"I took the CliftonStrengths assessment so long ago” (or “when I was in a different job” or “when I was a student” or “when I was in a bad mood” or “when the moon was full” etc.). “Should I retake it?" In all its many forms, I get asked this question all the time. The short answer is…

A few months ago, I was preparing to lead a CliftonStrengths discovery session with some college students, and I needed to run a quick errand. While in the car, I heard these lyrics: “Have you ever felt like being somebody else? Feeling like the mirror isn't good for your health?”

“Let your ‘yes’ mean ‘yes’ and your ‘no’ mean ‘no.’” (Matt 5:37) I’ve been thinking about writing a blog about the challenges of those two seemingly simple words – yes and no – for a few weeks. So it was not really a surprise for me to hear that line from the Gospel of Matthew at Mass on Sunday. God has a way of nudging me and winking at me when I’m dragging my feet.

In my last post, I shared an overture of the Enneagram personality model. But it’s time to get real and get personal. The truth is, I sometimes struggle with this tool because in studying it, I learned that I’m not who I thought I was.

In some circles, when the topic of the Enneagram comes up, people get all excited and start to rattle off numbers. With others, there’s a quizzical and skeptical look that emerges, and they might ask “Isn’t that a personality-cult-thing?” And still others respond with a blank look that tells me they have no idea what it is. So let’s give some basic info, dispel some myths, and start to build a common understanding.

I’ve never done a “word of the year” before. Each January, Facebook friends far and wide post about their words, but it wasn’t until this year that I finally decided to try it out. I guess I just got around enough people who use this practice that I wanted to be like the cool kids.

Boy, was I surprised by my word!

For the past two weeks, I’ve been trying to write this blog about moving through holiday time when you’re feeling anything but jolly, about how it’s ok to not be ok, about how it’s normal for grief, anxiety, depression and the like to show up as unwelcome houseguests during this season. But it turns out, it’s awfully hard to write about stuff like this when I’m in the middle of it!

What’s the last month of the year like for you? Even setting aside all the holiday craziness and extra “to-do’s” on the list, December often feels like a rush to get stuff done before the end of the year. Sadly, I suspect I’m not alone in the annual tradition of “beating myself up for all the things I didn’t do this year.”

“I don’t know… I’m just weird like that.” It was this comment from a client - who had just been describing how she preferred to process information - that prompted me to respond, “Not weird - just wired.” It was a lightbulb moment.

A few months ago, one of my REALIFE Process® coaches (yes, coaches have coaches) asked me what I do to renew myself - defined as something that is not work, that is relational or relaxing, that gets me into a different environment or engages my brain differently. I’m embarrassed to say that I was a bit stumped.

I founded Teal Horizon Coaching LLC in 2022 so that I could wear my favorite color everyday… wait, no, that’s not right…