How to gain the one thing you want most in your career

How’s your July going so far? Are you following the Olympics? 🏅

I watched a documentary on BBC iPlayer the other day about the rower Helen Glover, called The Mother Of All Comebacks. It follows her journey to retrain for the Tokyo Games after having retired in 2016 to start a family. Her training schedule is absolutely gruelling, especially when you throw 3 young children into the mix including breastfeeding twins!

It’s an absolutely inspiring watch which I highly recommend, and it made me stop and reflect on personal drive and determination. What does it take to keep pursuing a goal, despite all the obstacles and challenges that life throws at you?

Can you think of a time when you went after something you really wanted and made it happen no matter what? How did you deal with any setbacks? How did you feel when you finally made it?

Reflecting on your past achievements can be a really powerful way to boost your confidence. And by remembering what has worked for you in the past, it can help you build a strong foundation for the future.

Tell me, what are you really proud of achieving?

Positive thinking your way to success

Do you know anyone who is “happy go lucky”? Always sees the silver lining in any situation? Seems like a born optimist?

Well it turns out that being an optimist or a pessimist isn’t just down to our genes, but is in fact a learned behaviour. Optimism or pessimism can become ingrained into our thought processes over a period of time.

For example at work, we’re often rewarded for spotting and solving problems, or managing stressful situations. These are really valuable skills, but if we are constantly watching out for problems, then we can become blinded to the things which could actually make us happy or bring us more success.

Basically, the more we focus on something, the more likely we are to notice is everywhere.

One famous experiment which demonstrates this was carried out by psychologists Daniel Simons and Christopher Chabris. Have a watch…

Did you spot the gorilla??? I certainly didn't the first time around! It just goes to show how easily we can become 'blinded' to obvious things unless we intentionally look for them.

So what can you do if you’re naturally a pessimist?

Well it is completely possible to ‘train your brain’ to overcome its own negativity bias (which we’re all hardwired to have), and tell it to ‘hunt for the good stuff’. 

And there are plenty of benefits to this approach. Optimists tend to spot more opportunities and make the most of them. They also set more ambitious goals and put more effort into reaching those goals. 

They are able to stay engaged with the process if things get tricky, and can bounce back quicker if it don’t go to plan. They can also cope better with periods of stress or change, such as a heavy workload or a restructure. 

One popular 'brain training' tool for optimism is to start a gratitude journal, where you take time each day to notice and write down ‘3 good things’ from your day. 

Or if you want to feel more optimistic about work, then one fun exercise is to team up with a friend and pretend that they want to apply for your job. Think of 3 appealing aspects of your role and give them a verbal job description highlighting those things. 

I do this exercise in my workshops and participants often say that they get a long lasting ‘feel good’ factor after actively remembering the perks of their jobs. 

Give it a try, I’d love to hear how you get on!

Do any of these women sound like you?

So I'm not sure how well you know me. You might be brand new to my website, or have been following me for a while now. But just in case you're not aware of what I do, or who I do it for, I thought I'd give you a little overview...

WHO?

So essentially I’m a Mindset Coach and I help women find clarity and confidence in their careers and businesses.

Maybe lately you’ve been feeling called to…

• Finally make that career shift into more fulfilling work?

• Launch or grow your own business?

• Start that creative project or book you’ve been dreaming about?

• Feel confident enough to go for that promotion?

But there might be doubts and fears standing in the way like:

• Am I ready?

• Am I qualified?

• Will I fail?

• Will other people judge me?

• Will I make enough money?

• Will I still be able to be there for my family?

• Will I end up feeling burned out and exhausted?

Which is where I come in. I have worked with all kinds of women (and a handful of men) from all sorts of professional backgrounds, including Event Organisers, University Academics, Project Managers, HR Executives, Marketing Managers, Strategists, Designers and Yoga Teachers.

Some are still in full time employment, some are taking a career break and some are freelance, but what they all want is to do something they truly love, feel more confident and create more balance in their lives.

HOW?

I really believe that often the real change that we need to make is internal.

Clients usually come to me wanting to make an external change in their careers, and yes sometimes that is absolutely what needs to happen. But what I see time and time again, is that the issues they are experiencing at work are also issues which affect other areas of their lives too.

So simply job hopping or quitting, without addressing the root causes of why they feel stuck, unfulfilled, frustrated or lacking in confidence, will mean that these issues get carried around from job to job wherever they go.

Which is where mindset coaching can help. Together we can get you unstuck, help you recognise your unique gifts and strengths, release the blocks and fears which are holding you back, and develop the confidence to create a fulfilling career or business that you absolutely love.

WHAT?

I work with women in one of the four areas below, just click on the heading which resonates most with you to learn more about my coaching programmes:

Career Clarity Coaching: Learn more

Career Confidence Coaching: Learn more

Startup Coaching: Learn more

Business Coaching: Learn more

So there’s a brief overview of who I am and how I can help you. Now if you want to, feel free to reply in the comments and tell me about you and your current career situation. I'd love to get to know you better!