by Jesse Johnson
It’s undeniable that 2020 changed the world forever. Institutions and corporations didn’t just take a pause, they broke. From widespread illness rocking the healthcare system, to the economy tanking and millions of people losing their jobs, everything that was considered “normal” was shattered by the chaos and unpredictability of that year.
But just like the Japanese art of Kintsugi (broken pottery glued together with gold), when something is broken there is an opportunity to glue it back together — stronger. I believe that in the wake of the breaking, there is a tremendous opportunity to re-make our world. As painful and traumatic as 2020 was, there’s also a tremendous power to the breaking that happened.
Along with the dismantling of institutions, we also changed individually. During the pandemic, we had time — a lot of time — to take stock of our lives, reassess what matters to us, and ponder whether or not our jobs were the right fit. Having a lethal virus floating around in the air, many people thought, “I could die tomorrow, what am I doing at this job that I hate?”
Now that it’s 2021, it’s time to pick up the pieces and rebuild a “new normal” for ourselves, individually and collectively. For many Americans, priorities have changed from climbing the corporate ladder to working from home in order to spend more time with family and friends. Surveys show that the percentage of Americans leaving their jobs for new opportunities is from 25 to 40 percent of the workforce, which is the highest level in more than two decades. Also, having more free time, many people have learned new skills and hobbies, and now that their employers want them to return to the office, they are opting to quit their jobs and start their own businesses.
Economists are calling this “The Great Resignation”. Whether motivated by burnout, wanting to take their career in a new direction, or simply not willing to return to the office, people have woken up to what they really want in life.
This is such a powerful time to become even more unapologetic about living the life that you want — without compromise, sacrifice, or trade-offs. To take the invitation to really make your life the way you want it — and hire a coach to get you there!
My advice for people making a career shift right now is to identify your core values and only move forward on career paths that are aligned with these values. In my company, we value possibility, personal responsibility, surplus, excellence, God, and liberation. By structuring my company around my core values, I am living in accordance with my true self, and therefore living my unique purpose and expression.
So before sending out a hundred resumes or taking the leap with a new business, I recommend that you take some time to reflect and become clear about what you really want by answering these questions:
- What does your ideal “new normal” look like?
- What do you really want regarding your career? Your home life? Your service? Your impact? Your money? Your time?
- Make a list of your core values.
- Describe how you can hold yourself accountable to live in alignment with these values in your next career move.
We are being called to more than what we had before the pandemic, and opportunities are opening up for us. But, if we don’t seize these opportunities to rebuild our lives, we may default back to the mediocrity and complacency that we experienced pre-pandemic.
Now is the time, while everything is exposed, to envision our ideal “new normal”, take these risks, and ask ourselves these big questions about how we are going to glue our lives back together to make it stronger, more fulfilling, and more aligned with our authentic expressions and core values.
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If you’re ready to start your own business, but don’t know where to begin, check out Jesse Johnson’s free online course, “The Energetics of Sales”.