Video - The Emotional Roller Coaster of a Career Transition

 

Anyone going through a career transition will go through the emotional roller coaster.  So too will anyone dealing with major change and uncertainty at work.

Which means they will face regular peaks and troughs in emotions and will be more “up and down’ than usual.

Many people don’t really talk about this and won’t even don’t admit it.

But trust me – I’ve drawn the above chart more than 400 times in the last 3 years when working with clients going through a career transition and change process.  And, without exception, every single person admits to being on such a roller coaster at some point.

Being able to ride this roller coaster and handing such fluctuations in emotions plays a huge part in the success and speed of your transition.

In the video above, I talk through the process along with 3 tips for handling this process.

Below are the 3 tips plus further 2 tips as a bonus:

 1.  Give yourself permission to be a little “all over the place” emotionally

It’s ok to be normal to be “up and down” – it’s very normal and there is nothing wrong with you. You’re just being human. So don’t give yourself a hard time about it.

2.  Surround yourself with good people

When you’re emotionally and mentally fragile, you must to surround yourself with people who will encourage you and support you rather than negative people who will discourage you and scaremonger (“look how bad the economy is, this is an awful time to make a change)

3.  Take action and stay focused on the next steps

Many people take a downward spiral emotionally and so don’t take the very action which will help them – and so in turn, don’t make progress. This in turn makes them feel worse and the cycle continues a they end up in a rut.

The key to avoiding this is to take action.

So even though things may feel uncertain, taking small steps and moving forward reduces anxiety levels and helps you speed up the career transition and change process.

4.     Minimise your consumption of mainstream media

You need to be informed about the news, but don’t need to be inundated with dramatic stories about job losses, double dip recessions and “how bad it is”

Hearing such stories constantly all day every day just scares you. It makes you think “what’s the point?”  and sit back. When actually what you should be doing is being more proactive in a tough market rather than sitting back

 5.     Do some exercise

Exercise releases endorphins (the happy hormone) which makes you feel good about yourself. When you feel good, you take actions. You make calls, get out networking, chase leads quickly and become more proactive.

So get into the habit of doing something most days – be it walking, running, swimming, a yoga class or simple hitting some balls at the golf range.  Whatever works for you.

Which ONE of these areas could you focus on right now to help you better manage the roller coaster?

By Sital Ruparelia from Career Management TV

View the original article here