Discovering Ourselves in the New Year

The New Year is a wonderful time to take stock of our lives and forge ahead into a new phase. It is always a very busy time in Career Guidance and I have worked with hundreds of people who want to "Make a Change" at this time. Clients initially feel that this involves changing something about themselves - getting rid of some aspect of themselves or acquiring a totally new aspect. This "change", they feel, will allow them to move forward in their lives in a new way.

However, again and again when working with clients, I have made a wonderful discovery - there is nothing to be added or nothing to be taken away. The aspects we need to live life to the fullest and to make the most consisitent and dramatic changes are already there and part of ourselves. We do not need to add or subtract anything ; we simply need to uncover and discover who we were all along.

As I work through the career process with clients, I witness them uncovering parts of themselves that they always suspected were there, but perhaps were never discovered or valued. This hidden potential or "Natural Intelligence" is so much part of ourselves that we take it for granted or, at times, do not even notice it.

To witness a client reconnecting with their true selves is an enormous privilege as a Career Guidance Counsellor. I see a face coming alive, vibrant with energy and colour. I see a person becoming animated and enthusiastic, perhaps for the first time in a long time. I hear them coming up with ideas that have lain dormant for a long time. Doubts begin to fall away and hope takes its place. I see someone discovering a part of themselves and, many times, also discovering the part they can play in their families, their communities and the world as a whole.

Nothing has been added or subtracted - I just see what was always there coming to the fore - the true person coming alive before my eyes.

Truly, this must be the best job in the world!