Workshop Series

Posted by suzanne  on Jun 7, 2021

Free Workshop Series Sponsored by BCNA during Seniors’ Month June 2021

It is exciting to share that a new workshop series is beginning June 8th, 2021. The series is entitled Pandemic Recovery Series Conquering Ageism in Employment and is hosted by the Bayview Cummer Neighbourhood Association (BCNA). It will assist mature workers who are looking for work and seeking a meaningful challenge.

Career Coach Ann Marie Gilroy and I are co-leading the series. It runs June 8th, 15th, and 22nd. It is free to attend.

Pre-register through this link:  https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAsdemsrD8oHNfyC0GO44V5lklKB7mrRZTB

For more information visit: http://www.suzannecook.ca/workshops/

Healthcare Workers

Posted by suzanne  on Jan 4, 2021

During the pandemic, there have been on-going labour force shortages in healthcare with a large demand for nurses, personal support workers and physicians, as well as cleaning staff.

Staff shortages make it difficult to provide patient-centred care in hospitals and Long-term Care (LTC) homes. There are a variety of surveys and news reports on the crisis in healthcare staffing. One recent survey found that 95% of LTC homes reported a shortage in staff. In response to this survey, many healthcare professionals also stated that residents were not being properly fed and hydrated.

Unfortunately this fall, staff and residents in LTC are getting sick from Covid-19 just like they did in the spring of 2020. This creates more pressure on our healthcare system.

Healthcare staff are feeling the heavy burden. They are asking for assistance as Covid-19 infections increase.

Retirees are taking up the call. They want to help and are returning to work to provide care during Covid-19. Marg Miller is among them.

It’s time to develop formal return-to-work programs for mature workers who retire and have the knowledge and skills required to make a difference in the workplace. These professionals are making a difference during a time of great need.

Why isn’t there a provincial/territorial program to help them with the return-to-work?

Redirection Thoughts during Covid

Posted by suzanne  on Nov 25, 2020

Individuals anticipate retirement and envision it as a time for leisure and recreation, travelling and an opportunity to do many things that they have put off. However, once retired, they realize that they are longing for the structure, sense of purpose, and fulfillment of a career.

Or they feel like something is missing from their lives. Perhaps they feel not busy and not useful or not productive enough.

Sometimes something happens to make you stop and think.

Reflect

Right now during the pandemic, you have the gift of time and space to focus on yourself and your redirection. It is an opportunity to ponder the next chapter and next steps.

Use your creativity and out-of-box thinking about opportunities that you would enjoy and find fulfilling. Talk to important loved ones – family and friends – in your social circle and share what you are thinking.

New ideas, new directions – your redirection – can come from the spark of an idea that you discover during this unique time in human history.

Once you have found your redirection, take the time needed to map out and plan it.

Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither is your redirection.

Redirection Workshops

Posted by suzanne  on Sep 19, 2018

In my work, I look forward to opportunities to work closely with people who are in the process of redirecting. Individuals can be interested in occupational change, volunteer work and/or civic engagement. Regularly, I get requests for Redirection sessions. This involves working with people as they discover the ‘next challenge’.

I am thrilled to announce that another Redirection Lab Workshop series will be offered in Innisfil beginning later this month. These workshops are by pre-registration. Please contact me if you want additional information.

The small group workshops are rewarding and fun. The participants gain a lot from the Redirection series and I enjoy leading and facilitating them.

Here are some comments from past workshop participants:

“Thank you for running this course. I found it very interesting and I looked forward to each class. I highly recommend it to others wanting to find purpose and satisfaction in their retirement.”

Debby

“I thoroughly enjoyed your course and the chance to do the workshop as a small group and interact with my peers was amazing.”

Susan

“I enjoyed meeting people who are dealing with similar issues and appreciated having committed time and support to work on important issues.”

Carol

Three Tips for Mentoring

Posted by suzanne  on Nov 28, 2017

People are sometimes interested in mentoring opportunities in their community. A mentor is someone with experience, knowledge and skill who provides guidance to someone. A mentor helps others develop and grow to their full potential.

Mentoring may be part of your redirection journey.

Being a mentor is a powerful role because of the possibility of having a large influence on someone and assisting them in a meaningful way. It is very exciting to be a part of someone else’s success and achievement.

Where can mentoring opportunities be found?

It takes time to research and find mentoring opportunities. Here are three tips.

1. First, assess what skills and expertise you have to provide to someone. Where will you be most useful and valuable as a mentor? Find organizations and associations where you can use your skills and expertise. Contact them and find out more about what they do and how they develop and train new members or new hires.

2. Mentoring can provide benefits to both the mentor and protege. It is a teaching and learning opportunity for both individuals. While the mentoring relationship is mutual, usually the emphasis is placed on what the proteges gain. In fact, a common bit of wisdom is that mentors walk three steps behind and keep their protege in the limelight. This is a lovely way of emphasizing the importance of helping the protege to shine. In other words, mentors receive accolades for their skill at guiding, counselling and advising while cheering and applauding the protege. In addition, outcomes related to protege achievement are usually measured in a formal mentoring program. More recent work has begun to examine mentor outcomes and goals. This is an interesting direction for research.

3. It may be possible to leverage a mentoring role into a paid opportunity. This may take time and negotiation; however, sometimes an organization requires a teacher/mentor in a formal role to guide and nurture skills and knowledge development in the younger generation. If you find the right fit and prove your value to an organization, you might find this type of role both personally and professionally rewarding.

6 Tips for Enhancing Motivation

Posted by suzanne  on Nov 5, 2017

A mandala can be a touchstone that provides a foundation for reflection and change

People sometimes ask me, “Are there ways to enhance motivation?” It can be difficult to keep trying to find new work opportunities or your ‘redirection’ when there are significant barriers and obstacles in the way.

It is important to find ways to motivate yourself to reach toward your goals and objectives. What are the best ways to enhance motivation?

Here are six tips:

1. Set your Ikigai. Ikigai is pronounced ‘ee-kee-guy’ and is your reason for being, or your reason to get up in the morning. This is a Japanese term that I learned after reading Neil Pasricha’s book The Happiness Equation. An Ikigai is like the ‘la raison d’être’ in French. Write out your Ikigai. Put it where you can see it first thing every morning.
2. Set small, measurable goals or objectives. Write them down. Then, track your progress on a weekly basis.
3. Choose a mantra. Use a mantra, motto or quote that connects to your goals and speaks to you. The mantra can motivate and help spur change. It points to where you are going. Pick a mantra that makes you want to reach your goals and keep moving forward.
4. Select a touchstone, an image to ground and inspire you. Choose a visual image or object that makes you want to keep striving towards your goals.
5. A social network can be a good source of support and encouragement. Share your goals with your family and closest friends, or more publicly with colleagues, friends, neighbours and your broader social circle or network.
6. Get out and spend time everyday with nature. This regularly creates reflective time in your life to help you design, review and evaluate goals and to think about your objectives.

Good luck!

If not now, then when?

Posted by suzanne  on Oct 12, 2017

Mottos to motivate

Incredible motivation, or lack thereof. Motivation is a great strength. It makes a big difference when working towards goals and objectives. As with all things in life, success and achievement take work. High motivation makes it happen.

Searching for the ‘next challenge?’ Strong motivation can be an asset when making this transition – an occupational redirection or change in your life. It takes work to redirect and the pathway forward may not be clear.

Motivation is key

Let’s be honest. Nothing is easy. Work is involved in redirecting. Forethought and effort are required. It is possible to lose motivation, or temporary ‘misplace’ it. Sometimes motivation is ‘low’ or lacking. It is a huge downfall when motivation is absent. This is when motivation must be recaptured.

At other times, success comes more slowly than expected; therefore, motivation needs to be sustained. Transition takes time. In addition, it is not easy to maintain motivation when the going gets tough. Everyone needs a push forward now and again. Using a mantra is one way to increase motivation. The Mottos to Motivate in the image above may help when choosing a new mantra. A motto or mantra can help people to reach toward their goals and keep moving forward.

To stimulate motivation, it often helps to look back on previous accomplishments. Once you have reached a certain age, it is possible to gain greater perspective and realize that many obstacles and hardships have already been overcome in life. This indicates how resilient people just keep trying. They eventually achieve goals and objectives through hard work and perseverance. It is possible to look to previous experiences and see how resilience made it possible to overcome barriers. Being a resilient person helped to keep you motivated and moving forward.

Today, it is important to take steps towards your redirection.

It is up to you. If not now, then when?

I will discuss additional tips for motivation in my next post.

Movers and Shakers and Best Breakfast Choices

Posted by suzanne  on May 4, 2017

People share with me that they want to continue to be active and engaged in the community. They want to create a retirement lifestyle that they can enjoy for the next few decades. They envision and anticipate spending time in volunteer or paid work roles, engaged in travel or pursuing leisure and recreation activities during their retirement. Some individuals expect to accomplish all of the above, which is wonderful.

Being active and engaged requires good energy to start the day.

With active living, it is especially important to select foods that are healthy and nutritious. In addition, individuals want to take better care of themselves.

Which foods provide good nutrition? After discussing nutrition and diet with my colleague Sandra Crowe, Registered Holistic Nutritionist, we decided to create a joint video blog about healthy breakfasts that individuals can choose for an energetic day. This will assist people who are eager for knowledge and information conducive to an active lifestyle and increased healthspan.

View the video to learn more about the ways to emphasize high protein and low carb healthy breakfast options.

Movers and Shakers and Healthy Breakfasts

It is important to have enough energy for the day. It all starts with a healthy breakfast.

You can sign up for Sandra’s blog at http://www.fitkitchendiva.com

Freedom of R & R, or to Continue Working

Posted by suzanne  on Apr 12, 2017

Later life has changed

There is a realignment of work and retirement in society as the population ages. It is a growing trend. Older adults are continuing to work past traditional retirement age.

CBC’s The National followed a couple of Canadians as they reflected on their decision to keep working into their later years. They found work opportunities for their ‘next act’ that help generate an income and maintain their lifestyle. Furthermore, their work is personally fulfilling and meaningful to their community.

Benefits go beyond the paycheque; working keeps people active and engaged. It was also nice to hear another perspective on the benefits of hiring mature workers.

I coined the term redirection to refer to the new stage of career as people transition into new pursuits and occupation to stay engaged and continue to work. Redirection is an alternative to retirement. It is an exciting time of life. New possibilities are investigated and explored. Older adults discover that their skills and competencies are transferable. My new documentary film explores five people’s experiences with redirection.

CBC News discusses the trend towards delayed retirement. Provinces like Nova Scotia and New Brunswick are already rethinking and implementing policy to address this new trend.

It is time to rethink government policy to consider the ways people are and can work longer and what this means for social structures and institutions in Canada.

Mature and Experienced Workers

Posted by suzanne  on Feb 1, 2017

Older adults are continuing to work into their later years. They work for meaning, purpose, engagement, stimulation…and a paycheque.

Some individuals retire, then decide it is time to go back to work.

This is a beautiful video telling the story of one woman who retired, then decided to keep working into her later years.

Mature and experienced workers have a lot to offer. It is challenging and rewarding to redirect into new occupational pursuits.