This article was inspired by an enchanting 2½ year-old named Freddie whom I got to know while visiting in France. Some of you may be asking, “What’s Freddie got to do with this article?” Please allow me to introduce you to him further…

I saw magic happen with Freddie. Naturally, he is growing into a confident, fun loving boy but as I watched him run around, clothes free, without a care in the world, I was drawn back to a simpler time in my life when joy was so much more accessible. I enjoyed watching him explore his passion for cars, never tiring from his amazement of them. Many times he attempted to enter his uncle’s car in hopes of driving somewhere! When he did finally manage to get inside, he “drove it” with all the elation in his heart; beeping the horn and waving at passers-by. The joy on his face was irreplaceable! Watching Freddie inspired me to ask you a few questions:

• Where does this passion and joy go as we grow older? Can we recapture our “true love” when it comes to our careers?
  

• What types of things do you enjoy doing? Can we make a good living out of doing what we are passionate about?

• Do you find it difficult to recall the things you were once passionate about? Do you feel pride in the job you are doing right now?

• What’s been lost? Can you find a way to create income by doing the things you are most passionate about?

With life’s’ daily demands and duties, focusing on your passions can be difficult. We are constantly pressured for time and the roles we play: be it mother, wife, daughter, or friend. Our daily responsibilities engulf us leaving little time for our passions. If you find it hard to think of things that you enjoy or are passionate about; don’t despair! They are still there you just need to find a way to coax them out of hiding.

When thinking about rediscovering passion, it is easy to imagine you’ve got to do something big; but in reality sometimes all it takes are small steps. The things we are passionate about can be identified by the way we feel about them (energetic, authentic, alive, and totally present). You must be vigilant about observing your passions to turn them into your dream career. For example: do you feel energized listening to people’s problems and making them feel at ease? If so, this could potentially translate into a career as a coach or counselor.

I am focusing on passion this week! Even if you are good at something, you won’t excel unless you enjoy it. Try thinking twice before you bail out on your previous experience or expertise. If you have a talent but are unsatisfied, it may just be the way you are using it that limits your satisfaction.

When you were young what did you want to be? Did you envision yourself a singer, explorer, teacher, footballer or maybe even a doctor? What attracted you to that role? What are you passionate about? This is part of the jigsaw puzzle of getting to know you again. Combine your interests with values, skills, strengths and personality preferences. Imagine getting all you desire from a career!

This is where Freddie comes in. At this young age, he certainly has an interest in cars and his face lights up when he sees anything vaguely automotive! Recall your childhood dreams and use those dreams to lay valuable pointers where your adult passions lie. 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2011/aug/05/secret-to-mapping-career

"What Should I Do With My Life?"
by Po Bronson

 What I love about this book is that Po Bronson interviews people from a range of backgrounds. Each person is on their own personal journey to discover what they truly want to do with their life.  There are stories in here that will inspire you, people that you can identify with as they talk about their fears, concerns the obstacles and setbacks. Some stories have a happy ending others are not so happy. A must read if you are feeling stuck.

"New Job, New You" 
by Alexandra Levit

I've picked this book because Alexandra at the start of the book asks is it a career change that you want or is it that you are just fed up with your current job.  It starts off with a self-assessment "should you make a career change" She then outlines the seven motivations that lead people to seek a career change and how each requires a different career change strategy. She also shares stories of people who have successfully changed career , exercises and a resource list.

"Working Identity Unconventional Strategies for Reinventing Your Career"
by Herminia Ibarra

I love this book for Herminia outlines the research she conducted on successful career changers. She highlights what I had found in my own life and working with clients the importance of finding ways to test out different careers. This isn't about giving up your day job and going from thing to thing aimlessly. It is about finding a way to test out careers in a safe way before settling on a final destination.  She writes about not waiting for your dream career to come along. She outlines 9 unconventional strategies for changing your career and illustrates the benefits of the strategies by sharing stories of individuals who have successfully changed career.

"Screw Work, Lets Play"
by John Williams

This is a great resource offers a different perspective to the world of work- making it fun so that you are at play and not at work! He shares what to do if you are stuck with what to do with your life. Talks about en essential component of the career change process and that is to start to put some of your ideas into play by creating a "play project".  Again this was a central message from Herminina Ibarra book that I have described above. This is a great book for being inspired by how others have turned their passions into a living. If you've been saying that you can't make money doing X then I urge you to read this book.

 If yes, what did you learn about the way that you speak to yourself? What thoughts go through your mind about changing your career? Which of the thoughts support you by giving you that sense that it is possible? E.g. I am making good  progress." 

 "I can do this!" Which thoughts are limiting, unsupportive, sabotaging, or undermine you? E.g. "I am too old for a change?"  "I can't afford to."  "I can't do it…" If you haven't already done so, take some time to write them down. Let's take a look  at the thoughts that are limiting.

Whose voice is it? Is it your own or someone else's? When we are contemplating change, starting something new, or challenging, we are moved outside of your comfort zone. This in turn can make us feel anxious about what we are doing. This may lead us to negatively self talk.

I am going to share with you some tips for soothing the negative chatter that you might sometimes experience.

Tip one
Research has shown that someone that has a lot of internal  dialogue will tend hold their head at an angle with their  eyes looking down.  So one tip, if you find yourself engaging in a lot of self talk, is to lift your head up and focus your eyes so that you are looking above the horizontal line.  Also, take a look at your physiology.  Are you sitting, standing upright, or are you slouching?  If you are slouching straighten your body.

 Tip two
 Be proactive in changing the negative thoughts into positive ones. What I mean is, you may need to make a deliberate and conscious effort to change the chatter that is undermining you, into something that is more positive and supportive. However, there is no point in telling yourself that, "you can do it" or that, "You are still  young enough to make the change" if you don't believe it.

1. What you would benefit from is taking a closer look at some of your negative thoughts and finding ways to dispute them. The key to this is that you dispute them in a way that is believable and rings true for you. E.g. Negative Self Talk, "I am too old to change careers."

2. When you are disputing some the negative self-talk, consider two things:

 A) How the chatter is inaccurate.
 B) How it is unhelpful to you.
 Dispute: "I have read stories of people changing careers who are much older than me."  (Tells one way how it may be inaccurate.)
 
It is unhelpful because it makes me want to give up before I have even started. This means that I feel miserable about my current career situation because I cannot think of a way out.

 3. Put the disputing statements up around you, on the fridge, in your diary, in your  study, or anywhere that you will be able to read them daily.

 4. Act as if it is true. If the disputes were true what would you be doing differently?

What would it enable you to do?

We are each unique and brilliant in our own special way. Are you aware how brilliant you are? Do you even know how to tap into your brilliance?

One of the things that you can do to tap into your brilliance is to get your mind on your side.

I remember working as a temporary research student for a consultancy. I wanted to apply for my first business psychologist role with another organisation. So I sought some feedback from the head of the consultancy on the first draft of my application form.

Martin looked at my application and told me in a nutshell that I had sold myself short. He started to give me examples of the language that I used that was telling the recipient of the application that I did not see the true worth of the experience that I had received to date. I was challenged to go back and rethink how I presented myself.

It really made me realize that at a level I was saying that I did not feel good enough. I redrafted my application and applied for the role, was shortlisted out of 100s of applications. I went to the interview with the mindset that, they have picked me so there is something in my application that they valued. I got the job.

The reason that I am sharing this with you is that it was important to get your mind on YOUR side. Martin through his feedback had wakened me up to the fact that I wasn’t giving myself the opportunity to shine. If I didn’t do it for myself, the sifting panel was not going to be doing it for me.

So what thoughts are running through your mind about your life and current career situation that potentially could be sabotaging you and stopping you from realizing your brilliance?

For each of us the thoughts that go around in our mind are different. Some common ones are:

“I am not good enough” ‘

“It’s too late to make a change”

“I can’t make a living from what I want”

“I am too old/too young”

“What will X think of me?”

“I am going to be letting X down if I do this”

What’s it for you?

Over the next week, monitor the thoughts that go through your mind. Jot them down. In the next article, I’ll share some tips on what you can do with them!