This document printed from the University
of Illinois Extension Tent Poles at http://www.extension.uiuc.edu/macon/
Clean out the winter doldrums
April 7, 2004
Rexlyn Nicole
Community and Economic Development Program Coordinator
Macon County Unit 2535 Millikin Parkway
Decatur, IL 62526
Phone: 217-877-6042
FAX: 217-877-4564 rxnicole@uiuc.edu
Spring is here and what have you done to clear out the winter doldrums? Are you still wearing a chip on your shoulder? Still hanging on to out of date information? Still hanging onto that hope that things will turn around and you will just sit tight and wait? Then STOP!!
Nothing changes unless you make it change. If you have been unemployed for longer than a year and you have not been to a re-training class or started a school program to upgrade, then you are at the root of your own problem. If you look at your career as a cake, how interested would you be in a slice if it had been sitting out doing nothing but getting stale for a year? Why would you think an employer is going to be anymore interested in you when you are looking the same way...stale and out of date?
Need a touch up? Get up, get out there and spruce yourself up just like spring cleaning. You are not a piece of cake, but you can look pretty darned interesting if you take the time. Call your local schools, training sites, or U of I Extension office today and find out how to keep from becoming stale!
If you look at life as a tent, do you know the importance of tent poles? When putting up the tent, the tent poles are hard to deal with, they are cumbersome and yet without them, there is no tent. The tent poles are there for support. They are the backbone of the tent. They are the foundation of the cover against the storm while camping. Tent poles are in your every day life as well. They are there propping you up when times are tough. Do you know who and what your tent poles are?
