Where are you in your life? As I’m sure you know, life is full of ups and downs. It was around 10 years ago after having been in one business happily for around twenty years that I knew that the beloved business was changing. I knew that more of what I was doing was being outsourced and the budgets were becoming much smaller. I had already started to think about what future business changes I wanted and needed to hatch. I had scribbled some provocative thoughts and ideas down on paper, when life took me in a completely different direction.
“Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans” ~John Lennon
I was diagnosed with an illness that took up my time, my energy and ended up driving me towards a whole unrealized passion. I saw the bigger picture, a happier life. That’s how I became a Transitional Career Coach. Life is not simply what you want, and how you’re going to arrive there and when, but most important why you WANT those things?
The following are several thoughts to help you find passion when you’re so involved in the details of the when, the how, and a myriad of particulars that you can’t really see the situation as a whole. You can’t see the forest from the trees, you can’t take the time to look inward and realize what you would really like to invest yourself in. Let’s look at how you can find that forest.
1. Comparison is the fast track to unhappiness. Women in particular can be very unforgiving of themselves. We have trouble recognizing our own attractiveness because we’re too busy measuring ourselves to other people. One of the easiest ways to feel crappy about ourselves is to compare ourselves unfavorably to others. Be aware that you’re doing this, focus on your own strengths. Think about what you want your life to be not compared to others. What are the achievements that have gotten you to where you are now?
“To be beautiful means to be yourself. You don’t need to be accepted by others. You need to accept yourself.”~ Thich Nhat Hanh
2. Clinging to the Past? Do you talk about it all the time? Ok, maybe not all the time…do you talk about it a lot? Find yourself blaming the past for where you are now…where you still are now? Can’t seem to climb out of your proverbial rut? Aren’t you tired of being there? You can change it-the choice is yours! If instead you felt that your time here in this world wasn’t long, but shorter than imagined, wouldn’t you want to be looking at it as motivational, not a burden? Wouldn’t you want that time to move your life towards happiness and possibilities? Start today, start with five positive minutes and increase it to several times a day.
“Each day you spend holding onto the past keeps you from grabbing onto the future.”
3. Fear of the unknown. Fear is a natural human instinct. Almost all us fears something, the fear of the unknown stems from certain things, or situations or memories in our lives. What do you fear the most and what situation do you avoid the most? You always have a choice if you choose that fear. In some cases educating ourselves is the best way to get over the fear of the unknown. If you have a fear that can cause no harm to you, then try one step at a time to let go. For example, if you have a fear of public speaking, and you were to lose track of what you’re saying or start to feel nervous and your mind goes blank, it may seem like you’ve been silent for an eternity, but in reality, it’s probably just a few seconds. Even if it’s longer, it’s likely your audience won’t mind a pause to consider what you’ve been saying. The more you speak, the easier it becomes. Do you worry about your health? It has been my health that has actually helped me focus on my career pursuits and has brought me joy. We fear the unknown because of what we believe can be taken away from us, instead believe more about what good can come from change if we allow it to bloom.
“Fear of the unknown is the greatest fear of all” ~ Yvon Chouinard
4. Failure. Do you believe you can’t do anything right? Failing is always possible when you take on something new, you learn as you go along and look back. You often can’t believe how far you’ve come if you remember to look back. If you learn from your failure as a valuable experience, you will come out on TOP! “Few of our own failures are fatal,” economist and Financial Times columnist Tim Harford writes in his book, Adapt: Why Success Always Starts With Failure. When our flubs stare us in the face, we often find it so overwhelming upsetting that we miss out on the leading benefit of failing (yes, there is a benefit): the opportunity to get our egos in alignment and come back with a more powerful, more intelligent plan.
“Giving up is the only sure way to fail.” ~ Gena Showalter
5. Consistency. Are you following through what you have set out to do? Do you have a plan? Do you have goals? Are you sticking to them on a day in and day out basis? Not so much? Sort of? You know yourself best! Consistency is about creating empowering habits and rituals that you partake in every single day that keep you focused on your highest priorities and goals. You are accountable for your day and your choices. The idea of staying consistent seems quite simple on the surface, however most people battle with the concept. They find it difficult to maintain consistency because there are just too many distractions in life. People lose their focus and commitment. They find themselves losing the discipline to stick with the short-term for long-term results. We like things to happen fast! Consistency isn’t about gleaning quick results, it’s about making day-by-day progress and improvements over an extended period of time, for your ultimate envisioned success! Having a career coach to keep you on track to maintain your progress and find your will is extremely valuable to be able to MASTER YOUR SUCCESS!
“Part of courage is simple consistency” ~ Peggy Noonan