Coming back to work after the holidays can be a challenge. Feeling out of sorts with oneself, one’s work and everything else is not that rare and reminds me of the first time a client used a wildly unflattering noun in a coaching session with me. He was venting about his creative business partner of many years. I was very curious what had caused this explosive sense of frustration with and also distance from his partner. He had a list of the ways his partner needed to change. Eventually, I asked what it had been like when they started out. His whole demeanour changed.

Turned out they had begun creating together with a shared vision of their perfect project but financial considerations had pulled them further and further away from realising it, as they built a successful partnership doing more and more commercial work until their shared dream project seemed lost. Impossible.

Getting them to re-explore that old vision changed everything. They threw themselves into realising that ideal project with gusto. Harmony restored.

A (creative) career works best when it’s guided by vision: e.g. from your awareness, inspiration and intuition instead of from your anxiety, reactivity and fears of survival. To increase the energy of your career create a vision and hold to it. Lynn Grodzki

Many of us can feel like this pair after the Christmas break. We might feel further from our goals than ever or simply feel off. Unengaged. We may even have a laundry list of things we feel we need to do better in the coming year. (New Years Resolutions anyone? Honestly, spare yourself the torment!)

Instead, this is my invitation to you if you are feeling challenged by the return to work. Re-engage with the brightest vision you held for yourself in the past. Perhaps from when you first started out if it calls to you, or maybe the most recent vision you laid out for yourself. Or it may be time to create a new one. Once you have it in front of you, read it and hold to it.