My trifecta happens December 25th through December 31st – Christmas, my birthday, and New Years Eve. This year instead of speeding through a whirlwind of activities, I decided to slow down, take a breath, and to coach... myself.I was determined to ask and answer some important questions about my 2015 and upcoming 2016.

As I stepped back and thought about my year, the overwhelming sense of gratitude for my good health struck me as I considered the vulnerable events that occasionally popped up to remind me of the brevity of life.

Marshall Goldsmith’s new book is titled Triggers (2015). The timing of its publication is particularly meaningful for me as I had an upfront and still resonating experience with one of my triggers. Goldsmith defines a behavioral trigger as any stimulus that impacts our behavior. It can be direct or indirect; internal or external; anticipated or unexpected; encouraging or discouraging, and productive and counter-productive.

I belong to an online professional community. Recently a member put forth an interesting question –

She asked, “if there were one piece of advice you could go back in time and give yourself at an earlier point in your career, what would it be?”

I waited and read the responses wanting to see if anyone would mention hiring a coach. Not altogether surprising, no one did (well, I did, finally). Thinking more about both the question and responses, I remembered having a conversation with a high-level executive who casually suggested that

Recently, my husband and I received some unsettling news. As we attempted to find a focus for the remainder of that day, we both wandered about aimlessly. Finally, over dinner at one of our favorite restaurants we explored our day of living with a foggy brain. I’m quite certain we cannot claim ownership of the name “foggy brain,” but we knew what it felt like to live with the foggy brain's unguided and seemingly unconcerned welfare for our outcomes.

I was in Kyiv, Ukraine when the BBC reported the news of the Charleston murders. I felt weak in my core and saddened beyond words. Later that evening my friend and I were processing the news and bemoaning the state of affairs. My friend said something very meaningful that continued to resonate with me. She says, “there is hate (the root of fear), and there is love – I always choose love."

On a recent stopover in London my husband and I finally had the opportunity to observe the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. It got me thinking about rituals. According to freedictionary.com, a ritual is a ceremony in which the actions and wording follow a prescribed form and order. Rituals are often used in places of worship or by organizations – e.g. according to Catholic ritual.

In early January, Steve and I were fortunate to escape the NE deep freeze to the warmth of Punta Gorda, Florida. One sunny afternoon our friend took us to The Navigator, a restaurant where the 1960’s and 1970’s stands still. Basking in the sun and listening to a live performance from singer/songwriter Jim Morris, a line from one of his songs resonated with me. It is …you’re a pothole in the road to cheerful living. In the context of the composer’s life, I believe this song lyric is from a song written about divorce. However, it resonated with me because I made an immediate connection to an adage about Insanity: that is, doing the same thing over and over and hoping for different results.

A mid-level supervisor promoted to a deputy director position. Her promotion came after a highly competitive process.  There was a prevailing perception among the other candidates that the person selected was too young and had not served her time in grade. The director and the new candidate recognized the threat to her success. Through coaching, the new appointee successfully navigated her transition to the new role and was subsequently appointed as the assistant director with the support of her prior peers.

Are you where you want to be? Are your employees where you want them to be? You can’t change what you don’t examine.