How to gain the one thing you want most in your career
How’s your July going so far? Are you following the Olympics? 🏅
I watched a documentary on BBC iPlayer the other day about the rower Helen Glover, called The Mother Of All Comebacks. It follows her journey to retrain for the Tokyo Games after having retired in 2016 to start a family. Her training schedule is absolutely gruelling, especially when you throw 3 young children into the mix including breastfeeding twins!
It’s an absolutely inspiring watch which I highly recommend, and it made me stop and reflect on personal drive and determination. What does it take to keep pursuing a goal, despite all the obstacles and challenges that life throws at you?
Can you think of a time when you went after something you really wanted and made it happen no matter what? How did you deal with any setbacks? How did you feel when you finally made it?
Reflecting on your past achievements can be a really powerful way to boost your confidence. And by remembering what has worked for you in the past, it can help you build a strong foundation for the future.
Tell me, what are you really proud of achieving?
Resilience: Your 'secret weapon' in tough times
Man the workplace is a TOUGH place to be these days.
Back when I was still in my 9 to 5 in advertising, I remember only too clearly the constant pressure, shifting deadlines, and heavy workload that frequently pushed me beyond "mmm isn’t this exciting" stress, to "OMG I don’t know if I can cope" stress.
And I hear similar stories from my clients all the time, about how they are desperate to escape and find some balance, whether that’s in a new role or as their own boss.
Although entrepreneurship isn’t exactly a cakewalk either. You have to constantly step out of your comfort zone, and get used to living with uncertainty.
Which is why I was so glad to come across the topic of ‘Resilience’ during my studies in positive psychology. It’s a bit of a buzzword at the moment, and turns out to be the perfect antidote to modern day work and life stress.
So what exactly is resilience?
In nutshell, resilience is our capacity to cope with, be strengthened by, and recover from difficult times. You may think that resilience is something that we are either born with or we’re not, but that’s not the case at all. We can all develop a resilient mindset, if we are given the right knowledge and tools.
Resilience is something we do, rather than something we have.
Another advantage of becoming more resilient, is that it allows you to not only bounce back from tough times, but actually bounce forward into something even better.
This is especially important when it comes to handling failure. It could be that your proposal was rejected at work, or you were turned down for that promotion, or you lost a client, or didn’t get that grant you applied for. Or maybe you’re having a tough time in your personal life, and that is having a big impact on your work.
Any of these events can lead to to self-doubt, anxiety, burnout and depression. Which is why learning strategies to handle failure is so important, so that instead of spiralling downwards, we can learn from the experience, maintain a positive outlook, and move forward.
Here are three tips to get you started on the road to greater resilience:
1. Look for lessons learned. You’re in good company, as there are plenty of famous people who failed many times before they finally got it right. Think of Thomas Edison who made 1000 unsuccessful attempts before inventing the lightbulb. Hunt the good stuff. Ask yourself, "where can I improve here? What will I not repeat next time?".
2. Remember your strengths. This isn’t about being overconfident or arrogant. It’s about remembering what you ARE good at, rather than focusing on your perceived weaknesses. Lean on those strengths, and leverage them as often as possible, to get you through rough spots.
3. Gain strength from others. Make sure you have a great team around you, who believe in you. Whether it’s colleagues, mentors, friends or family, it’s crucial for your resilience that you have those people in your life who are there to catch you when you fall, and help you get back up again.
Everyone can become more resilient. It’s about choosing a more optimistic mindset, and learning to turn any setbacks in life to your advantage.
Speak to you soon,
Juliette xx
p.s Struggling with stress or burnout? Feeling lost, stuck or just unmotivated? Then book an introductory 45min coaching session with me for just £97, and get some support and accountability to help you figure out your next steps.
Life, death, resilience and hope in 2017
So I'm in a reflective mood, and this first post of 2018 is very different to my usual posts. In fact, I’ve been wondering for some time whether to write about this. Because you see, this one isn’t about career lessons, or business lessons, but life lessons. It's about life, and death, and resilience, and hope.
But I figured that my work is all about helping people find a meaningful career and life which allows to them to be the best and most authentic version of who they really are. And being authentic means that life isn’t always rainbows and sunshine. Sometimes we’re tested to our limits.
2017 was an incredibly difficult year on a personal level. My coaching business was and continues to be a bright spot, a welcome distraction, and my clients have been an inspiration. You guys know who you are, and I think you’re all amazing!
But I’ve been faced with an ongoing challenge: How do you give your best to your career or your business, when your personal life is falling apart?
So I’ll share what was really going on (but it’s a bit sad, so if you’re going through a hard time at the moment and want to save this for later, then please do and also have a big virtual hug from me ((( )))
2017 was basically a crash course in grief and loss.
In March, my partner and I lost our very wanted IVF baby during pregnancy to a genetic disorder called Edwards’ Syndrome. Then in October, we lost my dear Uncle to suicide. In November we decided to try again with IVF but it failed.
Grief changes you as a person, but you also learn a lot. About yourself, about your relationships, and about what really matters.
Life has generally been a work in progress since then, and I continue to be surprised by the ups and downs of grief. You think you’re doing better for a while, and then something comes along to trigger you or remind you, and you’re back again at square one.
I don’t have all the answers yet, but I plan to continue sharing the lessons I’m learning about resilience during the course of 2018, because I know I’m not the only one who has faced this dilemma of balancing work and personal challenges.
And don’t worry there will be plenty of practical career tips and inspiration too, my next posts will be more cheerful!
I’ll finish my post today with a quote from Dr Julia Samuel. Again it doesn’t really have anything to do with careers or business, but everything to do with grief and loss and how to carry on. It has helped me tremendously in recent months, and if it helps anyone else reading this today then that can only be a good thing:
“You don’t forget the person who’s gone; you can never do that, and you should not worry that you’re going to. But you fold them, and their loss, into the new person you become; and maybe that, in the end, is the greatest tribute any of us can ever make to someone who has died.”
Happy 2018 my lovely readers, and hold your loved ones close this year, nothing else matters more than that.
Juliette xx
p.s If anything I’ve mentioned here today has affected you personally and you need some support, there are some amazing charities that I have been involved with and can vouch for. Email them, call them, lean on them, that’s what they’re there for:
