It’s interesting how our human condition can create havoc and discord in ones life. We tend to get through the day-to-day existence, thinking we are doing okay when in fact it is just the opposite. Last night during our career networking group meeting, our speaker, Dr. Steve Ventola, a chiropractor who believes in total wellness, awesome session by the way, came and in so doing helped us realize that we know a lot of this already, we just chose to ignore it. He told us he was in the same place many, many years ago when he was in school. This is nothing new but it is true to the way we operate. This is part is the reason he has taken this total wellness approach with his practice. We know what we know but we carry on doing what we do anyway, sometimes to our detriment.

Our bodies are telling us we are out of alignment, we just aren’t listening. We have become complacent with feeling less than great, moving through our day thinking if we get through the to-do list we are okay. We check one thing off the list and we move on to the next thing. But are we really moving forward? Are we really getting anything accomplished or are we just checking things off the list?

I was not totally surprised with the small group of participants that showed up to the meeting last night but I was surprised that the ones that did show up were all men. I know! How crazy is that? Typically men do not acknowledge they are stressed, heaven forbid, but women do. We verbalize our challenges but still carry out the duties that need to be done because that is what we do.

We are in a world that is very, very different today. People are finding it difficult to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Things are not well, unemployment remains high and there’s no end in sight. People are continuing to lose jobs, or are underemployed, losing their homes, etc. And the people are feeling like their government has lost sight of the people they were elected to represent. There is more discord and frustration then there is hope. Protestors all over the country are rising up against the failed practices and the alliances that do not seem to be in the best interest of the people. Yet government officials are standing firm in their talking points and disregarding the cries of the people. It seems to most that corporate interests are the ones being represented, not that of the people.

Since we cannot depend on the government to help us, now is the perfect time for us to look at who we are and what we need to do for ourselves. We cannot compete with corporate money so we need to find other ways to take a stand. I think that is what we are seeing in the various Occupy Wall St and the mounting other occupations across the nation. We need to look at who we are, where we want to go and the necessary steps to take to make it happen. It’s a movement somewhat like the civil rights movement of yesterday except it’s the movement for the real people today.

So what’s our first step? We cannot forget about our need for balance and total wellness. The purpose of last night’s career group session was to help us master stress so we can live fulfilled lives. The second step / session is to help us manage change. We are definitely in a state of flux, and change so how do we deal with it? And how does what’s happening today and tomorrow affect what we need to be doing? Our third session in this series will build upon the foundation laid in these last two sessions and explore ways to be more open-minded to change. Then we should be in a fairly good place to openly consider how all this parlays into a career path or whatever direction you may feel led. Be it a resume, marketing / business plan or efforts to improve the challenges of this world – we will hopefully be able to see a clearer path. So let’s see where we are, where we want to be and what steps need to be taken to get us where we want to go. Join us in this quest for total wellness, and for fulfilled lives and careers!