What’s between you and doing work you love? For many of us, fear is blocking the path.
The only wrong decision you can make is to listen to fear. Rather, get clear about what your fear looks like. And then get a reality check about what it takes to get the work you love.
What does your fear look like?
- Fear of making a decision. You don’t know what I want to do. Perhaps you feel that you’ve never done work that I love.
- Fear of being rejected. You only apply for jobs online and introduce yourself to people via LinkedIn. Or, you stay in a job you hate and don’t look for work.
- Fear of being interviewed, which sounds a lot like #2, and often includes not applying for jobs.
- Fear of talking about yourself. It sounds like: I have nothing to offer. I don’t want to be fake and sales-y.
- Fear of what happens when you put yourself out there and get visible– you might get self-conscious and uncomfortable. You could be embarrassed or intimidated. A client recently said she was afraid of being ridiculed.
- Fear of asserting what you want and saying out loud what matters to you. Yes, many of us are afraid to say “I matter” and taking aim at our dreams.
- Fear of the unknown or new things. It’s easier to stay with the known evil then to venture into the new an unfamiliar.
- Fear you won’t love the work, that you’ll make the wrong decision. (If this is you, consider whether you tend toward doubt and second guessing.) There is a right job and a wrong job.
- Fear that it will take too much time! You want to find a job right away. You’ve got to earn money now.
Are these fears right and real? Or are they “false evidence appearing real”?
Here’s a reality check to help you find the work you love.
You need to make decisions. Decisions to commit to knowing what gives you satisfaction and what work means to you. Decisions to go beyond thinking to setting goals and creating an action plan. And then going for it.
You will experience rejection. There’s lots of competition and the odds are you won’t get every job we apply for. (And you know there are ways to increase your odds, right?)
You have to talk to people about yourself. People hire people, even if computers do some of the screening. The more you talk to people, the better your chances of getting a job. And the more you work on your ability to talk about yourself clearly, authentically and succinctly, the more competitive you’ll be.
You have to sell yourself. That means you need to know that what you have to offer is valuable! Guess what? You can and should sell yourself with authenticity. Forget the “s” word. Focus on the “o” word, knowing what you offer. Basic tips for interviewing: know your skills and experience and be ready and able to talk about your impact. What are your accomplishments? Now, if you want to find work you love, than put your authentic self in charge of your career process. That means connecting to what matters to you, your values and your interests and learning how to speak from your truth when you’re talking to other people. If you fake it, you aren’t going to love the results.
You need to be able to speak to people out loud and in person. Yes, you will have to stretch out of your comfort zone and speak about yourself. It helps to keep the mantra of authenticity, to support yourself with good notes and to prepare your instrument body, voice and breath. When you attend to your whole self you can fully arrive and be present when you speak to others.
You can get close to the “right” job and minimize the “unknowns”. Use the Internet, networking and good questions so that you know lots about the field you’re working in, the organizational culture and job expectations. The key here is to know what you want to know, and what’s important to you in a job and in a workplace, and do your homework!
You have to put the time in to get the results you’re after. Finding work you love is a journey. So, take a long term view, set your goals, and then think about the steps you can take now to get to where you want to be. You may find work that takes you in the right direction (or builds your skill set) and pays the bills, while keeping an eye on the prize that you’re after in the year(s) ahead.
The only wrong decision you can make is to listen to fear, and let it keep you away from what you love. Fear will tell you that you don’t have the time or capacity to figure out what you want from work and what you want to be doing. Fear will settle for less than what you love. Don’t listen! Put the time and thought into these important questions. Your fulfillment is at stake.