I mentioned your article on my blog here:
[40 Tips For Job Seekers Over 40](http://jobmob.co.il/blog/40-tips-for-job-seekers-over-40/)

To your second tip, as it applies to preparing for an interview, would suggest asking, "What's a question that I really hope they DON'T ask me?" … and then figure out a decent answer should you BE asked it.

Tip three stands as is.

Re: tip four - sometimes behaviors affect beliefs, as in "Hmmm, I'm here networking here at this conference today (behavior) so maybe I do more networking than I realized(belief)." Other times beliefs affect behaviors - "It's important to continue to network(belief), so let me go talk to that person over there right now(behavior)."
The key to getting unstuck is to figure out which side of the equation - your behavior or your belief - is working against you so you can then focused your energy on the other side to break through.

Hope that helps.

You got one more reader for your blog.Cheers

i have undertaken some counselling with an associate (www.bluepeapod.com) and found its objectivity to be very useful and a way to reinforce this self-questioning of oneself.

I do spend a lot of time talking myself through problems. I've even found that talking to inanimate objects or animals helps - the microwave, or my cat, for example. For me it provides a much needed direction for the conversation; if I can direct it at "someone" (even if their voice is just in my head), I am much better able to remove any personal filters I'd generally use on me. I don't have any idea why that added object helps, but I think it's because I can give it a personality. If it has personality it has an opinion, and various patterns of thought; armed with those I know right away when it's (I'm) feeding me a line.

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Thanks for the reality check, Jeff. I think you're right that the self-coaching only works so far. If you need to make enormous changes — like, your presonality stinks — you are not going to come to that via self-coaching. It's too hard to hear.

-Penelope

Part of why this works can be explained through the psychology of "narrative development". That is, much of the development of our identity, personality, and what we believe occurs when we tell a "story" to someone. This process can be exploited for a variety of situations. In this case, your "story" concerns what your problems are and finding a course of action. The story is being told to yourself. In forming this narrative to expel and communicate to yourself, you analyze your problems and a way to approach them in a very effective, natural, and efficient manner.

Your pieces of advice make a lot of sense. Particularly your suggestion in #1, your mention of writing a problem down, and your interview tip about asking if your potential employer has any reservations about hiring you. Great stuff.

Thank you!

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Thank you for bringing up one of my favorite topics — storytelling. There is enormous power in the stories we choose to tell about ourselves. I write about this in terms of career changes and interviews, but it never occured to me that it applies to thinking about our own problems as well. You add fresh and very useful points about storytelling.

-Penelope