Acknowledge the distress
The best thing you can do to deal with career uncertainty is to acknowledge your feelings. That might mean verbalizing your concerns to friends, family, or a counselor. You may also want to make sense of what’s happening by writing it down. This could take the form of a journal or simply a list of all the things that worry you.
Learn the art of surrender
Once you write down all the things you may be concerned about, identify the items that are out of your control. Then try to let go of those fears so you can focus on what is within your sphere of influence. This exercise will help you to move forward while feeling more in control and less of a victim.
Focus on what you’re grateful for
Mindfulness helps us pay deeper attention to the ordinary things in our lives that we so often take for granted. Write down everything that you’re grateful for. This will help calm your stress and anxiety so you can deal with career uncertainty from a place of abundance rather than despair. A few ways to do this include starting a gratitude journal or even a virtual gratitude group. By getting a few friends together on a Facebook group, for example, you’ll be able to hold each other accountable while lifting each other’s spirits.
Serve others
Helping others through volunteering or other ways doesn’t just make the world better—it makes you better too. In fact, there are scientific benefits in serving others. Studies suggests that assisting others helps us manage our own emotions, decreases symptoms of depression, and ultimately, improves our emotional well-being.
Some ways to do this are:
- Donate blood to the Red Cross
- Contribute to your local food bank
- Call or text your neighbors (especially the elderly) to check in on them
- Show your appreciation to people putting themselves at risk every day, including grocery store clerks, health care workers, police officers, firefighters, sanitation workers, postal workers, delivery people, and so many others.
Open your mind
When we are faced with career uncertainty, it can give us a chance to pause and reflect on the direction we are taking.Give yourself a chance to dream and visualize your ideal job scenario. Ask yourself some key questions:
- What careers have you brainstormed or fantasized about?
- What work have you thought you might love to try at some point?
- What new field(s) have you thought about getting more education or training in?
Now may be just the time to consider a more fulfilling career option. As Albert Einstein said, “Life will only change when you become more committed to your dreams than you are to your comfort zone.”
The current environment can feel daunting. But there are steps you can take to take charge of your future. Don’t let the current situation paralyze you. Instead, focus on what is within your sphere of control. Before you know it, you’ll find yourself back in the driver’s seat with a career and life you love.
