Did you experience a crisis that forced you to re-define your entire career? Maybe it was a personal tragedy that rocked you to the core, a wrenching loss, or even a long-awaited change that shuffled the cards of your life and work…Whatever it was, it created a more or less urgent need for you to re-define what work means to you, what your own definition of professional success is, and what goals and plans you have in your future.
For me, crisis has always been a blessing in disguise, especially as related to my career. It’s after defining moments in my life, from giving birth to my children, to facing personal challenges and harsh opposition at work, that I had the opportunity to re-think what work truly means to me and the legacy I want to leave through it. My definition of success went from a focus on financial success, to one of purpose, personal fulfillment, and service. I went from wanting to multiply the zeroes on my paycheck to re-connecting with my deep desire to find and pursue work connected to my purpose, work that fills me up, work that makes me truly me, not just in the office, but in all areas of my life.
I have talked to many working women and moms who have also had similar experiences, after the birth of their children, after divorces, personal losses, and a host of crises, setbacks and tough challenges. Through all my conversations, the same theme of purpose and fulfillment has emerged, opening the door for these women to re-define the work they do.
Out of these conversations and my own experience, here are 7 principles to re-define your career after a crisis:
- Reconnect with yourself
At some point in our careers, inevitably, we get disconnected from ourselves. It may be because we get too busy, or we get on someone else’s agenda, or life throws too much at us to keep us grounded in our essence and what truly matters to us. So we start doing things more out of habit or convenience than out of true meaning, purpose and joy. Sometimes, we don’t even have any idea of what really brings us a sense of purpose, meaning or joy, because we’ve been conditioned to doing the same thing over and over and over again…
As working women and moms with so much on our plates, and so many expectations heaped on us by society and family, it’s crucial that we take the time to reconnect with ourselves. Not once in a blue moon, not when all hell starts to break loose, but as often as we can. But what does reconnecting with oneself truly mean? It means stopping, even if for a few minutes every day, and observe ourselves, asking of ourselves simple questions such as “What brings me joy?”, “Am I feeling heavy and unhappy at this moment, or light and fulfilled?”, or “What are the places, activities and people that drain me, and what are those that energize me, fill me with life and sheer joy?”.
The answers to these simple questions, especially after a crisis, open the door to uncovering what’s been missing, what needs to change, what is no longer welcome, and also what needs improvement.
- Re-define your WHY
Why do you do what you do? What are the motives, the reasons behind you getting up in the morning and spending most of your time behind a desk, on a construction field, or typing on a laptop? While most of us would cite basic survival reasons, such as making money to feed our family, taking care of our of loved ones, or having the bare necessities, that’s not enough of a WHY to spend our most precious asset, time, in unfulfilling careers and occupations. Yes, surviving is necessary, but after the survival should come the thriving, the expanding, the continuous growth that makes us who we truly are.
What’s fascinating about our WHY is that it changes with time, with experience, with us, as we grow and evolve into the purest and most evolved version of who we are. The why of the beginning of my career as an accounting associate eager to climb the corporate ladder, is very different from the why I have now. My mission has changed, my purpose has evolved, and with it, my entire outlook on myself and the world.
What is your WHY today?
- Make room for what brings you joy
We don’t often think about JOY when it comes to our careers. We may think of money, or prestige, or advancement. Yet, what about that light inside of us, that pep in our step that makes us stroll through life, have a sense of purpose and fulfillment that frankly, no amount of money can buy…
That joy is not foreign to you. You may have lost sight of it, as life became more demanding, and expectations of the outside world came crashing down on your time and energy. You may not even remember it, from the days of being a carefree kid or a dreamy college student. Yet, what crisis reminds us of, is of the urgent need to tap back into our joy. The compelling urgency to dig back into the recesses of our experience and mind to unearth the seeds of this not-so-elusive joy.
For me, it was getting back in touch with my love for writing and teaching, which I was elated to find had never disappeared, but were just buried under too long to-do lists and uninspiring chores. The great thing about re-connecting with what brings you joy, is that you can apply to pretty much anything, if you’re willing to be creative, and re-create what makes up the fabric of your work.
- Clear the clutter
Making more time for what brings you joy, growth and evolution as a working woman also means making less time for what doesn’t. This is where clearing the clutter becomes unavoidable. What endless tasks and chores have you or others forced upon your schedule that leave you drained and uninspired? What are those things, those activities, those interactions that take you too long to go through, not because of their complexity or your inability, but because they are not aligned with who you are? What areas of your work feel ineffective or inconclusive?
Clearing the clutter is a continuous process of evaluating and re-evaluating what no longer fits, what never fit in the first place, and what must change. For me, it’s a constant process of introspection, analysis and critical re-evaluation, not just of what I do, but of how I do it.
- Come out of your career closet
Many, if not most of us, have locked ourselves in our own, self-made career closet of expectations and appearances. We may have picked a career because our parents wanted us to, because the money was good, or because it seemed like the only viable choice at the time. Over the years, we may have stayed in this career closet of our own making, relinquishing the opportunity to change, grow, evolve, as complacency and habit firmly set in to our daily lives. That is, until a life-changing crisis hit…
Maybe the crisis happened to unlock that career closet of yours, and allow you the opportunity to finally break free from so much obligation and forceful dynamics. While it may not necessarily spell a drastic change in careers of even jobs, it may be an open invite to step out of your own closeted way of doing things into the most effective and happiest version of your professional and personal self…
- Build a path to transition
Once we realize the need to re-define our career and start on this path, then a shift happens. We unwittingly begin to build a path to transition towards a different way of seeing and doing the work that we do. Again, it may not be a drastic one. We may not even change jobs, or careers, or even the color of our office wallpaper. Yet, a path to transition will inevitably open up and require us to step on it and begin a journey of self-transformation…
For me, it was a matter of leveraging my natural and acquired skills, and combine them with my academic and professional training to transition into a different but related career into teaching. The path to transition was a progressive one, built from trials and errors towards creating the career best fit for me.
- Make the leap!
Last but not least, re-defining your career will also require a brave leap of faith of some sort. Some leaps may be more life-changing than others, but all of them will demand courage, faith and some level of risk-taking.
For some, it may be finally asking for the raise you deserve, making an internal move within the same company, or even dedicating yourself to an altruistic cause. For others, it may be turning in your resignation letter, starting that side hustle or full-fledged business, or taking a gap year to find out who you really are. Whatever it may be for you, know that the leap will always leave you better for it, stronger, and infinitely happier for daring to honor your true self.
How have your own crisis helped you re-define your career?
The Corporate Sis.
