These last few weeks, since returning from vacation, I have been exploring that “back to work” sentiment with several of my clients. Often, it is a mixed feeling. A break gives us enough distance to notice what we have been normalising. We may start to recognise the habits, expectations and ways of working that were …
What did you love doing before life got busy? And what might happen if you reconnected with a part of that person? Welcome to 1999. The young, deadly serious teenager striking a pose with a recorder held high, sporting a homemade attempted Rachel-from-Friends hairdo and preparing for a concert, is me. The concert in question …
In my native Finland, Valentine’s Day is officially Friendship Day. A beautiful idea. Yet research suggests many of us feel lonelier than ever, particularly in midlife. I hear this often in my client conversations, perhaps slightly more from midlife men who admit that their social world has narrowed. It is not surprising. Midlife can be …
Is it really that hard to make friends in midlife? And why should we try? Read More »
Watching the Winter Olympics this week reminded me that I used to be a figure skater. Yes, really. Not a particularly good or serious one. But between the ages of six and fourteen, it was something I approached with genuine passion. When I later moved to the UK, that chapter closed. My more nerdy pursuit …
Flow, Figure Skating, and Finding Your Element in Midlife Read More »
If you reinvented your career around midlife, what clues pointed you in the right direction – in hindsight? Most of us miss them at the time. We are far better at noticing what we are not, especially in midlife, when many of us are sandwiched between multiple responsibilities, rising complexity, and sustained pressure. Yet when …
Career Reinvention Cues in Midlife: The Signals We Miss Until Later Read More »
“I no longer work for companies – only for people.” A friend said this to me recently. I hear variations of the same sentiment from many clients, particularly those in mid-career who have invested years, sometimes decades, of time, energy, and identity into organisations. Often, that investment was made in exchange for promises of progression, …
I no longer work for companies – I work for people Read More »
No wonder “new year, new me” ambitions can feel overwhelming on this first Monday of January. It is freezing cold, and the news cycle is gloomy and serves as a reminder of how much lies outside our control. In that context, sweeping transformation goals can feel unrealistic and emotionally tone-deaf. Perhaps this is precisely why …
Did you know that some of the most beloved Christmas carols in the world’s allegedly happiest country are incredibly sad? In my native Finland, many traditional carols are written in a minor key and often tell stories about grief, sadness and longing? There is the frozen sparrow that turns out to be a departed child, …
What Finnish Christmas Songs Reveal About Emotional Agility Read More »
From the outside, my career and life today may look like the product of a masterfully crafted long-term plan.People often ask how I designed that “grand strategy,” expecting a clean blueprint and a confident vision that guided every step. And sure, with hindsight and a knack for spotting patterns, I can now tell a compelling …
Curiosity, Not Certainty: How My Career Actually Evolved Read More »
Being laid off led me to adopt two Maine Coons – and start a business and career I now love passionately. Of course, it wasn’t quite that simple or that quick. There was a pandemic (remember that?), homeschooling, endless courses, frantic soul-searching, a newly bought house, and the usual worries about mortgages and “what now?”. …
