Do You Feel Free Or Like A Hostage?

Time to read: So short and so relevant

FREE!

When you look around your career, do you feel free or do you feel like a hostage? As you assess this question, here are some hints:

Hostage:

• Your happiness and fulfillment are tied to (fill in the blank), your compensation, performance appraisal, raise, promotions, kudos from your boss. If you feel like you're constantly chasing the cookie, then you're trapped on a hamster wheel you feel you can't stop.
• You constantly think about making a change but never do.
• You feel like the risks of change (quitting your job, changing your perspective, seeing a therapist or coach) are more terrifying than putting up with the way things are.
• You wrestle with the same stress, decision point, or situation on repeat.

Free:

• You enjoy what you do (most days) and feel like you make a difference, to your coworkers, company, those you serve.
• You know that no matter the circumstances, you choose every day to be wherever you are.
• You feel like your work uses the best parts of you. You may be exhausted sometimes, and it's the "well used" kind of exhausted.
• Your work supports and balances well with the other parts of your life...family, free time, hobbies, health, rest.
• The balance of your life feels right to you. Even if that means you work 80 hours a week or you have all the free time in the world.

What I want for each of you is to feel free. Free doesn't mean nothing but free time or no work. It means that you feel like you have agency to craft your days through the lens of your priorities, style, and desires.

This summer, this newsletter is going to be a short and easy weekly challenge to help you feel more free. You don't have to sign up. You already are.

Invite your friends. They can join the summer challenge by signing up for my newsletter here.

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Finally! Something From Me To You!

Time to read: 48 seconds

I'm excited to announce a FREE live experience for you! (If you already know you want to sign up for Hope in the Everyday do so here.)

Early in the pandemic, back when we all had oodles of energy, I offered free classes, a daily check in on Zoom, and written resources about working from home. Then we got tired. And busy. Then, frankly, exhausted. You (and I) did not have one tiny shred of energy for anything else, even if that thing was good.

We're back! We're not back to 100% yet, and I've noticed recently that my clients and students have more mental bandwidth to reflect, ask big questions, and make conscious decisions. I also have more energy to create.

Many of you have reached out to ask when I'll offer free resources again. The answer is NOW!

You are invited to a 3-part live experience called Hope in the Everyday.

In three 60-minute live events (August 25, September 8 and 22), we'll assess the current state of your work and life, build skills for hope and well-being, and create an action plan to bring all that learning into your real life and career. If you've ever attended one of my events in the past, you know they are lively and relevant. If you haven't, you're in for a treat. Get more info and sign up to join Hope in the Everyday.

Who Is In Charge of Your Life And Career?

Time to read: Time to read? Less than one minute. Time to choose a time to chat? 30 seconds

One of my clients just quit her job. Her career and life purpose were skyrocketing when Covid hit and pulled out the rug. It's hard to find traction again when so much has changed. She's finding it hard to feel hopeful when the world outside her home is fundamentally different than it was even a few weeks ago. She's exhausted and frustrated. She's one of the most powerful leaders I know, and thank goodness she is taking the summer off to rest and regroup before jumping back into the arena.

Can you relate?

In our conversation we talked about how no one is coming to save her. The curtain has pulled back, and we've all seen that there is no Oz. That sentence sounds dire. Does part of you wish there were something, someone, anything (e.g. a boss, a workplace, a job change, a local or national leader, a new hobby) that would fix things? I know I wish for that sometimes (even if that Oz would simply make dinner.)

Actually, knowing there is no Oz puts the power back in your hands to craft your life and choose the experience you want to have every day at work and at home. No Oz means you decide when you need to rest and recover. No Oz means you determine your perspective. No Oz means you choose to suffer or live with ease and elegance. That is hopeful and empowering.

If you're wondering how to claim that agency and ownership, I have good news.

My signature 10-month group coaching program, Clarity U, starts again this Fall. This program is so good that friends of graduates reached out to sign up before official enrollment started. There is a terrific group already waiting for you.

If you'd like to learn how to craft work and life on your terms, let's chat! In 30-minutes, we'll talk about what's going on in your world, I'll make a suggestion or two, and we'll determine if Clarity U is your next step. Choose a time on my personal calendar here.

Want More Opportunity?

Time to read: 26 seconds

Toggle Back and Forth

Hello!

Here are things I regularly hear from new clients:

• "I've been promoted to a big new job and feel under water."
• "I feel stuck in the same old, same old and am not sure how to move forward."
• "I'm excited about my new role and am not sure what to do."

I see a predictable pattern in careers whether you are a vice-president, business analyst, academic, entrepreneur, or teacher. Your growth as a person and your career opportunities toggle back and forth.

• When you take on a new role, your development has to catch up.
• Once your capacity expands, new opportunities appear.

On an ideal career path, you know when your role has grown past your capacity (and it's time to build more) and when your capacity has grown beyond your role.

I'm sure you've worked with bosses whose growth stalled after a promotion and never grew effectively into leadership. These folks become ineffective and frustrating leaders.

You probably also know people who stayed too long in a role that was too small for their capacity. These folks complain a lot, become "over cooked," and burn out.

Self-awareness is key to avoiding either of these extreme and undesirable outcomes. Take a look at your career today. Are you in a capacity building phase in order to stretch into your role or are you starting to feel itchy to expand your opportunities?

Knowing where you are will help you invest your time and effort wisely to get the outcomes you want. Managing this toggle will keep your career in balance and keep you on a path of momentum and fulfillment.

Make sense?

Have a great week!

The Lie You've Been Told About Your Career

Today I'm going to debunk a lie about your career and once I do, you are going to be freer than you were 1 minute and 25 seconds ago. Are you ready?

First, here's a story that illustrates the point.*

One of my clients is well paid, has the flexibility to do yoga in the middle of the day, and is supported when he needs to care for his elderly mother. He can leave his job at the office giving him the space to pour himself passionately into community volunteer projects and music performance. At this point, you may be scratching your head. So, what's the problem?

He's not passionate about his job.

He has worried that he's not making a big enough contribution at work or that his job is too stress-free or maybe he needs to find something with more responsibility. Is the lie becoming clearer to you?

Here's another hint at what I'm talking about: A cab driver in London once said to me, "You Americans live to work. We Brits work to live." 

Do you feel driven by a belief that you have to find your "passion" or feel "passionate" about your job and if you don't, somehow you're failing at this whole career thing? (A caveat: There are a few people who do find their passion and follow it. That's great, too. It's just rare.)

This is the lie: You're supposed to find your passion in your career and if you aren't feeling it, something is wrong with you.

Many jobs provide a means to support the rest of your life, and that is a great thing! Many people find their passions outside of work, and those contributions matter a great deal. Work isn't the only game in town.

If you are paid enough to live in the neighborhood of your choosing, great! 

If you have the flexibility to be home for dinner with your family every night or leave early on the occasional Friday, awesome!

If your company respects your vacation time, care-giving responsibilities, and work-life balance, that is priceless.

Of course, there are soul sucking jobs or times when you need to leave to find more challenge or a positive work environment. The message here isn't, "settle for a sucky job."

The point is that your job can be the foundation for all the other things you're passionate about - baseball with your kids, being there for your friends, refinishing your own floors, road trips, volunteering at the homeless shelter, playing Ultimate, writing poetry, building bird-houses, teaching tap-dancing, the list goes on and on. Your job doesn't have to be your passion. It can just be a job. 

My client likes his colleagues. The work he does is fulfilling enough. And he is making significant contributions in his church and neighborhood. Today he told me that he is "just going to enjoy it as long as it lasts."

You can take a page from my client and the Brits and instead of living to work, you can work to live.

Happy living!
Christina

*My client generously gave permission to share his story to serve you.