The old saying: Jack-of-all-trades, master of none! reveals the bias against those who choose a varied work life rather than committing to a unidirectional path. There was a time, however, when society admired such a person. In fact, some of our greatest contributors have been talented in a variety of areas.

Leonardo da Vinci, painter of masterpieces such as the Mona Lisa, also designed and built bicycles, canals, musical instruments and flying machines. Benjamin Franklin not only helped draft the Declaration of Independence, he was also an inventor, statesman, printer, scientist, author, and student of French culture and language. More recently, Maya Angelou, best known as an author and poet, is also a successful songwriter, journalist, actress, singer, dancer, civil rights worker and professor. And she speaks eight languages!

Margaret Lobenstine, author of The Renaissance Soul–Life Design for People with Too Many Passions to Pick Just One, identifies five signs to help determine whether you are a “Renaissance Soul”:

• The ability to become excited by many things at once, often accompanied by difficulty choosing
• A love of new challenges; once challenges are mastered, you are easily bored
• A fear of being trapped in the same career or activity for life
• A pattern of quick, sometimes unsatisfying flings with many hobbies
• A successful career that has left you bored or restless

There is Nothing Wrong with You

People who recognize themselves in that description often feel that something is wrong with them, that they’re not normal. They may be accused of an unwillingness to grow up. They may be called irresponsible, a dilettante, or told they have Attention Deficit Disorder.

If you fit the above criteria, take heart. Support is available to help you embrace your strengths and stop trying to fit into the mold of someone you are not. In fact, your traits make you an ideal candidate for work that requires flexibility, adaptability to change, and a broad skill base. Renaissance Souls are often ideal entrepreneurs since they typically wear many hats in their own business. Public relations, marketing, consulting and project management are other good choices. Because of their multifaceted abilities, they may also adapt better in today’s shifting financial climate and global economy. What’s more, their passionate nature and curiosity are truly an asset in any arena!

Often all it takes is a shift of attitude to embrace your renaissance nature. Learn to honor its ways and you may find that your many talents lead you to a fulfilling, passion-filled life.

One tool I will be teaching at “2 Days to Finally Finding the Work You’re Meant to Do” http://ajobilove.com/ is how to design a career umbrella, created precisely for this type of person. If it feels like your long list of passions is a burden, I can help you with a creative career solution you may not have seen on your own.

Author’s content used under license, © 2008 Claire Communications

Values are not morals or principles. They are the essence of who you are—not who you think you should be, who your company thinks you should be or who your mother or partner thinks you should be.

Remember that money is not a value, whereas the things that money might buy, such as time freedom, adventure and helping in your community are values.

When you’re aligned with your values, things just feel right. Your choices are easy to make. And, your actions reflect who you really are.  This is one piece of what I call Finding Your Own Internal Groove.

Take this quiz to see how well you are working in sync with your values.

1. I have spent time clarifying my values and can easily articulate them. Y or N

2. My values are my own. I have not simply adopted them from parents, teachers, partners, bosses, colleagues or clients. Y or N

3. I based my choice of occupation on my deepest values. Y or N

4. My values are in alignment with the company I work for (or own). Y or N

5. I regularly examine how I am living up to my values and purpose and make changes accordingly. Y or N

6. I turn down money-making or status-building opportunities when they conflict with my values. Y or N

7. In resolving disputes at work, I look beneath the apparent problem to see if values are being dishonored, and then I seek ways to honor them. Y or N

8. Anyone looking at my life from the outside would see what I value. Y or N

9. I use my values as a guidepost for making career decisions. I ask if a particular choice would bring me closer to—or further from—a core value. Y or N

10. I am not easily swayed by others’ opinions when they conflict with my values. Y or N

11. My work values are in harmony with my personal and relationship values. Y or N

Scoring Key:

Definitely out of sync: You answered NO to 6 questions or more.

It’s likely that your values are just plain being trampled on—either by the choices you are making or by someone else.  Either way, guess who’s in charge of getting them honored? You may not even be aware of what your true values are. Perhaps no one has ever asked you or you’ve never considered what they are. What’s the result? You’re probably feeling pretty burnt out by your career at this point. You dread going to work, and some days you truly hate your job.

What’s the solution? Well, it’s a multiple step process, but the first step is assessing what your values truly are and getting clear on their order of priority to you.

Some room to adjust: You answered NO to 3-6 questions.

You’re aware of what’s important to you and you’re willing to re-examine your choices, but you’re still mainly being led around by outside influences instead of by your own values. What’s the result? A nagging feeling at the pit of your stomach on Monday mornings, and a loss of passion you used to have for your work. You’ve been thinking pretty seriously about starting a new career or even opening your own business, but you don’t want to just take your current work habits with you.

What’s the solution? Realigning what’s really important to you and taking steps to get those needs met is the place to start.

Feeling the groove: You answered NO to 2 questions or less.

Congratulations! You are working in alignment with your values and probably have a sense of your own Internal Groove. You are obviously finding creative ways to honor your values at work—even when there appears to be conflicts. What’s the result? You are likely feeling very satisfied and successful in your work. But then why are you here and reading this page?

If you suspect there may still be some “dust bunnies” to uncover, keep looking for hidden pieces where you could be doing a better job of staying true to your values at work.  Nothing will contribute more to your joy and satisfaction.

Even what feels like the worst possible news, something that really trips you up or feels disappointing—a “no” from somebody, losing something you had (even your job!), not getting something you wanted, a boss, co-worker or client that really pushes your buttons—can actually be a fabulous blessing in disguise.

You can turn any piece of bad news into a secret weapon for career planning. It’s all in how you look at it, hear it, analyze it and question yourself about it.

Here are 5 questions you should always ask yourself when something seems like bad news:

1. How are you feeling right now? You may not like your initial reaction, but this is actually the perfect way to start. Feel your feelings, as BIG as you need to—go for a run and scream the whole way, cry until the tears dry up, give yourself permission to be really disappointed (in a way that may not even be pretty) for an entire day. And here’s the trick, make sure a day doesn’t turn into a month. I recommend setting a clear and conscious deadline for how long you will be upset for. Literally say to yourself “I will be upset for…” (whatever length of time feels right for the situation) What you will find fascinating is that once you do that, it may actually be hard to stay upset that long. The secret is giving yourself permission.
2. What is this situation asking you to do, that you needed to do anyway? For example, do you need to use your voice and ask for what you need or set a boundary and say no to someone? How many times have you kept silent until now?
3. What is the bigger dream that could only come true if this “bad” thing happened? For example, a client of mine got laid off, and realized he could now go after his entrepreneurial dreams. This led him to culinary school, something he was too scared to quit his job to do, despite how deeply this path called to him. Then, with what seemed like little risk, it turned out to be much easier to choose that route. So you can see that “bad news” might lead you right into your dream job! I always find it interesting that many of the people I’ve worked with who’ve been laid off were already “looking” anyway. When this happens, do acknowledge this is not an accident and absolutely “perfect.” Consider this the magic that helps us find the courage we’ve been looking for.
4. What skills have you been saving in your toolbox for just this occasion? Challenging situations can often give us the chance to tap into strengths we didn’t even know we had, or that we don’t get to use often enough. “Disappointments” can even give us the opportunity to use skills we’ve always had, but only got to utilize “on the side.”
5. What is the hidden gift here for you? Once you’ve gone through the other questions, this answer will start to reveal itself. Trust that it’s definitely in there somewhere, even though it may take a little time to emerge. Only you know for sure what it is, because it’s your life, your growth, your hidden gift to open.

Hidden gifts are like small cracks in the window—they’re not always easy to see at first and sometimes it’s very enlightening to have someone else help you look. I also recommend pausing and staying still long enough to “listen for the answer” rather than trying to “brain-bang” one out with your mind.

If you stop lamenting your bad news and embrace it as a career planning opportunity, what hidden gifts do you see?

Take the following quiz and answer yes or no to see if giving it all away is steering you down the road to burnout at work.

1. I force myself to work even when I am sick, because I think someone else’s needs are greater than mine. Y or N
2. I hate conflict, so I’ll do whatever it takes to avoid it, which often means doing something I don’t want to do. Y or N
3. If I don’t answer all phone calls or emails immediately then I feel guilty. Y or N
4. In order to provide luxuries for my family I work more hours than I want to. Y or N
5. I schedule my work time around my company’s or clients’ needs rather than around my own. Y or N
6. I volunteer on committees or extra projects even if I don’t have the time. Y or N
7. I fear that people won’t like me if I say no. Y or N
8. I’m the person everyone calls when they need help: proofreading, filling in a shift, taking over a customer complaint, etc. Y or N
9. My supervisor’s satisfaction comes before mine. I’ll do whatever it takes to make him or her happy. Y or N
10. I have a hard time saying no to a supervisor, colleague or client because I want him or her to be happy, even if saying yes makes me unhappy, stressed out or overworked. Y or N

If you answered yes more often than not, watch your step! You are heading down the road to job burnout, and while you may hate your job, you hate the idea of standing up for yourself more. But beware, because you are also risking your physical health and emotional well-being. And when those are out of whack, they have a way of getting your attention.

Just having this awareness about your situation can help. You may notice that you think twice before automatically agreeing to every request that comes across your desk. When my clients reach this stage, I help them with the next step: setting and strengthening their boundaries.

The fact is that you need to teach others how to treat you. I can tell you for sure that if you don’t take care of yourself first, nobody else is going to. Ask yourself what works for you and what doesn’t. Until you do, everyone from your boss to your co-workers (and even your mate) will expect you to keep giving them everything they ask for—leaving nothing left for you.

To learn some additional insights take the FREE Career Burnout Assessment to find out how much you really do hate your job!

Some author’s content used under license, © 2008 Claire Communications

Or maybe it’s about working with a company executive to redesign your job description and maximize your contribution in the areas you are most passionate about. (You say impossible, but I just supported a client, as her career coach, to do this very thing to the tune of a $30K raise.)

Career growth – whether that is career change, career advancement or starting your own business – is dependent upon your willingness to take some risks. Are you ready for it, or do you prefer to play it safe and reject change?

Some questions to ask yourself…

• Does every decision involve endless debates with yourself?
• Do you accept less than what you should because you’re afraid to speak up?
• Do you have difficulty making emotional commitments to others?
• Do you make up excuses that stop you from saying yes to opportunities that will help you grow, learn or expand your comfort zone?
• Does fear of disapproval keep you from doing what you’d really like to do?

A “yes” answer to any of these questions indicates a reluctance to take risks. This may explain why you’re feeling job burnout, why you dread Monday mornings when you have to face your demanding boss or another difficult situation at work. What small risk are you ready to take today?

You have all been so generous with your birthday wishes, Facebook posts and voicemail songs in celebration of my birthday. It has meant a lot to me to return home from our vacation to all this good mojo. This really is what birthdays are about. Because so many of you have asked how my birthday was or have sent lovely cards and sentiments, I wanted to say thank you. I’ve decided to respond in a group note in an effort to answer that question once and maybe even use this story as an opportunity to shift some perspective for both myself and others. Will try not to be maudlin, but intend to truly celebrate my birthday and the precious gifts of life and love with this note.

My birthday was a huge gift for many reasons.

I got to learn that in a terrible emergency…

…it feels better to have 3 of the people you love most in the world right there with you.

…almost nothing else matters in that moment except what’s happening to fellow loved ones and other humans, that 5 seconds before you didn’t even know.

…fear and compassion can coexist without a tug of war and is actually quite healing.

…while SUVs are not the greatest for our environment, that much metal can protect us in ways we often take for granted.

…a series of small choices can create “sliding door moments” and our choices really do matter.

…feelings can live in our body tissue and cells and get released, processed or metabolized in unexplained ways that are very different in both timing and tone for each person.

…we all react very differently in emergencies. Not only is it ok, it’s “perfect” because what I learned is that very often we can each use our strengths to step into roles that are needed. What’s amazing is that this happens with zero negotiation, analysis or critical voices toward ourselves or others. The roles we step into naturally when we aren’t thinking are truly our gifts; ones connected to our Life Purpose, and probably have a lot to do with who we truly are outside the box of our business cards.

…a birthday doesn’t have to be ruined in the middle of something awful if you remember to take stock of all you DO have that truly matters.

…first responders are a truly gifted bunch of people who contribute an amazing amount to very difficult circumstances for little pay (and often grumbling from the rest of us for a variety of reasons).

…passing words from a total stranger, who is there one second and then disappears can ring poignant reminders and comfort in your ears for days and I dare each of us to be that stranger at some time.

…a second can feel like a nanosecond and 2 hours can feel like 2 days so it reminds me that time is what you make of it.

…we are connected to each other as human beings (whether we know each others’ names or not) in ways that we mostly don’t pay attention to until we do.

So by now, you’re thinking OMG, what happened? The short story is that we were involved in a terrible accident on the afternoon of my birthday while Bob and I were vacationing in the Santa Ynez Valley with two dear friends. The four of us are quite amazingly fine, but very likely not the same. Our beloved friend was the designated driver who had made a conscious choice not to do any wine tasting. The person most injured was a 73 year old motorcyclist who hit our SUV and was thrown quite a substantial distance with his bike left to bits and medivac-ed by helicopter out of the scene. Very thankfully, we’ve gotten word he is stable and doing unexpectedly well. And really, that’s all that matters so let’s just leave all the retelling of details to the police report.

Instead, use that energy that you might have asked for more details to:

• kiss your wife and tell her how much you love her
• show your partner how much you trust them
• take a shower with your husband even when there’s laundry to fold
• take your kid ice skating even when there are bills due
• know that people are not out to ruin your day, but are dealing with their own fears
• remind someone you don’t even know how much they matter
• make conscious choices
• be willing to wait for an email response for more than 24 hours because you have no idea what each person’s day has really been about
• say thank you 10 times a day for lots of reasons and
• trust that we each have our own journeys and a guardian angel or two.

Barb

I find the Universe has a funny way of delivering a kick in the butt if it’s time for us to step forward, stretch or make a change. And if we resist that change or taking a risk, a kick in the butt can even show up as a two by four if we’re not paying attention.

Ever hear of someone getting laid off or fired when they had long since outgrown the job and knew they were overdue to move on?

Mental or emotional risks can sometimes feel like we are putting our personal values or beliefs on the line. In this sense, they may ultimately feel more dangerous than physical risks, even something like jumping out of an airplane. The good news is that one seemingly risky choice can change our whole belief system of what’s possible for us. And really, if we look at it another way, risks are simply decisions we are ready to make.

These are the challenges that we are asked to face over and over again if we are to continue to grow and advance in our careers and create a life we love. As magical and synchronistic as life can sometime be, I don’t think you can create a life and career you love, waiting for it to knock on the front door while you sit on the couch. Each time we take a risk that contributes to our professional growth, enhances our self-esteem or enriches our work life, we make the choice to stretch ourselves. There are no guarantees, but what may be perceived as a potential failure could become the greatest gift you ever gave yourself.

What career planning decision is it time for you to make? Are you ready to tell the truth about needing a career transition? Is your dream job still out there somewhere?

Photo Credit C1ssou

In fact, we cause our own stress. Yep. It’s true. We create tremendous internal pressure and anxiety with bad habits all by ourselves. Consider the habits listed below. Then ask yourself what ideas you have to turn around that habit that doesn’t serve you. I’ve added a few suggestions here.

1. Self-criticism. Tame your inner critic (that’s the part of you that shakes a finger at you). Focus on your strengths and forgive yourself.

2. Powerlessness. Don’t believe you have no options. Open your eyes and see all the choices available to you.

3. Perfectionism. Do your best, but let go of the elusive goal to be perfect. Instead, be perfectly human and focus on completion.

4. Worry. Action is the best antidote, especially for situations you cannot control. Ask yourself what step you need to take now? It can be small and may not even be directly related to the situation. Maybe it’s about releasing that energy through creativity or taking a walk.

5. Unrealistic expectations. Life can never be problem-free, but your outlook can. What expectations are you ready to let go of?

6. Insecurity. Stop looking to others to provide reassurance. Build up your self-worth by doing good things for yourself and others. Listen to the part of you that knows your unique gifts and talents.

7. Hurrying. Try walking slower, chewing slower and working at a steady, but not frantic pace. You might be surprised to find yourself performing better. This might mean fewer lattes too. Sometimes sugar and caffeine can rev the motor way too much.

8. Comparing to others. This is a losing battle. The only question that matters is whether you have done your best. If this is a particular challenge for you, read #3 above again.

9. Pessimism. Expect the best instead of the worst, and life usually has a way of handing it to you. In other words, be willing to change “the lens” you look through.

10. Competition. No one has to lose in order for you to win. Try turning every situation into a win-win situation. And remember, there is literally only one unique you. By embracing each individual’s uniqueness, including your own, you free yourself from the need to compare.

Indulging in any one of these habits can turn mild work stress into full-fledged career burnout. Start today by adjusting your thought patterns with these simple suggestions, so that you can love your job again and get on the road to finding your own Internal Groove.

Self-Improvement Risks

These are the risks you take when you want to get ahead, learn something new or make a distant dream a reality. You take on the venture with hopes of enriching your life and advancing your career. Maybe you want to change careers, develop your skills or improve something that was identified on a performance review. On one side of the risk is the person you are or maybe even just the perception of who you are today and, on the other, the person you want to become. Imagine where this kind of risk can take you? Even better, think back and look for a risk you took in the past that delivered rockstar results. How did you make that happen and what were the benefits?

Commitment Risks

All commitment risks have emotional stakes whether you pledge yourself to a person, a value, a work team, a company or your own success as a business owner. According to Joseph Ilardo, author of Risk-Taking for Personal Growth, your emotional growth is dependent on making commitments. Who or what are you willing to say yes to? And yes – saying yes to yourself earns you extra credit!

Self-Disclosure Risks

Communication risks fall into the category of self-disclosure. Anytime you tell someone how you really feel, you’re taking the chance of self-disclosure. When you open up to others and reveal who you really are, how you feel and what you want and need, you make yourself vulnerable. This is why this type of risk feels so challenging, but consider that there are great gifts that come along with these types of risk. You can actually create an even closer connection to someone or get really clear that this is not a person or situation that you want to have in your life. Wouldn’t you rather have either of those outcomes over the bad feelings in your stomach for swallowing your truth? And here’s the good news: it IS possible to be assertive with grace and style with full respect for all those involved, including you.

All risks carry with them the possibility of failure, but challenging yourself is often the key to personal or professional growth and the gift of freedom – freedom to make your own choices and freedom to be who you really are. And what’s that worth to you?

A complete yes has no story behind it. No intellectualizing. No guilt . No agony. No inner rumblings. No yeah, buts. No doing it to please others. No doing it to look good or be liked. No inner critic tapping on our shoulder. It’s just YES. Period. And if it’s not that, completely, it’s a NO.

And the easiest way to say no is with the fewest number of words. As soon as you start talking too much, those who request things of us start finding holes in our story. A professional, polite no sounds something like this:

“Thank you so much for the offer/opportunity/thinking of me, but I already have a commitment so I’m going to say no.” That’s it. It does the job. Is friendly. Respectful. And, what commitment do you have? To YOURSELF. To what reeeally matters in your life. And you don’t need to get into this with anyone.

More people will respect you just from the energy you bring to this. They may not fully get why, but they will “feel” it from you. You will be dong more of what you really want. And your integrity will be fully intact without the need to runaround cleaning up stories that aren’t entirely true. Therefore, no guilt. No cobwebs. No regret. Just the truth from your authentic self. Now that is what I call “standing firmly in your own shoes.” And as they say, Rock On!