career change mindfulness, feeling stuck career change burnout

Career change idea haunts you?

On the first working day after New Year, my colleagues were around lunch. Everybody agreed on one thing. Last night’s thought about coming back to work was absolutely not a merry one. Not you?

Yes, everybody seems to suffer from Monday syndrome these days! Does your current job take more than it gives in terms of fulfillment, happiness, or energy? Many are in the middle career crisis, burned out, having no passionnot feeling who we are… In short, “surviving-not-thriving” at work.

When your motivation dwindles, one thing is certain: A change is necessary. Your first action? Probably typing in the job search for a similar position. Most convenient way! But haven’t found anything inspiring? Watch out, it’s more likely, that you’re ready for an… entirely new career.

A career transition with no time nor energy?

In need of a change but no time nor energy for it? For sure, you feel stuck! Changing can be very hard! Where to start?

All these self-defeating thoughts just pile up in your head. First, you have no idea what you want to do. If you do know, you’re pretty sure that there is no offer. If there is an offer, you’re 100% sure that the salary is not decent enough… It’s even more difficult if you are already burned out. No time nor energy for even the job search…

How to unstuck?

I practiced mindfulness a long time before I shifted my career. And indeed, through the lens of mindfulness, all can take some colors of wisdom, even career change! Try out 4 things I learned for a successful career change.

First, raise your emotional vibration

If you feel drained from your current job (sometimes to the point of burnout), the first step is to bring back a positive vibration, before any shift.

When you practice mindfulness, there is a whole transformation in your lifestyle and mindset. Career change is part of it. Fill yourself with joy and energy from the present moment. Don’t worry too much about the change. Cultivate joylive mindfully, maintain positive energy. One thing you can give yourself is the permission to take time!

When I came back from burnout, life seemed to continue! I had no other choice than to restart working. You might imagine how I felt. Difficult to be motivated. However, I put all my attention on the most positive observations. Only when I felt good enough, that the right moment came. I built the digital business that I am enjoying so much today.

Second, put aside your CV

Feeling like you’re demolishing the bridge behind you? Instead of improving your CV, putting it aside seems to be an irrational action. But here is why. Don’t condition yourself with what you did in the past. Because you might put a self-limitation of what you can actually do. Start with a blank page can sometimes help you think out of the box. You can see possibilities where you thought only dead ends exist.

Third, imagine your ideal day

Feeling of being stuck, lack of passion and burnout? These are emotional indicators for us to reframe our life purpose. Change career means often cutting off one part of our old lives to build anew.

Take some time in a quiet place where you’ll not be disturbed. Take a piece of paper. Do some meditation, deep breathing. And start writing down answers to a few important questions to yourself.

In which activities I feel truly joyful? What are the few things I should do at least once before dying? What are my top three values? Imagine an ideal day. If you are free to choose, how would be your average ideal day? (When will I wake up? What do I do for breakfast? At what time I want to start working? What I want to work on? With whom I’ll be with for dinner?… Be yourself with honesty.

Once you know what you really want, and how your ideal day should be, no haste! Simply stay mindful in the present moment. Enjoy the presence. Be attentive, and have confidence that ideas and circumstances will show up. Remember? There is a time and a place for everything.

Forth, listen to my story of Paul Gaugin

What to do next after the third step? Well, let me tell you the story of Paul Gaugin.

Paul Gauguin was a 19th-century painter. He made a mid-career change, from a stockbroker to a painter. Mid-career, he realized that money wasn’t bringing him happiness. He left his job and family and lived most of his life on an island to paint. He became a great painter. But he was controversial and unrecognized until his death. His career change never seemed to answer his life’s biggest question. His last painting was named ” “What are we? Where did we come from? Where are we going?”

Paul Gaugin painting (Wikipedia)

His story reminds us that chasing happiness and fulfillment is an illusion. It’s an illusion that there is some other place, job, or life that can rescue us if our heart is full of despair.

My last words to share…

A new career might come to you and it will. But wait for it with no expectation. That is the last thing I would like to say. Because we will change again and again our life and career. Our person will always evolve.

If you are feeling stuck, in search of a career change, do these four things. 1) Raise your positive vibration. 2) Put aside your CV (You have no limit). 3) Imagine your ideal day (Know what you truly want). 4) Remember the story of Paul Gaugin (Yes, there would be no real destination for this change finally!)

So, will you and I make the best out of the process just now? Let us be ready for the exciting journey of change! As Thich Nhat Hanh cited from Buddha, “There is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way”!

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