Feeling stuck? Start here.
You don’t have to keep circling this problem, with no clear answer in sight.
Start now in the Career Strategy Intensive.
I’m calling it:
It’s time to finally stop swirling, and get clear about your next career move.
This week I flew home from visiting my family in New Zealand, and somewhere over the Pacific Ocean, I started to get mad.
For two weeks I was able to put the realities of life behind me: no work, no parenting, no questions that still needed to be answered. My only goal was to be present, and I’m grateful I got to do that.
But anyone who’s ever taken an extended vacation knows: Re-rentry is brutal.
The closer the plane got to home, the more my anxiety and frustration grew.
Like you, I’ve been working through some big questions lately.
What are my goals and dreams for the future?
How do I really want to spend my time?
Where should I focus?
What’s the right choice?
If I’m honest, I’ve been circling these questions for quite some time.
And so, on that plane – my blood pressure rising – I was mad.
Mad that I was still asking the same damn questions, that I was still dealing with the same old doubts.
And I really sat with this anger this whole week. As I unpacked and did laundry, dealt with jat lag, and got reacquainted with my home life.
I wrestled with my uncertainties and doubts, while staring head-first at my own embarrassment:
After all this time, all this angst – I still hadn’t solved this.
In the midst of all of this swirling, two core questions rose to the surface:
What’s actually working?
What’s the difference between me and other people who have “figured it out”?
That’s what we’re going to explore today.
Try This Out
My guess is that there’s an area of your life where you feel like you’re swirling. A question, challenge or problem that – no matter how long you sit with it – just doesn’t seem to get resolved.
It could be about your work or your career, or maybe it’s about a different aspect of your life.
What’s the issue you keep attempting to fix, with no clear resolution in sight?
Grab your journal or the voice notes app on your phone, and explore these questions:
What’s actually working?
It’s so easy to see the negatives, but I guarantee that even in this part of your life that feels like such a struggle, there are things that are working.
This isn’t just about being positive; rather, you’re looking for clues, for breadcrumbs that you can pick up, inspect, and see possibilities in.
What’s the difference between me and other people who have “figured it out”?
Of course, a caveat: no one has figured everything out. And if they say they have, be skeptical!
But still: look around you and identify people who seem to be on the right track. Maybe they’ve cracked the code on a job they love, or have demonstrated an ability to follow through on their goals in a way you admire.
What have they done right that you might emulate? What lessons or guidance can you take from them?
What’s Next
When I answered these questions for myself, two things stood out to me:
First, there is a lot that’s going right. There’s a lot of data pointing me in specific directions – which is important because it helps me remember that I’m not starting from scratch.
I know more than I think, and you do, too!
Second, the difference between me and other people who have “figured this out”?
They commit.
They commit without complete information.
They commit and they move forward.
They commit to themselves and their goals.
So that’s what I’m doing this week: doubling down on what’s working already, and committing to a plan.
What are you doing this week to stop swirling and move yourself closer to your goal?
And if you’re ready for my help, I’m here.
Onward,
PS: Tina was feeling stuck when we started working together in the Career Strategy Intensive. After four weeks, she reflected:
“I was stuck in seeking out the next chapter in my career. I knew I wanted a job that better aligned with my interests outside of work and that made more of a difference in the world, but I had been spinning my wheels trying to figure out how to even start.
Working with Ashley helped me realize that I can get what I want by shifting my existing skills to a new context, and helped me map out tangible steps to finding a new job. I'm building momentum and am on my way.”