Your New Career Mindset.
Mindset is everything. And if you haven’t heard this before, let me break it down for you. And if you have, I guarantee you, you haven’t heard it like this before. Growing up, all I heard from my parents was work hard, and you’ll get ahead. As many of you can relate, you probably heard this too. And not just from your parents but teachers and friends too. So people do just that as new professionals in the work place. They work hard but never see the career success they want. So this “work-hard” and “you’ll be recognized” thinking just doesn’t work. It actually is keeping you stuck. It will keep you from doing something different. It will keep you from challenging the status quo.
So this “work-hard” and “you’ll be recognized” thinking just doesn’t work.
So, what really drives your career is your mindset… Simply put, what you think about career development, is what you’ll see in yours.
If you believe it takes years and hard work, then it will take years and hard work.
If you believe opportunities don’t come to you, then they won’t…
If you believe that you’ll always be stuck at your current job, then you will…
You may think well, what does it matter? I can’t change my thinking. Well, that’s just it. You can! Yes, you can change, you just have to want to. And if you don’t want to just stop reading to this right here. Because anything that I share from here on out isn’t going to sink in. To change your mindset, you have to be willing and open to change.
Yes, you can change, you just have to want to.
Growth versus Limited Thinking: There are two main types of mindsets, growth and limited.
Growth Mindset:
I can learn anything, even if it takes some time
My effort determines my abilities
Mistakes aren’t failures, their learning opportunities
Feedback is helpful, it helps me improve
Limited Mindset:
I can’t do that
My abilities is determined by external factors like my genes, or how I grew up.
Mistakes show me that I’m a failure
Someone always has something bad to say about me and my work
A person with a limited mindset isn’t willing to look within. They may find feedback as personal attacks, taking what others say personally.
Look back at the examples of mindset. Take a moment to reflect and ask yourself, which areas do I need to improve on?
So how do you go from a limited to a growth mindset?
First it is understanding that mindset comes from your beliefs. And your beliefs come from what you have decided are your truths.
Next is having an awareness of where you stand. If you’re finding yourself on the more limited side, take a moment to congratulate yourself because at least you have some self awareness. There are some people who don’t even see it. Who don’t want to see that their thinking, is causing a problem and just stop there. But you’re reading this, so you’re already steps ahead. And it shows that you’re willing to recognize that you want to change. You want something more for your career.
Believe that it’s Possible
The next thing you need to do is to believe that it’s possible to shift your mindset to believe that you are in control. You are in control of what you believe. I know that sounds like I said the same thing, but it isn’t. So I’m gonna say it again to believe that you are in control. And you are in control of what you believe. Those are actually two different things Because first you have to believe that it’s possible. And then next, you have to believe that you’re in control of that change. And I’m here to encourage you and remind you that you are, no matter how hard it may seem, you can.
You are in control of what you believe.
Now the next step is to decide to shift. To do this, you have to be ready to dig deep. And ask yourself, why do I believe this? Why do I believe, for example, that there’s no job opportunities in my field? or Why do I believe that no one wants to hire me. And you’ll have to really explore that further, you need to take a moment to journal your thoughts. This could be related to something you heard from your parents or your friends growing up. This could have been like one offhand comment that someone said to you along your job search. But then you took that in and you made it your truth.
Now’s the time to identify what caused it. This can be from not believing that you are enough, or that it’s selfish to ask for what you really wan. Whatever it is, explore it, process it, feel it, and then let it go. If you are struggling here, and you feel like you can’t move forward, I would highly recommend you seek professional help. Like a therapist, that can help you process your past and be able to move forward. And I say this because as a therapist I will say therapy can really help you kind of unwrap all of those beliefs that maybe you weren’t willing to recognize. Some beliefs that you may not even realize are there. So if a journaling activity is causing you to be more upset than uplifting, then you may want to consider looking for professional therapist to work with.
Next step is to review what you wrote. And start listing all of those limiting beliefs that are coming up all those negative thoughts. And once you feel that you’ve written all of them out, start writing a positive affirmation. So that you can replace the old belief with a new one. So for example, if you wrote there’s no job opportunities in my field, you would rewrite that as there are plenty of job opportunities in my field. The right opportunity finds me. And keep going with it till you are able to rewrite something new for each of those negative beliefs. This is how you begin to reprogram your mindset.
And that’s how you develop a new career mindset.
And that’s how you develop a new career mindset. To make this stick, you’ll need to put this somewhere you can see every day. I highly recommend that you recite them to yourself as often as you like. For myself, I have my own recording of affirmations. Then I change them up as needed. Find something that you like and y works for you. Just start small. Start small so it doesn’t become overwhelming. Your brain and ego doesn’t like change. So it will fight you on this. The smaller steps you take the more successful you’ll be at creating your new career mindset.
Give yourself grace as you work to shift your career mindset
And remember to give yourself grace as you work to shift your mindset. This isn’t an erase-all of your negative thoughts activity. This isn’t a everything’s going to be perfect after this. Changing your mindset will take time and it will still have it’s ebbs and flow. The sooner you release perfection the more you’ll be in flow. There will be days that you will be in a negative mindset. And that is just the day that you have to process those feelings. So do not feel that you have to be perfect. There’s no such thing. Just be willing to see things differently.
Learn about my coaching services. Click Here
Are you ready for 1:1 Coaching? Schedule a 15min call with me to learn more about how I can help you overcome your mindset blocks.
Comments