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Normally on the
All About We Podcast, my cohost
Amanda Berlin interviews me on the content of my latest blog. This week we did a role reversal and I interviewed Amanda about her career journey. Read what she has to say about this topic and listen to the interview by hitting the play button above.
The Complexities of Answering a Career Call
When I got let go from my last corporate job (nearly six years ago), I instantly knew I wasn’t going to go and find another job just like the one from which I had been [mercifully] freed.
I knew I was “meant for” something different…something better…I felt CALLED to do something new, something all my own. At the time, I had been working in corporate publicity and I was disenchanted with my role helping big companies be louder than their competition. And I was also totally demoralized by the corporate culture.
But as you’ll hear in our podcast episode for this week, in which I’m interviewed by Don, my self-employment journey wasn’t a straight line or a clear path, by any means.
I wanted to talk about my effort to start my own business and create the offerings I extend today because many of us are going to start 2018 promising ourselves we aren’t going to finish 2018 in the same job we’ve hated for years.
And, 2018 promises to be a really big year of change…so I imagine many of us will be experiencing challenging career decisions that could be met with fear…or empowerment. I hope we can choose the latter.
In our interview, Don and I talked about:
How I existed in my corporate job in a veritable limbo.
I employed a “three-pronged approach” for dealing with dissatisfaction at work. Acceptance, forgiveness of myself and others, and an attitude and energy of “being the light” in a workplace that was plagued by poor morale — these were unconditional approaches to how I could make it through until I figured out my next move. I knew I had to figure out how to be someone I could be proud of despite the fact that the workplace felt like it was sapping my soul.
How I navigated complexities with family when it came to this new professional trajectory.
I had to deal with improperly (or un-)communicated expectations. This was my failing. In retrospect, I made a mistake: I had one understanding of what it meant when I was going out on my own. And I didn’t communicate that to my partner. This is lesson in remarkable relationships that Don and I talk about over and over again. If only I had Don on speed dial back then. Live and learn. I would have taken a more straightforward stance in communicating with my partner. Don even gives me a script for how I could have handled this differently in our recording. Love those “quick scripts.”
How you feel can tell you a ton about what you should do with your life…and what you shouldn’t.
Over and over again in this conversation, Don and I uncovered the theme of discomfort as a catalyst for change. This can also be extremely valuable as you uncover your calling. What makes you feel super pumped and energized? And what feels like a clear, “No!”
How to figure out what you are “meant to do.”
Finally, we dove into practical tips for figuring out what you should be doing with your life. It boiled down to a few simple questions: What do people ask you about all the time? What FEELS good to you? What brings you alive? And, what are you really proud of yourself for accomplishing or overcoming?
Now it’s Your Turn
We’d love to hear from you.
Tell us what you do to stay positive at work.
What do you feel called to do? Have you answered the call yourself?
How did you know it was time to heed that internal or higher direction?
We wish you courage and confidence as you follow your dreams in 2018, and we will be right here beside you along the way!
