It's only natural to wonder what life is going to be like after graduation. Many postgraduates get stuck in the constant pursuit of a good paying job, and then pay that money right back to loan companies. For women, entering into a male-oriented professional world can be even more challenging.
However, according to author Rachel Mitchum Elagee, there's a solution for women entering the professional realm to stay happy — 101 solutions, in fact.
In Elahee’s new book “Choose You! Reignite Your Passion For Life,” she uses her training in the new science of positive psychology and evidence-based coaching to guide female professionals on the path to finding personal satisfaction, professional productivity and happiness.
In December 2014, Elahee published her encouraging words and thoughtful strategies into a concise and empowering book so that professional women everywhere could begin taking the steps to “RE-ignite” their passion for life. The book consists of 100 strategies for staying on a path of happiness and self-respect.
Each strategy is one or two pages, and can be read in any order.
Elahee explained that the first strategy, “life is no democracy,” means that although people are allowed to offer their opinions on your life, only you have the power to give them a vote.
“I tried to balance crispness and succinctness, but giving enough that it is useful,” she said. “This is a book of wise reminders and strategies for living.”
A graduate of Cleveland State University, Fisk University and Wright State University SOPP,Elahee is a licensed psychologist who spent 14 years counseling before finding her path to professional life coaching. Although she is a native of Cleveland, Ohio, Elahee now lives in Atlanta, Georgia, where she started her professional life coaching and psychotherapy practice.
“With coaching, it was more of a glass half full versus a glass half empty,” Elahee said. “Coaching was something that seemed to fit and I was able to focus more on it. I was able to focus more on what’s going right with people and how they can correct to be on the right path.”
Elahee is motivated to inspire women in all professions and stages of life to “RE-ignite, RE-fresh, RE-discover, RE-juvenate and RE-focus” on freeing oneself from anxiety and stress. Elahee has provided guidance to a wide range of individuals, groups and organizations. Her experience includes working with the Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Power and Potential as well as the Atlanta Women Information Network of Hewlett Packard. While 95 percent of Elahee’s clients are females, she regularly applies the same “glass half-full principle” to her work with military veterans and their families.
Elahee’s experience as a psychologist and her academic background have allowed her to provide a unique personal coaching style for her clients.
“Everyone can say they are a coach and have a certification,” Elahee said. “You can be certified in an hour on the Internet. It is important for consumers interested in coaching to do the background research on their coaches. Because I am still a psychologist, I am held to the same ethics standard of my psychology license. I bring a different perspective and higher quality coaching than you may find with average coaches.”
With a recently published book and four children, Elahee is following some of her own guidance to remain focused on her life path. Other than her family, Elahee’s focal point right now is becoming involved in more speaking engagements.
“I really enjoy the energy and connecting with people on a larger scale,” she said. “It allows me to get the message out to more people. I love everything that I do so being able to do everything that I love is the focal point.”
For someone whose daily job is to provide encouraging words and empowering strategies for her clients, it's no easy task to decide what is the best advice she has ever received, but after a considerable pause, Elahee responded.
“One of the best pieces of advice that I have received is to be kind and give people the benefit of the doubt, because people are really doing the best they know how to do at that time,” she said.
Elahee’s new book “Choose You! Reignite Your Passion For Life” is available on amazon.com, and you can visit her website, www.drelahee.com, for more information.
And to leave you with a few more words of encouragement from Elahee: “Be bold and take risks, but be willing to learn. Don’t be a bull in a china shop.”