We all have times in our career when the future of where we are going career wise feels out of our control.
Someone else is making the decisions.
Promotions are infrequent.
Opportunities aren’t well communicated, so you usually find out about them after the fact.
So how do we take back control so we are in the driver’s seat instead of waiting for a decision to come our way?
First, it requires a mindset shift on our part. Focusing on the items above is going to feed the mindset that it’s outside of our control. We start to generate thoughts like:
I’m never going to get a promotion.
I am doing everything I can, they must not value me.
I should be making more money.
I thought I would be further than this by now.
These thoughts can produce feelings of defeat, self doubt, and hopelessness. Your brain now has you convinced that no promotion is coming, so don’t even bother to show up at your best for the job you do have and slowly but surely, your actions send you the opposite direction to the one you had hoped for.
It’s time to stop allowing your brain to lead you astray and get clear on where you are now and where you want to go.
Where are you right now in your career?
Where do you want to be?
What is one thing you can do to move yourself incrementally forward, closer to where you want to be?
Now if you have a brain like mine, that last question is going to throw you for a loop. I asked for one thing and your brain likely gave you 25 things. I want you to just pick one. Either a single action or one that you can take consistently over a period of time.
Now close your eyes and visualize yourself doing that one thing. What is the feeling you have while executing on the task you chose? Take note of it and the thoughts that help you generate that feeling.
Small incremental actions are the secret to achieving success long term. Your beliefs about your ability to follow through and the value those actions have, will determine whether or not you actually do them.
As a Life Coach, I help people get clear on their career goals and take the first steps towards managing their own future. Set up a free consultation to discuss how I can help you in this process.