Fear

Yes, But, But, But …………..

July 13, 2014 By // by DigitalJenIPC

Making a career change can feel as big a decision as choosing a life partner and whether to have a baby. That’s big.

To achieve a successful career change, you need to overcome the ‘buts’. A career change can seem like a huge mountain in front of you to climb. Part of my job as a talent liberator is to be your Sherpa.

I was reflecting recently on what ‘Buts’ come up often with my clients:

* Lack of time to think and make a change

* Feel burdened by the weight of responsibility e.g. as the main breadwinner

* How a change will affect future plans and choices e.g. having another baby

* Fear of the unknown

* Finding something that fits you and is fulfilling

* Getting a lucky break and for a potential employer to see the value you bring

* Fear of making a bad decision and regretting a change

* Believing that a change means you have to go to the bottom of the ladder

* Fear of losing financial security and feeling vulnerable

Sound familiar?

7 Tips to overcome career change ‘buts’

1) Design security into your change

2) Set up a savings account to fund a career break, retrain or financial cushion for peace of mind

3) Keep the faith – be persistent

4) Make time to get clear on what you want

5) Create your own luck – be proactive

6) Fill the gap – information, especially for lawyers, provides clarity and reduces fear

7) Block out time every week so you make progress

What tips would you add?

What next?

The quieter summer months are the perfect time to think about your career and what you really want.

Imagine returning to work in September clear about what change you want to make and how you will achieve it.

A fast track career coaching programme could enable you to achieve it. Act today – get in touch:

http://careerstrategies.co.uk/careercoaching/what-next/

To follow us on Twitter,
https://twitter.com/talentliberator

Who’s your Sherpa?

September 27, 2013 By // by DigitalJenIPC

I recently heard an amazing speaker at an Ernst & Young quarterly women’s network event: Herta von Stiegel.

She decided she wanted to climb Kilimanjaro as a challenge for reaching 50. Not only that, but to do it taking a group of disabled people and their helpers too. It took two years of planning and she succeeded. The climb resulted in a book called “The inner mountain” which draws parallels between leadership lessons and her experiences climbing Kilimanjaro.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mountain-Within-Leadership-Lessons-Inspiration/dp/0071773061

Two things I personally took away from her talk were:

Vision is the intersection between something you are passionate about/a major strength and how it meets a human need.

The aptness of the ‘inner mountain’ metaphor for career change.

Many people want to change career but don’t start because the change feels too great, the climb too steep, too daunting. No one who has climbed a mountain or done a marathon would say it is easy, but they focus on the motivation of the outcome and break the stages into steps just as climbers have different camps along the way e.g. base camp.

Two of the highlights for me about helping people to change career are the ‘aha’ moments – insights about what they really want to do, what is stopping them and breakthroughs in progress. Career change like climbing a mountain is an outer journey too, but very much an inner one of personal discovery and change.

Three questions for you:

What do you feel passionately about doing through your career to help others?
What are you really good at?
What’s stopping you from career change?

Here is what a client of ours said recently:

“Coaching has been very instrumental for me, because it helped me carve my own path at my own pace, to reach my goal. I’m not sure that without coaching, I would still have had the willpower to change and enter a completely different line of work – I may have thought about it, but whether I would have put it in action anyways? I’m not so certain!

Also, I enjoyed speaking with Rachel, because I knew that she wouldn’t be judgemental or biased – she understood where I was coming from and she understood why I needed the change, which has been at times, difficult to explain to friends and family.”

Click on this link for some blog about fears:
http://liberateyourtalent.wordpress.com/?s=fears+

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https://twitter.com/talentliberator

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Career change – an obstacle course?

January 12, 2013 By // by DigitalJenIPC

Making a change in your career always feels daunting, let alone in a downturn with lots of uncertainty about.

You can choose to do nothing or do something.

I remember once laying out an obstacle course on the floor with a client, Duncan Goose who worked in advertising, with each obstacle representing a challenge to overcome.

They went on to win a Greatest Briton award and provide the water at Bob Geldof’s Live8.

Just imagine how many people wouldn’t have had fresh water in their village if they had given up at the first hurdle!

This is their story:

http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs042/1102862873131/archive/1106786590378.html

Here are four more examples of clients who have taken action and are now smiling and very glad they did!

Ever been at a life AND work crossroads at the same time?

Read Kam’s story:

http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs193/1102862873131/archive/1112075112149.html

Has a career change ever seemed insurmountable?

Read about Kerry’s successful transition from the public to private sector.

http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs193/1102862873131/archive/1112114912854.html

Do you think getting a dream job is a pipe dream?

Read how Emily achieved her dream job:

http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs193/1102862873131/archive/1112027555365.html

Worried about changing jobs in case it doesn’t work out?

Read how Hemal tackled this:

http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs193/1102862873131/archive/1112072645153.html

What most scares you about career change and what one action would get you moving forwards?

Read this blog about career change fears:

http://liberateyourtalent.wordpress.com/2012/08/12/career-change-fear/

Read this blog about feeling stuck:

http://liberateyourtalent.wordpress.com/2012/04/10/feeling-stuck/

For free career insights and tips, follow us on Twitter:

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Career change fear?

August 12, 2012 By // by DigitalJenIPC

Career change can feel like a big step at the best of times, and especially in a downturn. Career change fear is normal. So why does it feel so daunting? Here are 15 reasons:

The outcome is unknown
The job market is uncertain
The world of work is changing fast
Change makes many people feel uncomfortable
Career change often affects other people
Familiarity is comfy
It can lead to moving home or a change of school which is a big upheaval
It is a lot to think about when you are already busy
You have to deal with the fears/views of other people
You don’t know that you are making the right decision
People often feel bad because they cannot crack it by themselves
It is hard to see your own skills
It’s a big change which affects many things
The news is full of doom and gloom
New employment can change your employment rights re redundancy which affects your perception of security

Taking time to plan, evaluate the options, getting expert support and having a plan A, B and C helps career change fear. Our Energise bulletins have lots of tips to help you on your journey – click on this link to read Energise Career strategies, Self-Promotion and Smart living and working bulletins.

http://www.liberateyourtalent.com/cms/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=79&Itemid=106

Feeling Stuck?

April 10, 2012 By // by DigitalJenIPC

I was scanning the best sellers list in a book shop over Easter and noticed 2 books in the top 15 about being stuck and what to do about it. The phrase feeling stuck appears 36 million times in Google search.

Feeling stuck is not something people talk about, is it? Especially the government or CEO of a company. It is a fascinating topic affecting many areas, relationships, career, projects etc.

Often feeling stuck is caused by something we are not even aware of, e.g. resistance caused by a fear so it is hard to put your finger on it and do something about it. Try saying that to your boss when you are procrastinating.

With so much uncertainty about, one of the worst things to do when feeling stuck is stick your head in the sand and hope it will go away. Occasionally around the corner, there is a magic solution and it is best to take no action, but this is rare.

Here are 3 tips to help you become unstuck:

Have a ‘stuckness audit’ with yourself, for a project or your company to identify the ‘don’t knows’
Identify the consequence of staying stuck and taking no action and the benefit of taking action
Check in with yourself regularly and make time to ask yourself a self-reflective question e.g. What’s the resistance about?

For a full article about becoming unstuck, e mail rachel@liberateyourtalent.com

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http://www.liberateyourtalent.com/cms/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=79&Itemid=106

Do You Find Career Change Daunting?

December 14, 2010 By // by DigitalJenIPC

Career change can feel really daunting, can’t it. Like a ladder, taking it one step at a time is wise.

Download our free report “Pain free career change” and you can make career change safe. Take the first step now and click on this link to download your free report http://www.careerstrategies.co.uk/

Are You A Mind Reader?

September 30, 2010 By // by DigitalJenIPC

One of the things that humans are fantastic at is mind reading and creating meaning from something without an iota of evidence to back it up. Sound familiar? Let me share some examples. You call someone and they don’t return your call, so you think that they are busy or don’t care. You don’t get chosen for a project so you assume that you’re not good enough.

We do this stuff all the time and make life really horrible for ourselves because it means that we feed our brains with lots of rubbish, which fuels our active imaginations to create even more rubbish. Mind reading and making up rubbish is commonplace. The consequence is that we have less time to work towards our goals, to be and relax and have fun, and we have a cloud over our heads that inhibits our enjoyment and full engagement in life. Since our brains have no ‘off switch’, we need to notice when we do this and try a different approach. So what’s the answer?

Well it’s three things; 1) self-awareness so you know what your main ‘buttons’ are, 2) noticing when you are mind reading and creating rubbish and 3) clarifying what the facts are. Ask yourself this question: “In what situations am I most likely to ‘mind read?’

Have you downloaded your FREE Energise report ‘Pain free career change yet?’ Don’t miss out! http://www.careerstrategies.co.uk/

FEAR IS NORMAL!!

July 27, 2010 By // by DigitalJenIPC

If I could wave a magic wand, I would change one thing. It would be for people to say what they really feel, true, raw and honest. I am a Northerner stuck in a Southerner’s body and perhaps my work on developing ‘verbal padding’ has gone too far?!

FEAR IS NORMAL!

If only people expressing fears meant they wouldn’t be judged but supported. Companies and people wouldn’t use the open expression of fears to manipulate, but self-awareness would increase and a healthy exchange and support ensue. Overwhelm and procrastination would be less as a result. The world would be a very different and better place. Politics wastes so much time and money, when if this same energy was directed at fruitful productivity and pulling together to get the world out of the mess we’ve got it in, we’d get there quicker. Fear increases people playing politics at work.

I think the truth is that the world at the moment is quite scary. Uncertain jobs, pensions, an aging population and Alzheimer’s and a shed load of national and maybe individual debt to pay off over probably decades. It’s not exactly cheerful is it?

Women in my family live until 98 so that’s a lot of care home fees to work hard for, as I doubt the government will have money to fund for any but the most poor, by the time I am as wrinkled as a prune. I remember after the credit crunch, walking through London thinking, why is everyone looking so happy, carrying on as normal? Don’t they realise it means years of poverty, misery and strikes?

At least challenge creates emotional resilience and a refocus on what’s really important! I am going to sit in the sun today and revel in every moment, surrounded by flowers and butterflies. What are you going to do that you would normally put off for another day? Do make a post sharing this – thanks!

How vulnerable is it wise to be at work?

July 5, 2010 By // by DigitalJenIPC

Showing vulnerability creates trust and builds relationships but it also creates risk and it can be abused in the wrong hands, so what is the right measure?

I was ‘very closed’ when I was younger and didn’t trust people easily, so gave little if nothing away about myself. Now I am much more open with people, so it has been a huge personal transformation. I am choosy about who I trust though, they need to earn their stripes!

Those I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours” re vulnerable moments and confiding secrets or fears is a great way of creating a bond with other people. Showing vulnerability shows that we are human and brings out other’s desire to protect and nurture, and helps them realise that they don’t have to be perfect and perform all the time.

It is natural to make mistakes but in business often people cover them up for fear of looking weak and being punished, especially in the current economic climate where headcount is being reviewed.

What is the balance between showing enough vulnerability but not too much? What are your thoughts? One of my passions is to get fear out in the open and talked about more.

Cheers

Rachel

Rachel Brushfield
Energise – The Talent Liberation Company

Tel: + 44 (0) 845 22 55 010
Mobile: + 44(0) 7973 911137
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