How to Reinvent Your Career – Face Your Transition Fears
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Reinvent Your Career



I was recently working with one of my San Francisco Bay Area executive coaching clients. We talked about his focusing on discovering a better sense of self, including his core values and identity. He was energized and motivated to ignite his entrepreneurial spirit.



Most importantly we focused on his overcoming fear, and discovering a sense of purpose...what was truly important to him. He pondered on the following powerful questions. Who am I and what are my core values? What is most meaningful in my life? What am I trying to do with my life? .Do I feel fulfilled in my life? Do I use my talents to the fullest extent? Am I realizing my dreams? Positively reinventing yourself can bring happiness and career fulfillment.



Face Your Transition Fears



Overcoming fear is one of the most difficult things we can do as part of our career development. Worry is an unproductive human activity. Fear is a test of commitment and a way to focus your attention on answering the question: “Is this what I really want?” For example, when we want to start something new, like a career change, we hesitate. Here’s how to move through it.



“Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear – not absence of fear.”Mark Twain



The Comfort Zone



Facing our fears means stretching ourselves, and stepping outside our comfort zone. Begin by acknowledging the boundaries of your comfort zone. By moving in and out of your current comfort zone, you can grow and expand the size of it. Focus on doing something important to help break out of your comfort zone. You can then renew your emotional resources, and then prepare for another push forward. With persistence you can stretch your limits.



Shift your attention to the positive and remember why you are doing what makes you uncomfortable. Think how facing your fears could be the best thing that ever happened to you. If you view it positively, fear is a gift. It’s an opportunity. It’s your body saying you’re about to step outside your comfort zone. Give yourself permission to grow, and to become a fully expressed human being.



“Fear is adversity tested. The way to overcome fear is to train oneself to be emotionally and mentally fit. How do you approach adversity? Reflect on how you manage your emotions. Find your best emotional pattern and condition it to handle adversity. The way to deal with fear is to find a way to get outside yourself. This usually means living a life of gratitude.” - Tony Robbins



Visualize the End Goal



If you want to overcome your fear, focus on the end in mind. Visualize your ideal career. Visualize yourself in your new job. Visualize happiness and success. Expect a positive outcome.



Focus on what you feel the most passionate about. Commit to your most important result. Concentrate on what you want. Don’t waste your emotional energy on what you don’t want! Olympians practice Visual Motor Rehearsal (VMR). They preview their events in their mind which optimizes their body’s performance. Focusing on success creates success in business and life.



Fail Well



If you have not failed at something, you’re not trying hard enough. If you want to be successful, you have to give yourself multiple chances to fail. It’s been said that success is the first attempt after failure. The biggest failure is to not try again. The more chances you take, the greater the chance for eventual success. Setbacks can help you make future strategic moves.



Take Risks



When you risk, you loosen your hold on what you’re certain of and you reach for something which you’re not sure of, but you believe is better than what you have. Without fear, there is no courage. Thing big and eliminate your career limiting beliefs.



You have to give up something familiar in order to learn, grow and change. This can feel uncomfortable. However, living a life in hesitation, avoidance and procrastination is no way to live. Just ask yourself, “What is the worst that can happen?”



Self-confidence



Let fear energize you to face the challenges head-on. Keeping your self-confidence and optimism high is critical. By revisiting past successes, strengths and accomplishments, you can move forward and conquer your fears.




Developing a positive sense of self can help you take prudent risks. Peak performance requires confidence. A positive attitude can overcome fear. Erase the tapes of negative self-talk. Avoid all self-doubting thoughts which turn into self-doubting language.



Fear can stem from a lack of confidence. This may be the result of a lack of experience of trying something new. For example, you may have been afraid of driving for the first time, but after you gained some experienced you gained confidence. Act strong until you feel brave. Let your fear energize you to action.



"Respect yourself and others will respect you." - Confucius



Action Plan



Ask yourself, “If I want to make this change, what do I have to gain as a result? What’s on the other side?” Can I really stick it out in this job for another five years? If I don’t leave now, when will I leave?” Focus on your past successes and achievements. They are sources of strength and encouragement.



Make a list of some of your key accomplishments and then list the barriers to overcome. Write down specific action steps you need to take to overcome them, and then apply those lessons to your current situation. Set a deadline when you will stop analyzing the situation and begin to write an action plan. Determine which decision will lead you to achieving your goals. Take your action-plan and chunk it down into small steps so that there isn’t any room for failure.



Concentrate on one step at a time. If necessary, pretend that you have the courage to overcome the anxiety with a “fake it ‘till you make it” approach. Say to yourself, “I’ll just do it.”



Be careful with whom you share your fears and dreams. Make sure you choose people you trust, that can provide helpful advice and encouragement. Prayer and meditation can also be a tool to address fear, stress and anxiety. Muster the courage to feel your fear and do it anyway. The result will be increased self-confidence to tackle new challenges.



Summary



If you want success in your career, you need to build your confidence and overcome fears. Don't give up! Start with a thorough assessment of your values, skills, interests and abilities.



Focus your efforts on your areas of interests and abilities, and develop an action plan by specifying goals and objectives. It is only by focusing on your strengths that you can truly obtain fulfillment and success in your career. A professional career coach can provide objective feedback to help keep you motivated and on-track.



“Your work is to discover your work, and then, with all your heart, to give yourself to it.” -Buddha



Are you working in a professional services firm or other organization where executive coaches provide leadership development to grow emotionally intelligent leaders? Does your organization provide executive coaching for leaders who need to reinvent themselves? Enlightened leaders tap into their emotional intelligence and social intelligence skills to create a more fulfilling future.



One of the most powerful questions you can ask yourself is “Do I have the confidence to reinvent myself and face my fears?” Emotionally intelligent and socially intelligent organizations provide executive coaching as part of their transformational peak performance leadership development program.



Working with a seasoned executive coach and leadership consultant trained in emotional intelligence and incorporating assessments such as the Bar-On EQ-I, CPI 260 and Denison Culture Survey can help you reinvent yourself. You can become a leader who models emotional intelligence and social intelligence, and who inspires people to become fully engaged with the vision, mission and strategy of your company or law firm.