How far are you willing to go? Is career fulfillment way overdue for you? If so, it’s likely that career frustration invades your every waking moment; sitting and waiting for change to arrive on your doorstep makes the pain worse. How far are you willing to go, to be an active player in helping career frustration dissipate?
pening to me’, fueling a blame attitude to grow bigger by the day. Her spirit is broken and feels heavier in every exchange. How can she possibly claw her way out of career frustration when in such a state of despair? The magic of dreams is that they transport you to another space, a positive fantasy that you can see, feel and embed yourself into. This invites positivity back, and does not have to only exist in our sleep. Challenge yourself to some doodling and sketching (ranging from stick figures up to elaborate masterpieces; anything goes when hope is lacking); this will provide pictures and stories to connect with and place yourself in, occupying your mind with how things can look and feel, and a story of the future. Is it a new boss you see in the picture, more collaboration, good use of time, exciting projects, time with family – after all, it is your story and not for anyone else. This is a lot healthier than shame, a lot more constructive than blame and a lot braver than covering your frustration with ‘busy-ness’, ensuring you simply don’t have time to deal with your disappointment and hopelessness.
Does career frustration only stem from inefficiency in your organization? We think the answer is ‘no’, and suggest that before you work on ‘all things career’, there’s an opportunity to work on ‘all things you’. By working on ‘all things you’, the source of power for change shifts from somebody else to you, in which case, you are in the driver’s seat and you call the shots. That allows you to take action to reposition, redesign or recreate your career. However, before action, there’s a need for a healthy disposition, mindset and state of ‘being’. Action will only gain desired results when executed with a healthy and hopeful mind, body and spirit. Dreams give hope My friend Barbara has lost any hope for a career that keeps her engaged and productive. Yesterday, her tears of hopelessness were so painful that they pulled at the depths of my gut. On one hand, I’m extremely happy that she is releasing her frustration about her job reality, yet on the other it’s worrying to me as she can only see doom and gloom.
Has your state of being become just a tiny bit healthier, with a glimmer of hope peaking through? Part of the dreaming process will also allow you to ‘bend’ time. Imagine yourself with that nasty boss, the toxic team, your boring tasks, current limited growth, reduced salary, high job pressure etc. Ask yourself: will I still be in this horrible situation thirty years from now. Not likely! So, bring
Her mind is cluttered with ‘why is this hap-
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