4 Powerful Tips to Cancel Uncertainty and Energize Your Career in 2022

January 2022 is looking a lot like January 2021, and I honestly didn’t see that coming.  I figured by this time we’d be emerging from the pandemic in small but clear ways, not back in lock-down supporting on-line learning at home for our kids.  
 
It just goes to show that plans don’t always go to, well …plan.
 
So, the name of the game for 2022 is resilience.  Resilience (our ability to recover from set-backs and challenges) is what will get things done.
 
At this time of year, I get the heebie jeebies from headlines like “Change your life in 10 days!” or “Make this the year you have it all!”.  These click-bait articles usual herald a rigid plan (often starting with getting up at 5AM and drinking LOTS of water) to help meet your goals.
 
But you and I already know that if we plan for something and stick to it, we’ll get there (regardless of our H2o consumption or waking hours).  Yet, I still sometimes get sucked down the rabbit hole of headline promises, hoping this is THE article that will change some annoying aspect of my life!
 
The reality is, I’m not going to stick to someone else’s plan for my life, no matter how good the advice is because advice is completely absent of context, circumstance and challenge.  Advice is the “best case” scenario.  Advice does not offer resilience.  The only person who can bring that vital ingredient (resilience) into the mix is me.
 
So, here are four crucial tips to cancel uncertainty and build energy for whatever you have planned for your career in 2022:

• Know Why Your Goal is Important.  This seems obvious, but it’s also nuanced, so stick with me here.  Goals that are based on “flaw” or “lack” (like some weight loss goals, as an example) start you off from a position of needing to “fix” something about you (let me say you are fabulous just the way you are).  Set goals that are important to you and based on something other than “fix”.  Your “why” forms the foundation that keeps you motivated and resilient in your pursuit of something that is important to you, while building on your already amazing skills.  Know why you’re choosing to put your precious energy and time into THIS GOAL.  Visualize how this goal will make a difference (to you and to others) but never lose sight of why it’s important to you.

 

• Anticipate Emotions.  Anytime you endeavour to make a change, there is an emotional roller-coaster that comes with it (this is not an exaggeration, keep in mind it can be a quiet “inside-voice” roller-coaster).  You experience a “fist-pumping” high when you nail it, and a stomach-churning low when you crash it.  You’re going to do both because learning doesn’t happen in a nice, straight, line (remember learning to ride a bike, or understanding Excel?).  Learning happens by making mistakes and figuring out what went wrong; for you to be able to do that (without giving up) be prepared to pick yourself back up from what feels like failure, but is really only a set-back. Name the unwelcome emotion, take it out for coffee and figure out why it’s visiting you.  You’ll find resilience in this conversation, and the courage to keep going. 

 

• Small Steps Please!  Your goal is likely made up of a number of tasks or steps – the “DNA” of new habits. Take a few minutes to identify what those smaller steps are and commit to take this one step at a time (if you can’t see them all yet, just identify the ones you can see).  Any goal worth pursuing is not going to be aced over-night, and New Year’s Resolutions (career goals in general) tend to be larger in scope and impact. Remember why this is important, visualize how this goal will make a difference (to you and to others) and then break it down into manageable chunks.  Remember, the pyramids were built one block at a time (and they are a symbol of resilience – the only ancient wonder of the world still standing today).

 

• Share & Celebrate.  This one also seems obvious but I’m telling you most humans don’t do this enough (feels like bragging or something, we’re really weird about it).  When you accomplish something, no matter how small the step, tell someone.  Help them understand the relevance of your accomplishment by sharing why the overall goal is important to you (your “why”).  Anticipate celebration, what will your celebration ritual be?  If you know what it is in advance you will be more motivated to keep going.  As an example, I have a hobby, so when I accomplish something in my work and career that is goal-related I allow myself to buy a completely useless, but oh-so-satisfying something that supports my hobby.  Decadent, maybe.  Yet, it supports my ability to re-charge - that’s what I call a “win/win”.

 
I think if all of us knew exactly how long the effects of the pandemic would have on our lives we’d be much better able to handle the ups and downs, but that’s the thing, none of us have ever lived through a pandemic before.  We don’t know what to expect.  It’s the same when you set a new goal for yourself.  Being resilient means you leave space for both the best- and worst-case scenarios, empowering you to make your goals happen, even in the middle of a pandemic.
 
You.  Will.  Get.  There.  I can feel it.  Can you?

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