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Caroline Jones (Campaign Manager) Blog - 15 December 2009

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Christmas is a time for believing (and following your heart)

Only 10 sleeps until Christmas - wahoo! Yes I know Christmas is really for the kids. Believe me I know, I have a four-year old! But it can be for the adults too. I know as adults many of us find we spend too much money trying to recapture that increasingly elusive magic of Christmas as we grow older, and many of us certainly feel the pressures of Christmas. But maybe we could all benefit from a shift of perspective that Christmas can bring us?

I've often heard it said that Christmas is more enjoyable when there are kids around to share it with. Have you ever wondered why that is? My four year old son is very astute, as many four year olds are, and I can't help thinking he knows "the truth" about Santa. But, if he does, he is happy to go along with the dream because not believing is definitely not as exciting a prospect. He chooses to believe.

In a recent conversation, my son questioned the scientific possibility of Santa - or his elves for that matter - being able to observe the behaviour of all children around the world. And yet, he is completely able to accept that Santa arrives by reindeer and telepathically knows what's on his Christmas list. As a parent, I am happy to go along with this, because I know it's about more than the presents, there's something much bigger at stake about the empowerment of believing. Perhaps there's a lesson there for all of us, to recapture the child within where anything is possible - even flying reindeer - and that believing can overcome many obstacles! Isn't this a shift of perspective, or a leap of faith, that could help us all?

Speaking of relatives, with most of mine residing overseas, and my retired father having acquired an incessant taste for travel, I can't say that personally I bemoan the family commitments of Christmas. For me, the magic of Christmas is that it's often the only time in the whole year that my family and close friends really get to spend quality time all together.

Incidentally, a close friend just arrived from Paris, is undergoing a major career shift of his own. This friend could be accused - and has been by many of our mutual friends and his family! - of having the best job in the world. Originally from the UK, he's on an all expenses paid secondment to Paris with the firm he works for, including a Paris apartment overlooking the River Seine and the Eiffel Tower, a company car, a one-on-one French tutor... Except that the company he works for has been hit badly by the financial crisis, the worst hit in fact, without mentioning any names. So, he was fortunate to negotiate a further year on his contract to May 2010, but after that he's onto pastures new - and Paris is a hard act to follow. Whether a career change is planned or unplanned, it can be an opportunity, but it takes a shift of perspective, a leap of faith, perhaps?

In these times, the self-belief to invest in your own future is more important than ever. For more examples of career transition in the world around us, don't forget to regularly check up on our Careers in the News page on the NCDW website. The post-Christmas period is a big delivery time for NCDW, in the lead up to our celebration week from 17 to 23 May 2010, so make sure you keep a close eye on our website after the holidays. Have you seen the latest career factsheets already up on the website?

Amongst the many exciting new developments we've been working on, February will see the arrival of our High Five Career Development Videos presented by Mark Furze (actor,musician) and Angela Bishop (Network Ten entertainment reporter). You will definitely find some useful tips for you, friends or family, students or clients, and you might just find the shift of perspective that takes you on an amazing journey to getting the life you choose!

Have a wonderful Christmas and New Year - and keep believing!

Caroline Jones

National Career Development Week forms part of a larger year-long campaign and is an initiative of the Career Industry Council of Australia (CICA), with funding from the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR).

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