JOIN THE FREE EMAIL LIST FOR UP-TO-DATE CAREER ADVICE TO YOUR INBOX!
Job searching is hard enough. There’s just a lot to navigate:
- Writing a great resume and cover letter
- Networking well
- Interviewing well
- Finding the right jobs to apply for
- 100s and 100s of other applicants competing for the same roles
- Already working another job
- Etc.
You have to finesse and fight your way through all that, and yet sometimes those might not even be the biggest hurdle.
The biggest hurdle for a lot of us when it comes to job searching–and really any major life or career goal–is Big Bad Us.
Ourselves.
Not the competition, not the resume, not the this or that.
YOU.
You are in your own way. You need to get out of it.
And that’s much easier said than done.
So. If you have a sneaking suspicion that you may have been in your own way, keep reading.
ACKNOWLEDGING HOW AND WHY
Usually, when we’re in our own way it’s because there’s some kind of internal block going on.
Let’s call them “gremlins.”
Here are the ones I usually see in the people I work with:
- Imposter syndrome
- Fear of failure
- Lack of confidence
They manifest in phrases (internally or externally) like:
- “I just don’t think I’m qualified.”
- “Maybe one day I’ll have more time.”
- “I’m procrastinating, I know.”
- “I don’t have the confidence for that yet.”
- “I’m worried I’ll make a mistake.”
- “I’m just not sure what the right first step is.”
- “What if it doesn’t work?”
- “I’m not sure I’ll be able to do it.”
Any of this sound like you? You may have a little gremlin in your ear! That’s ok, most of us do.
If you have goals that you KNOW you really want to accomplish, but “for some reason” you keep putting it off, or refusing to fully acknowledge it, or the universe somehow just keeps getting in the way, you miiiiight have a gremlin.
You need to do something about it so you can get out of your own way.
The first step to getting out of your own way, though, is recognizing what the blockage is for you, and acknowledging that it’s actually there.
In other words, if you struggle with imposter syndrome, you have to admit that to yourself.
What that does is it allows you to more directly combat the problem and interrupt it.
Once you’ve identified what the blockage is, it’s important to understand some key things about it.
UNDERSTAND THE GREMLIN
A lot of times, your gremlins are not actually real.
They may be based on real and valid concerns and experiences, but there’s probably not a whole lot of evidence that JUSTIFIES them being a substantial influence in your life.
For example, if you struggle with imposter syndrome holding you back from making a big career transition, that’s based on a valid concern, but the truth is you’re probably much closer to not being an imposter at all.
Have you ever really been an imposter before?
→ “No, not really.”
Have you ever been hired or selected for something and subsequently exposed as a fraud?
→ “Not…that I can think of, no.”
Has anyone ever given you the feedback that your skills are trash?
→ “No.”
How do you know that your qualifications aren’t transferable?
→ “I don’t, I guess. I just don’t know that they are or how they’re transferable.”
Again, these are valid concerns. No one wants to be exposed as a fraud. No one wants to give their best shot at something that really matters to them, only to fall short.
But the point is that a lot of you have very little evidence in your history to point to–if any at all–that actually supports your imposter syndrome.
Will you have to learn some new things? Possibly.
Will you have to apply yourself and find out? Absolutely. So you need to get out of your own way and do that.
Which brings me to my next point:
YOU DON’T ACTUALLY HAVE TO DEFEAT YOUR GREMLINS
That’s right, I said it!
You don’t have to vanquish your fear of failure, or your lack of confidence, or whatever it is.
You just have to learn to now allow it to make or influence your real world decisions.
Ever been to a park or something and seen a little kid in full tantrum mode because their dad is telling them it’s time to leave?
“nnnOOOO I don’t wanna leave!!! I wanna stay at the park! You’re a bad daddy!!”
The dad is just like “Nope it’s time to go home. We’re not staying at the park.” *stuffs kid in the car*
Exactly.
Your imposter syndrome is going to kick and scream and try to lure you into getting in the way.
Your lack of confidence is going to tell you you have to sleep at the park tonight because it’s safer there.
Your fear of failure is going to tell you you just don’t have enough time, energy, skill, or whatever else to get started.
And that’s ok.
You don’t have to throw it out the car. It just doesn’t get to drive and it doesn’t get to sit in the front seat.
It definitely does NOT get to tell you you’re sleeping in the park tonight.
You have to coach yourself into acting in the presence of whatever it is that’s causing you to get in your own way.
Once you get there, I bet you’ll start making some progress on those goals you got stashed in the back of your mind and heart.
This is hard.
If you want to talk to someone about it, come let me know. You can sign up for a free consultation with me when you’re ready.
COME ALONG!
I want you to sign up for my free email list! As you learn to start getting out of your own way when it comes to your career goals, you’ll need some new tools.
I’ll send you some good gravy that’ll help you navigate your job searches and career pivots.
You’re reading this, so I must’ve struck a nerve. This is your sign to start getting active.
Sign up today for some free coaching in your inbox and let’s make some moves.
Be Gallant Coaching 