7 tips for reshaping your career when life’s priorities change
They say you should never drive past your childhood home because it will never be the same as the memory reel in your mind.
The familiar soul that once inhabited its walls, replaced by the scent & sounds of a new family’s life. The vibrancy & cared for corners you remember so well, now aged & tired, like threadbare drapes faded by the repeated burn of the western sun.
You feel blind-sided. Your lived-in adult self suddenly out of place amongst the mental polaroids of your past.
Life is like that. It outgrows what fails to grow with us.
Few of us are the same as we were before the pandemic pulled the plug from our comfortable lives. Living now seems more finite. Our willingness to endure life’s redundancies, drained.
The term “great resignation” is popping up all over the airwaves. Research suggesting it is less of a myth & a very real phenomenon, brought about by the realisation that for many the foot no longer fits in the worn-in shoe housing their tired career.
We’ve all come to know ourselves a little better & are prepared to be a little bolder. Things that used to be important, now seem trivial & there’s an acceptance settling across society that uncertainty is here to stay.
With strengthened souls, our appetite for change we can control, is ravenous.
When our heart’s priorities change, life must change too.
My Beautiful Mess was the great reshape of my life.
From the moment my intuition started egging me on, I found myself navigating a mass of squiggly thoughts, powerful moments of choice & a sky rocketing trajectory of personal growth.
My ‘great resignation”, the bookend. By the time I reached that moment, I was done. In my heart, that chapter was closed. It was 18 months of reactivity that I could have managed better. Albeit I did my best at the time.
The courage it takes to pull the pin of what is safe & familiar is immense.
I learnt the irony of this phrase first hand, when I persisted with a career that no longer suited my family’s priorities.
It wasn’t safe for my mental health.
Today’s talk of the impending 2022 “great resignation” leaves me wondering how people can better support themselves during this intense time of decision making & personal discovery. It’s a time you feel neither here nor there.
You tread on eggshells in your current reality while your mind gallops towards the horizon of an exciting new future.
Here are 7 considerations for navigating that time;
1. Acceptance
Accepting you are on a journey of exploration helps alleviate the mental tug-o-war of straddling two worlds. Remind yourself you are entitled to explore your options. You don’t need to have all of the answers from the get go. Clarity will come with time.
2. Define your core values
I feel I bang-on about values every blog I write! The reason is simple, if we aren’t living in accordance with our core values, life will never seem right & we will never perform at our best.
Your values will ground you through this squiggly process, be your north star & keep you motivated throughout. They enable you to design a life that protects what is most important to you. When you come to a decision making cross roads, these are your compass.
3. Progress vs Outcome
Reshaping a career to better integrate with life’s priorities won’t happen overnight. You have to become comfortable with the discomfort of uncertainty. Being focused on a set outcome only puts the blinkers on & creates limitations. Focusing on the process keeps us open to discovering options.
I like to create a dynamic mind map. It’s like a vision board but more fluid. Ideas go up, then down, then up again. Your core values in the centre & cross checked with your ideas. The concept brings clarity & acceptance to where you are in a particular moment in time.
3. Plan how you will lead yourself
Change is emotionally draining & requires endurance. Particularly when you are maintaining present life in the meanwhile.
Wanting to latch onto the first opportunity that presents is not the solution.
Setting yourself up for success means focusing on what you are moving towards not what you are trying to leave behind.
Leading yourself with intention will better enable you to manage your stress response. A couple of hot tips:
Identify & minimise stress triggers & energy drainers
Track your stress levels daily
Schedule time daily for energy boosting activities
Have a plan in place to manage yourself in stressful moments
Revise your boundaries to protect what’s dear
Appoint a trusted accountability partner who can support you during this time (ie. a friend, coach or family member)
4. Objective Support
As someone who is coached monthly, I’m a huge believer in having a non-judgemental space to explore. Someone you connect with, trust & respect. Somewhere you feel safe. Where you can be vulnerable & you know, you won’t get away with smokescreens. This person will ask the right questions & challenge your thinking. From my experience, it’s an investment worth making & comforting to know you have someone in your corner.
5. Schedule exploration time
Designing a new life landscape is a creative process easily derailed by present day realities.
Be realistic about what you can commit to & schedule that time in your calendar weekly - connecting & learning. Knowing you are investing in your personal growth will keep you energised, inspired & moving forward.
6. Assess what you value
With your core values at the forefront, start piecing together what you value from your present working life. While I’m not a people & culture expert, I’ve coached enough clients to understand by definition, value is unique to each individual, pending their life’s priorities. Understanding yours & being able to articulate this well will facilitate people’s understanding of what’s important to you.
It’s worth remembering, while a high income might afford productivity for a while, on it’s own it’s a transaction remiss of human connection & understanding - the true secret sauce of loyalty & work place well-being.
7. Reflect on your impact
Take this time to intentionally reflect on your past contribution & impact. This will help you form a narrative relevant to those you are speaking with.
How have you impacted those you’ve served?
What are your proudest accomplishments?
How would those you’ve worked with describe you?
Remember, your reputation capital contributes to your value.
While on the surface this “great resignation” phenomenon might look a little self serving to some, I can’t help but think that for those leaders who refrain judgement & take the time to dig a little deeper, they will realise the majority of the honest population isn’t craving materialism at all.
What they are really craving, is for a sense of belonging & of feeling understood.
Peta x
High performance coach | Commercial Growth Consultant | Keynote Speaker |
Author of My Beautiful Mess - living through burnout & rediscovering me