Joy Is a Career Strategy

When you do what you love, time both flies and expands.  When you’re at your busiest doing things you love, your energy increases, momentum builds.

And thus, when you are in the present moment and feeling energized, you can have the impact you are meant to have, with ease and financial sustainability.

So, if you are wanting all that…  Just DO It!  😉

How?!   This is where paralysis can come, believing deep down that curating a career and life of joy and impact is not possible and thus the cycle of frustration and overwhelm continues.

• We make assumptions.  “The parts of my job/life that I dread, or dislike just come with the territory.  I need to find my joy in other activities.  I don’t have the skills/experience/education yet to find job where I enjoy what I’m doing.”
• We keep “should-ing” on ourselves.  “I should just be happier with what I’m doing.  I should be grateful. I should try daily affirmations. I should just suck it up if I want to succeed.”
• We blame.  “My boss, my board, my co-worker, my industry doesn’t value me. I’m burnt out. I’ve got too much on my plate. No one is helping me. No one listens to me.  I’m overwhelmed, sick, tired.”

Instead, I invite you to begin embarking on a quest to reveal the often missing, foundational self-intel. 

Here are three prompts to get you started:

1. What do you love, and why?  Do you (really) know the answers?  Go deeper than the actions of “baking” or “doing payroll” or “supporting my team.” Look at the impact you have on others when you are doing what you love. (this can be very hard to do on your own, but I invite you to try!)
2. Therefore, what do you want?  (really, really want?)
3. What specific embodied actions are you strategically choosing every day to create the possibility for you to get what you want? (your thoughts, feelings, language, actions)

In The Career (Life!) Breakthrough Academy, the breakthroughs often come when realizing that we don’t know what we really want, and that our frustration with the world is occurring because of that. We realize that we are not clearly communicating what we need and want. 

While successful careers have been built in this way, for many there comes a moment when a desire to take charge of our situation occurs. It is in those Crossroad Moments, where we have the opportunity to mindfully curate a life of joy SO THAT, we can have the sustainable impact on others that we are meant to have. 

My clients and I have all been “there.”  The process I use and coach creates a shift, it expands time, it increases momentum.  Last Saturday, I experienced it again. Two weeks ago in a genuine, but perhaps impulsive desire to help others, I volunteered to conduct seven back-to-back interviews for a local scholarhip foundation’s awards. On the day of our concert weekend.  What was I thinking?! That morning I woke up tired, with much needing to be done, and regretting my decision.  Then I met the first applicant.  They were a high school senior, who shared their philosophy (!) and approach to successfully overcoming significant obstacles in life – to not only be a leader in school, in communty service – to be the first person in their family to be accepted into college. Then I met the second and third applicants. Time expanded. I learned, I laughed, I was inspired. Some shared that my questions made them feel seen and valued.  As I got up from the computer to stretch after the 6 hours, my heart was singing! I was filled with gratitude, energized, and proceeded to get ready for the concert!   

Together we are creating a movement of people living in the wonderful intersection of impact and joy! We are creating a life of purpose, where everyday we experience situations that energize us, create moments of connection and gratitude, and our life is flowing.

To your success!

Kathryn
Next Chapter Coach
Creator of The Career (Life!) Breakthrough Academy^TM