Why tough times allow us to reboot our career Contrary to popular belief, tough times are not all that bad; they can strip us all of distraction, allowing solid focus on career repositioning, rebooting or redesigning. Situations such as COVID lockdowns can give you quality time in one space.
tunnel allows you to stretch into the future, if at the very least only in your imagination. Dream, dream, dream into a new reality – one you previously would never have thought of, or given time to.
Times such as last decade’s Global Financial Crisis can result in the loss of jobs, reducing the possibility of spending up big on leisure and entertainment in the malls. Natural disasters like typhoons and tsunamis can strip us back to our core, forcing our hand to decide ‘what matters most’ When we are less ‘decorated’ as a result of fewer gadgets, less ‘busy’ with more homely experiences and less scattered through reduced commitments, there’s space for the following steps in your bid to move from career frustration to career fulfillment.
With this more-informed perspective and greater hope, you become aware of two options that exist for immediate implementation: a. embrace and accept the change and take appropriate action or b. accept mediocrity and slide into stagnation and redundancy.
Step 1: Broaden the context When you broaden the context, it is possible to recognize a current situation is not ideal yet also acknowledge that you are still standing just as millions have over centuries of historic evolution. Appreciating the current reality from a higher viewpoint brings new perspectives that provide hope. You start seeing it will be possible to come through this challenge, and be stronger for it too. Knowing that there is light at the end of the The Source
Step 2: Move out of your comfort zone
Another way to express this is to defy the verdict* and reverse the negative reality’s fate! It’s time to accept that what got you into this state of frustration in your career will not get you success with the new world, your new dream or career fulfillment. Change things up, approach your career with a different outlook and most importantly, act on any impulse or intuitive flash that comes through you fleetingly. If that dream is clear and compelling, start affirming in words and action your dream as if it is under formation, and eventually it will be. *(Kouzes and Posner: Turning Adversity into Opportunity) Step 3: Adopt a process orientation towards life and career While processes are seen to be appropriate for manufacturing and design industries, they also offer potential value to any career that is in dire need of repurposing, 30
