Recently a new coaching client who is striving for career change returned from a 3- week vacation in Europe. While her mind became increasingly calm and relaxed during her time away, she noticed how quickly that state of mind vanished once back at work. Within a few days, she found herself much more intolerant of the inordinate demands of work which had routinely forced her into 10 hour-days when she typically gets paid for 8.
During our coaching conversation, she realized that the trip had created a disruption in her routine while simultaneously immersing her in that much preferred state of mind. With this expanded perspective, she was able to see that she really disliked having to live under the time pressure associated with doing work that has been rather thankless. What’s more, she rarely felt appreciated by her supervisor/employer.
Off course, we know that being on vacation is much more joyful and relaxing than being at work. Yet, as Mark Twain once said: “the secret of success if making your vocation your vacation. “ Indeed, if we strive to embrace our gifts and work in a field we are passionate about, we can plan our career and organize our work life so that it comes to feel as though “our vocation is our vacation”.
If you have recently come back from vacation or are soon planning to go, pay close attention to how you feel after returning. If you are among the 45% who enjoy their work, their colleagues and the atmosphere in their workplace, you will likely feel grateful and pleased to resume your work. However, if you are among the majority, you may feel reluctant to get into that hasty, out of balance pace again, just to pay the bills while doing work that is generally neither fulfilling nor appreciated.
From the perspective of that reluctance, you are well placed to assess what this job is really costing you. If work demands so much that you have virtually no time or energy for an active lifestyle; to partake in cultural events, to enjoy personal interests or to nurture your loving relationships, it’s time to consider change.
You may need to explore your career direction and there may be possibilities of effecting positive changes without necessarily creating big disruptions as you navigate the trajectory of your life. As in sailing, a small shift in the way you hold the tiller can create a significant and positive change in terms of where you land on the horizon further ahead. Why not go ahead and email a coach, myself or someone else you may have found, to explore your options and reach for a life that keeps you happy and thriving much more often than 3 weeks’ vacation time each year. A way of life that resonates with your higher self, the part of you that strives to align work and your true higher purpose. If you relate to this yearning, I invite you to take advantage of a complementary consultation to explore a series of coaching sessions with me, email: isabelle@inspiredmomentum.com
