Pushing The Career Envelope

move-change-adapt-flex-grow-be-do-richardstep-1a--richardstep-unleash-your-strengths, a photo by RichardStep.com on Flickr.

This time of year a lot of us are contemplating the quality of our jobs—yes, most of us are grateful to have one, but many of us are thinking it might be time to consider a change. There’s a lot that may have shifted in the job-hunting landscape since you last looked for one. You might start to read popular career blogs or accept calls from a few reputable recruiters you know. You decide you will tweak your LinkedIn profile.

But there’s a deeper kind of change in the air that needs to be acknowledged before you seriously consider posting to online job ads. There's a collective change in human consciousness that affects how we should guide how we earn a living. We need to mentally shift into a new awareness that our career paths are no longer linear; that the twenty-year stint at a company with a pension at age sixty seven is going to be as rare as your seventeen year old asking to spend more time at home with you.

Guess what? We can still enjoy our work and find meaning in it--perhaps without even changing our job.

It’s time to challenge our assumptions.  You might be angry about the politics that exist in your company, or the lack of team leadership. The job feels like it’s limiting your growth. Or the culture is not a fit to your personality.

When you shift into job-hunt mode because you are escaping from a bad situation (as compared to a great new opportunity that you are moving toward), SLOW DOWN.

Get to a quiet place and get emotional. Maybe throw a tantrum in a bathroom where no one else can hear you. Then breathe and get really quiet.

Ask yourself if your assumptions about your current job can be challenged:

Could I be happy at this job?

Can I do new things that were formerly impossible?

How would that change look?

Really challenge what you believe. Look at the situation from the eyes of someone who hasn't been disgruntled in the role for a while.

When you walk back to your cubicle, play nice with your coworkers. Then go crazy tapping into what you’re capable of.