beginning in 2007, Daylight Saving Time goes into effect earlier in the Spring and lasts later into the Fall.

This year, DST begins at 2:00am on Sunday, March 11. Remember to set your clocks ahead one hour. (Spring ahead, Fall back.)

For details, including the history of and rationale for DST and the change dates through 2010, visit the official website for Daylight Saving Time by clicking on the link below.