Welcome to the end of January. We are battling the third snow storm in nine days here in New England. Even for those that love snow, all these storms can definitely take a toll. Many times the January dull drums come in and I begin to get grumpy. Even though it is the start of a new year, focus towards goals can be derailed by my grumpiness. I don’t know about you but the long winters can really beat on me and my outlook on my daily life and my confidence. We all have moments of low self-confidence at some points in our lives and I have found that facing a job search can bring up those negative thoughts to the surface with great frequency. Thus the focus of this month’s newsletter is on our mindset and self-confidence. How do you gain self-confidence and keep a positive mindset moving forward in your job search or career transition?
Let’s review a few techniques I have found to be helpful.
- 30 Successes - Write a list of at least 30 successes you have achieved in your life time. Just a straight forward bulleted list will do. Not need to go into full explanations. Begin with simple things such as, “Graduated from high school”. This is not for anyone else’s eyes but yours. Be sure to write them down on paper. Writing makes it concrete and real. When we just talk about our successes or goals, they disappear as fast as they are spoken. This list will remind you that you have had success in your life. That you can and have achieved much.
- Evaluate Your Down Time - Look at how you are spending your free time. Is it being used on productive, forward moving actions or on time wasters? TV, video games, and Facebook can be the biggest time wasters ever. I am not saying they are bad but taken to the extreme, these time wasters will kill your progress and hurt your confidence. I think that there is innate ability to understand when we are not accomplishing our goals. Such as putting off making those networking calls to play games on Facebook or another gaming system. I love having down time. Sometimes I bury myself in a no-mind book or TV show which helps me to decompress but I would offer up that a long walk outside with the dog helps more to re-focus and re-fresh our minds.
- What Are You Reading - Read, read, read. Read something engaging and inspirational. Pick up a quick read that you can just read a chapter a day. There are so many good authors with tons of wisdom and encouragement. Read for inspiration and read for knowledge. Did you know that most adults read only three books a year? I have learned to appreciate the constant gift of learning and being engaged in a story. It builds our minds and imagination.
- Move Your Body - Going to the gym or a group fitness class regularly can be the best thing for our self-esteem and our creative thinking than any other job search tactic. If you are doing a full-time job search, take the time, even first thing in the morning, to get in a long workout. It will give your body a boost and help your mind to think more clearly.
- Get Outside - As a continuation on the move your body idea, getting real fresh air regularly can make us feel alive again. It does not need to be a work out. Just going for a walk and taking in some deep breaths will make a huge difference to clear out the head.
- Get Sleep - Yes, get a good night’s rest. Waking refreshed will help you feel better in general. Being well rested adds to a healthy mindset. Too many of us go around half asleep due to poor sleep habits. Proactively work to change your schedule so you can get in 7-9 hours of sleep regularly. I have worked hard at doing this myself. I can easily stay up late, doing whatever is on my list, but I pay for it when the alarm goes off at 5:45 am and I can barely get my day moving. I have learned to appreciate the quiet of the early morning, but truthfully 5:30 is as early as it gets, and that is not every day of the week. On the other end I have also learned to appreciate heading to bed around 10:00 pm even with a good book in hand to try to calm myself and get ready for a solid sleep. Trust me, there are nights that I barely sleep for various reasons but when I do get long sleep for a bunch of days, I am a new person and more positive and productive.
- Eat Well - I know this is probably over-stated but there is a reason it is over-stated. Many still do not eat well and don’t energize their bodies and minds with good food. A lack of a healthy diet inhibits our ability to be effective in life and our job search. I am the perfect case of “caffeine addict”. I love my Dunkin Donuts coffee. Really I do! My biggest challenge is cutting down on my daily caffeine in-take to make room for more nutritious calories. When I drink too much coffee I eat more carbohydrates too. It is a bad cycle that I constantly have to keep in check. But consider this along with a regular exercise routine and it all works. More exercise drives our bodies to crave less sweets and more nutritious snacks. When your body feels better, your mind will be clearer for networking, interviewing, and evaluating offers.
- Who Do You Spend Time With? - Who are the encouragers in your life? Who are the people that cause you stress? Which do you spend the most time with? Spend time with the encouragers as much as possible. Get out of the house and meet someone for a meal or a cup of coffee. Get to a live networking event. Spending time with other job seekers can be an encouraging time. However, I will give you a word of caution. Do not make any of your meetings with friends or other job seekers a regular “venting” session. I know that a job search can be tough especially after a lay off. There are plenty of feelings that need to be processed. There is a loss of a career, friendships with co-workers, and a routine. Just to name a few. Recognizing the grief and frustration, as well as processing it, is good and healthy. But do not continue your focus on the down-side otherwise you will push people away and will have a difficult time obtaining help for your job search. Spend time with the people that will encourage you through this time. Find good up-lifting, energetic people to associate with. Their natural energy and positive attitude is contagious and you will feel yourself lifted too. You, then, can become a positive influence on others.
- Volunteer - Taking the focus off of ourselves can be a huge boost. Helping others gives us an added sense of gratitude for what we have and less of an attitude of what we don’t. For example, some skilled laborers, in Florida, a few years back when their businesses were in decline, decided to volunteer their time and talents. They went out and did their profession but for free. It did two things. It kept them working in their trade and from being stuck at home “whining” about their situation. They did something to help others and ended up helping themselves in the process.
- Take Action - Bottom line, DO SOMETHING! Taking action will give you a huge lift to your confidence. By actually doing something towards your goals, you will automatically gain confidence that you are moving forward. Even if it is a phone call you have been procrastinating making. Just do it. Make the call. Then make another. You will gain confidence from each step you take.
You can do it! You can move forward toward your goals. You can become a more confident person and job searcher. Give these steps a try and tell me how you feel after a month of implementing them. If implementing all 10 steps seems to be too much. Tackle 3 to start. Build from there. Let me know how it works out. I like to hear stories of your journey through the job search or transition process.
Continue to breathe in and be inspired.
To your success,
Lisa
No comments:
Post a Comment