8 Steps for Life Transitions

Life can bring big challenges, like a stressful office environment, grad school, relocation, finances, and relationship or health issues. There’s the saying, don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Scatter them to keep options open and everything going.

Suppose these eggs are pieces of you (like a Horcruxes in Harry Potter). Eggs represents the potential of manifestation. It takes energy to grow towards that potential and harvest it. In life, energy is expended, by way of attention, given as a worker, spouse, parent, student, sibling, child, best friend, breadwinner… Spread thin, you can forgot someone: You.

Time to put your eggs in one basket to make a change.

A successful job search, takes ample, basket-ful amount of time and energy. Here are 8 steps you can take to gather mojo for your endeavor.

1. Prioritize your well-being. Try once a day: when you are conflicted about who gets your time. Choose you. Like in the airplane safety protocol, you put on the oxygen mask before helping others. This is not selfish. It’s survival.
2. Get centered. Find 10-15 minute/day to meditate, walk, or at least unplug from all electronics. Pay attention to feelings and sensations: tightness in the jaw, chest, and/or stomach. Your body communicates -receive its messages with respect.Breathe in nose and out through the mouth (giving off ‘Hah…’ sound). Visualize relaxed muscles, joints. 
3. Explain to loved ones what you need and why. The endgame is likely to benefit everyone. A happier you elevates those around you. You may be surprised at the support that comes from the heart-to-heart talks.
4. Detach from main source of stress. Set boundaries with time and environment. Do #2 for another 10 minutes at the end of the work day, so you can shift your attention. Consider mentally releasing ownership of an overly taxing job: it is not about you. Even though it may have been your identity, you are a high performer, and the work pays, reinforces the social (or legal) contract for you to show up for more. Detachment can be a challenge, please give it a good try.
5. Visualize what you’d love to happen next. Note that love is used here, not ‘like.’ Since you are putting all eggs in your basket to realize a goal, go for the brass ring. Repeat the vision in your mind and journal.
6. Focus. Commit to your vision, as the priority. Check within for fears or doubts about making it happen. Work with yourself and a trusted ally to dissolve the blocks. Here’s one of Tony Robbin’s clips on focusing. (He is high-octane, be prepared.)
7. Be your own Project Manager and enlist help. A life change can be overwhelming. Create a timeline, then break down the tasks in smaller, doable chunks. Anne Lamott’s book illustrates approaching writing and life one small step at a time. Enlist a friend or helper who can be a sounding board and accountability partner.
8. Remember this is temporary. It’s easy to become fatalistic when under a lot of stress. Rejections, no feedback/ghosting, the unknown can shake confidence and sense of self-worth. Have compassion for yourself. The stake may be high, though setback is not permanent. Reflect on the lesson and reshape the strategy. This kind of hyper focus on yourself is a periodic effort to shift. It will finish.

Investing in a better, meaningful future is always worth the whole basket of eggs. What are you yearning to change? How will you get there?

You can do this.