I get incredibly frustrated when my clients, after weeks of very focussed work with me and with one step separating them from their dream job, utter the words, “Oh, well, maybe my current job isn’t too bad after all…” When this happens, it is clearly the “pre-change”, “scared of the unknown” voice coming through, and frankly, this is the moment when they need me the most.
One of the NLP pre-suppositions states that “change can be quick, easy and lasting”. I thought of these words a lot last year, when my family executed our move to a completely new country. The build-up to this move took months—but the event itself? We got on the plane in one country, and got off in another country; we went to the supermarket, so the children could have some dinner; and we proceeded to our rented apartment, where we unpacked the bags and went to sleep. Our new life started the following morning, and it brought us many challenges indeed, but the actual “change” itself was the easiest part.
The same applies to a change in your career. Once you walk through the door to an interview or to a new office, you will forget about your doubts and concerns, and you will automatically zoom in on the task ahead of you, whether it is facing the HR boss or a group of new colleagues. The trick is to calm your mind enough so that you are not standing in your own way! How do you do it?
1) Imagine yourself in that situation already. How is it going? How are you being treated? How are you behaving? Since you are imagining all of this, allow yourself to view things exactly as you want them to be. Enjoy yourself while you are visualizing; turn the “dreaded event” into a really pleasant one. If you do this exercise often enough, you will start believing that all will turn out the way you wanted—and it usually does! Also, your subconscious will kick in, and you will act exactly as you did in your imagination: as a confident, knowledgeable and absolutely-not-to-be-missed new employee!
2) Go back down memory lane and remind yourself why you wanted this new job in the first place. If needed, make a list of all the reasons why you want this job. Connect with the strongest reason emotionally, so that it becomes clear that you absolutely, resolutely must give this new opportunity a try; otherwise, you will turn into a sad and disappointed creature that nobody wants to have around, least of all you!
3) Think of all the big changes that you previously initiated in your life. Did they work out for you? How did you manage them? Quite often, we underestimate our ability to undergo a change successfully, despite the fact that our lives have been full of events which were probably bigger than a simple career change!
Most importantly, remind yourself of what a brave person you are; then take a deep breath and jump! Once in the water, your swimming skills will take over automatically. See you at the other side!
If you would like to have some help throughout the process, get in touch on [email protected].
© LB Coaching 2013
This article provided courtesy of Natalie Ekberg of http://lbcareercoaching.com/.