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March Blog – Your Personal Census

On this day (March 10th) in 1801, Britain undertook it’s first ever national census. This event has taken place in Britain every ten years since – with the exception of 1941 due to WW11. By the time of the next one in 2021, I’ll be looking forward to celebrating my half-century, one child may be about to leave home for University or travels and my coaching practice will officially be 10years old! There’s got to be at least one thing in that list to celebrate..?!

The OED definition of ‘census’ is: An official count or survey, especially of a population: & the word originates from Latin ‘censere ‘ to assess.

In daily life we are constantly assessing: which route to take to work; is there time for a second coffee; whether to accept an invitation to an event; even what’s in the fridge for lunch! Things are the transactional assessments we have to go through to navigate our way through daily routines at work and at home. There is also the need to assess issues that may affect us longer-term: a job-offer; school choices for our children; save for something or use credit; give up smoking or not.

Then there are assessments on a deeper level, which require us, like a census, to take stock, identify common themes, celebrate diversity, and celebrate our achievements to date. In the rush to ‘do’ in our daily lives, it’s easy to forget that some assessment or re-assessment of our status quo, is healthy and needed on a regular basis, certainly more frequently than once every 10 years!

Here are some questions that you could ask yourself in your personal census:

  • Am I living the life I dreamed of 10years ago…? If not, which bits could I change to work better for me (and/or those around me)
  • What am I most proud of at this moment in time?
  • Which 5 values do I hold dear and symbolise the way I live my life?
  • What’s the 1 thing I couldn’t live without?
  • Do I surround myself with people who lift me up; inspire & energise me?

To fully benefit from this personal census, you may need to take action to change something or share your thoughts with your nearest and dearest. It may be that for now, simply acknowledging this personal assessment is enough.

If you would like guidance on undertaking your own personal census, or support in making some desired changes, you could try coaching.

Personal coaching is a great way of identifying areas for change and working with an independent support resource to make it happen. Get in touch today – louise@lifematterscoaching.co.uk   www.lifematterscoaching.co.uk