The first couple of months that I started my business, I was doing what a lot of people do when they start something new. I was following lots of experts, reading their articles, using their free resources and trying to take their generalized advice and make it work for my specific circumstances. I felt like I was putting together a puzzle but all the pieces didn’t really fit. Which left me constantly questioning my work, tweaking it and all around just feeling lost and confused. It wasn’t until I finally sucked it up and realized that I needed to INVEST in myself and my business that I felt confident and saw the growth I wanted. I picked a coach that made sense for my business model and have never looked back. I got the clarity I needed and was able to grow my business much faster than I had anticipated and have had more success like being featured in numerous articles, writing for my peers and even interviewed on Blog Talk Radio. As someone who is super frugal and who wants to do it themselves, it was really hard to suck it up and make the investment. I know I’m not alone in that, so I wanted to provide some great reasons why you should consider hiring a Coach (business, career or life). Reason 1: CLARIFY YOUR GOALS
There are a lot of voices out there telling us what we SHOULD want so it is really hard to cut through the noise to tap into our own motivations and figure out what we REALLY want. A coach helps you get crystal clear on how you measure success and happiness and what that means for your future. Reason 2: GET THERE FASTER You know what you want, now you have to make it happen. Having a coach to lean on, to cheer you on and to push you will help you get there faster. Reason 3: PREPARE FOR THE WORST Achieving a goal isn’t as easy as we'd like to believe. It is a tough journey filled with lots of ups and downs. A coach has seen it all, they have supported many on their journeys plus have usually been on a journey of their own. That means that they know the lows you are about to face and can help prepare you for them. On top of all that, they are there to support you during those tough times. Reason 4: THE TOOLBOX Coaches have a toolbox, full of strategies, perspectives, tips and tricks, making it easier to navigate your journey. Reason 5: SUPPORT SYSTEM A major key to success is having a strong support system, one that is there for you but one that is also there to keep you accountable. Regular meetings with a coach keeps you on track. Reason 6: SETS YOU UP FOR SUCCESS We all have bad habits, ones that prevent you from making your dreams a reality. A coach will help you figure out what those are and provide support and tips on replacing those habits with ones that support your path to success not destroy it. Reason 7: SAVES YOU TIME When you give up an hour a week to a coach you’ll actually gain time. Allowing you more work/life balance or time to achieve those goals. Coaches help you figure out time management and how to say “No” to yourself and others. Reason 8: UNLOCK YOUR INNER WISDOM When we clear away voices that aren’t ours, develop helpful habits and free up time, an amazing thing happens. We unlock our own inner wisdom that will help guide us in our careers and lives. Reason 9: BE THE BEST YOU We hold ourselves back in so many ways. A coach helps you live the life YOU want and help you face FEAR and to push you out of your comfort zone so that you can achieve those careers and lives that you are looking for. I know that my clients have been helped in these ways as I have been through my own work with my coach. Finding a coach that you connect with, trust and whose opinion you value is vital. To see if I am that person for you, schedule a free Discover Your Career strategy call.
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The weather is perfect. Sun’s out, there's a light breeze with not a single cloud in sight. A perfect day to spend outside, maybe at the beach or on a patio. Definitely not indoors in our cubicles. But alas, that is exactly where we find ourselves. And it sucks. It is really hard to motivate ourselves when the only thing we want to do is shut up shop and head outdoors to enjoy the summer weather. Especially when winter seems to last FOREVER, am I right? We don’t come in excited, the daily drudgery of our work has us feeling low and our creative juices have dried up. But, if we ARE going to be stuck inside, we may as well do something with this time instead of wasting the hours away until quitting. Let’s ignite that spark and make a difference using one (or more) of these ways to make that happen. 1. Create a BIG Goal
Now is not the time to be too realistic, now is the time to go big since going home isn’t an option. What would you LOVE to do in your job – what would make you excited, leave you feeling super proud and make a difference all at the same time? Let’s break that goal down to some smaller steps so that you can actually make it happen. A great place to start is to create a rough plan of the who, what, how and why of the goal. Who you need to talk to and engage. What needs to get done. How you are going to do it. Why this needs to be done. 2. Learn Something New Some workplaces get slow in the summer, making the days seem even longer. If there is no big goal on your mind, maybe use that time to learn a skill that will benefit you. You don’t have to enroll in any big course or anything. Check out conferences or webinars. If there is no money for it, check out some free options such as Lynda (free through your library) or EdX. You could also ask about the potential of job shadowing others within your company. 3. Do Something Fun Schedule a fun event during work hours – like a fun lunch out, drinks after work (on that patio!) or a picnic in the park. Enjoy the weather when you can by getting out during lunch or walking outside to grab a cup of coffee. 4. Ask for Constructive Criticism It isn’t always fun hearing constructive criticism but one thing is for certain – it usually motivates us to improve and do better! Schedule a meeting with your manager and ask for their feedback and direction. Tell them your frustrations, your goals and ask for their advice on how you can do and be better. Then make plans to tackle the problem head on. 5. Schedule What You Loathe Every job has aspects to it that we absolutely hate. And during the summer that hatred seems to grow like crazy. Get it over with. Schedule it in, ideally first thing in the morning. Get it done so that you can stop dreading it and enjoy the rest of your day. 6. Celebrate Yourself Reward yourself for sticking it out, for accomplishing things and for showing up. It can be as simple as bragging to a friend or coworker, enjoying an ice cream cone during lunch or updating your summer work wardrobe with some of the latest fashion trends. 7. Find a Mentor or Mentee A sure way to boost your morale AND your career is by finding someone who can help you or finding someone that you can help. Set up regular meetings with someone to discuss your career, getting or giving actionable advice, and figuring out the right next step. 8. Leave on Time We all have to work late sometimes, that’s life. But we can try and make it a priority during the summer to leave right at 5pm so that we can enjoy those last few hours of sunlight. And fill up your evenings and weekends with your favourite summer activities, that way you don’t feel like you are missing out on all the fun while at work. If work is quite busy, consider going in early! 9. Take some time to Reflect Is summer to blame for your lack of motivation? Be honest with yourself. If not, then maybe it is time for something new – a new career, a new job, a new industry. Consider working with a Career Coach to gain some clarity on your future. Schedule a call to see if come September, you should be starting to get serious about your next move. You hate your job. But you don’t know what to do about it. You are so overwhelmed, stressed out and anxious. You are well on your way to getting burnt out. Thinking about a new career used to be that light at the end of the tunnel but now it just feels like another weight being added to your shoulders, weight that you just can’t handle right now. The danger is complete and total burn out. Of remaining stagnant and things getting worse instead of better. Of being so afraid of the journey that we don’t do anything. You just need to get started. But on what? When you are so overwhelmed and your head is spinning it can be extremely hard to think about that first step because you can’t help thinking about ALL the steps you may need to take to achieve your goal of a new job or career. You are over complicating things. Let’s bring it back to basics and make it super simple for you. Let’s figure out your first step and not even worry about the rest. And it is easier than you think. ACCEPT THAT YOU NEED TO CHANGE Staying where you are is not the answer to the problem. Yes there are ways to love the job you hate that will put you in a better mindset for leaving your current job but you need to 100% accept that things need to change, you need to change. Things are not going to magically get better, in fact they will more than likely get worse the longer you stay. Leaving your job is no longer optional. PROPEL YOURSELF FORWARD You are feeling all the crappy feelings right now. Good. Don’t try and ignore them or rationalize them or repress them. Feel them. And use those crappy feelings to push you forward towards your goal of leaving your job behind you. WHAT IS THE PROBLEM? Grab your phone or a pen and paper. Just write. Write about all the problems, all the ways life is getting in your way of going after your career dreams. HOW CAN I SOLVE IT? Write down solutions, at least one for each problem. Don’t judge them, don’t try to action plan them. Just write all the ways to solve each of the problems. TAKE THE FIRST STEP Look at that list. Think about all the different options. Think about how they make you feel. If thinking about a particular solution makes you feel stressed, or overwhelmed or trapped then scratch them off for now. What can you do TODAY. Just one thing. But maybe you are so lost and overwhelmed that that long list is too much for you to handle right now. So what are some of the things on that list that will give you the biggest bang for your buck? Here are some ideas: 1. Ask for Help This is a great first step. At work you can ask your boss or a colleague to help with the workload. Or at home, you can ask for help around the house so that you can free up some time to find your new job. Set up a free call with me, maybe there are some free resources or a way that we can work together that will lighten your load. 2. Sleep If you are in the throes of a burn out then this could be tough. But trying to get your 7-9 hours of sleep will help get you in the mindset and give you the energy to take a career change or job search on! 3. Take Care of Yourself This is an extension of sleep, but I wanted sleep to be its own. This is eating, relaxing and moving. Perhaps your first step is to eat 5 vegetable servings, or to take a walk or to meditate for 5 minutes. Little wins lead to big wins and taking care of yourself gives you that confidence boost while also setting you up for success. 4. Talk to People If you have an idea of what you want to do or where you want to do it, seek out people to talk to. Ask for more information. This will give you the knowledge of whether or not it is worth investing your time into that particular path, plus it will get you excited to know you are doing something and give you the information and a networking connection that will help make your dreams a reality! 5. Create a Plan Sunday morning, figure out how much time you can devote to a career change/job search for that upcoming week. Be realistic and easy on yourself. Any time is better than no time. Then figure out when you are going to use that time. If it is 2.5 hours, are you going to do 30 minutes of work per day or a 2.5 hour chunk of time? Use my Dream Career Planner to help make it even easier! 6. Build a Support System This goes hand in hand with asking for help. But this is thinking about who in your life can help you out – who can cheer you on, hold you accountable, or give you guidance? This can be one person or many people. It can be a mentor, a peer, a family member or a coach like myself. You don’t have to do this alone! Life goes by so fast. Which means it is so easy to stand still, in a situation that we hate and have hated. The old classic quote of a journey of a thousand miles starts with just one step is one we all know but not one we live. Because we can’t stop thinking about the rest of those steps needed. But we must remember the alternative. Staying put. Don’t let that be an option. Pick one thing. And do it. Take that first step. And of course, if you need help or want to talk it through, never hesitate to set up a complimentary strategy call with me. |
AuthorSara Curto helps people find a career they love by teaching them a new way to job search. The Secrets to finding a job you loveClick HERE to watch
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