Resources

In this holiday season of lots to do, don’t forget to be who you want to be in the flurry of it all. In every moment of every day, you get to choose. What will you choose? I choose joy.

The short answer is NO! Unless, you have been presented with a specific opportunity by a specific person in your network to apply for now, you should find a way to cope with whatever is causing you pain in your current role if at all possible.

But don’t misunderstand me. You do need to be working on your job search strategy during this season to be ready to be in full on job search mode come January. What does it mean to have or work on a job search strategy? Here are a few tips to help you get started.

1. Know your target job. Any ole job won’t do. Know what you are specifically interested in doing next in your career.
2. Do your homework! What organizations do you want to work for? Pick 10 to 20. Write them down and then go to their website and set an alert to be notified when they post jobs that are of interest to you.
3. Work on your resume and LinkedIn profile. See how this is step 3 even though most of us want to start with this step?! You can’t do this well without knowing your target job and target companies. Also make sure you know how to customize your resume and cover letter for each job you apply for. There are tools and techniques available for great customization.
4. Network! That doesn’t always mean handing out business cards at a conference or professional event. Find ways to connect with people in your job market. LinkedIn is a great place to start and there is a way to do reach out authentically, professionally, and with confidence.
5. Don’t be afraid to reach out for support during this process. A job search is quite the undertaking so confide in a friend, work with a coach for accountability, manage your time so it doesn’t feel like you are always working on the job search, take a day off to do something you enjoy, etc.

While there is much more I could tell you about creating your job search strategy, I’ll leave you with these tips as a starting place. As always, let me know if I can be of help as we all work on choosing joy in our careers and lives!

You don’t have to feel stuck in your career or life! Get the support you need to embrace the change needed. It’s worth it and you don’t have to wait until you have all the answers to relieve the pain.

I saw this image on social media recently and it gave me pause to reflect on how we can reframe our perception of our reality and how doing so consistently can change our perspective on life. In some ways, it’s answering the classic half empty or half full question and then deciding you’d rather have a different perception than you tend to. For example, for the first 30 years of my life, I saw things negatively and in turn my perspective on life became a negative, pessimistic one. There were valid reasons for why I viewed things this way but I came to a point in my life that I had healed those issues and wanted to live more positively, more joyfully for my well being and the well being of my new baby. To shift my perception and my perspective was no quick, easy task and still occasionally requires recalibrating.

Reframing requires us to shift our thinking, rewriting those scripts we have ingrained in us and operate on autopilot. Here are some tips for reframing your perception and perspective that worked for me:

1. Be intentional about the change you want to make and turn off autopilot mode. If you aren’t clear on what you want to change or aren’t committed to it, you will have a harder time changing.
2. Be gentle and patient with yourself during the process because you won’t get it right every time. It takes time and practice to change.
3. Find external ways to support the change. It’s easy to get all jumbled up in our thoughts and feelings so external supports can help us stay on track. For example, tell a confidant and make a plan for checking in with them on your progress. If journaling is a helpful way for you to process, journal about your successes and struggles with making the change. If you love inspirational quotes as much as I do, you could put quotes that inspire you in strategic places where you will see them in your home and office where you will be reminded and encouraged on your quest.
4. Celebrate when you get it right! This will reinforce those instances where you have success and spark more of them.

Eventually, you will have created a shift in your perception and perspective and created a new normal for yourself. As always, know that I wish you well on your journey to the joyful life you want. #choosejoy

At a recent training, I learned a simple yet powerful exercise for thinking about our power to choose. Draw a vertical squiggly line on a piece of paper. At the bottom write the year you were born. At the top, write the age you’d like to live to be. Place a dash on the line that represents your age today. From that dash to the bottom is your past. From that dash to the top is your future. As C.S. Lewis reminds us, “you can start where you are and change the ending.” What will you choose for your future?

Fear breeds more fear. We all know how debilitating that feels. If we are paying attention, life provides us countless opportunities to see our fear for what it is and make a choice to handle it in a positive, joy giving way. It is not our natural inclination but we can grow in our ability to recognize and choose differently. Try it out today or maybe this weekend and practice choosing joy instead of fear when life presents you with the opportunity. Let me know how it goes!