I recently hosted a workshop, called You in Demand. At the end of the workshop, I opened things up to the audience. I wanted to know what they were feeling about where they were at in their careers. I heard lots of fear.
What the women had to say about how they were feeling:
- I feel lost.
- I feel stuck.
- Since the pandemic, I just feel numb.
- Since the pandemic, I realized I really do not like my job.
- I feel old.
- I feel sad. I don’t believe I could do what I love and make money.
- I no longer feel confident in my career.
And I completely understand and appreciate where they’re coming from.
If you are believing that you’re not going to be able to find a job because you’re no longer relevant in the market, your skills are not transferable, or you believe that you can’t possibly find a job you love and get paid what you need then no surprise you are feeling hopeless and scared.
And then I remembered improv.
One of the techniques that you learn, if you’ve ever taken an improv class, is the idea of Yes, and…
In an improv skit, the actors will ask the audience to give them a scene idea. And then the job of the actors is to improvise a sketch starting with that scene, keeping it going until it comes to a natural, hopefully, funny end.
The key to keeping it going is to always respond to the other actor’s input with Yes, and …
If you were to say No, then the scene dies a quick death.
Here is an example:
Audience Suggestion: An elephant is found sleeping in a library in downtown Manhattan.
Actor 1: Did you read the newspaper today? An elephant was found sleeping at the library.
Actor 2: Yes, and it said that they found a first-edition copy of Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne by her head!
Actor 3: Yes, and they also found the word “Help” written in Honey Nut Cheerios on the carpet by the book by the elephant’s head.
Actor 4: Yes, and the tweet I read said, “#WorldEnding. People found reading a newspaper in Manhattan.”
And Scene!
Improvise Your Career Change?
What if you decided to improvise your career fears?
Let’s take the fears and Yes, and them.
I feel lost.
Yes, and I have people I can turn to for new ideas about where I might take my career next.
I feel stuck.
Yes, and I am super creative and look forward to coming up with ways to move forward!
Since the pandemic, I just feel numb.
Yes, and feeling numb isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Time for a vacation!
Since the pandemic, I realized I really do not like my job.
Yes, and I am so glad that I realized that because now I can do something about it.
I feel old.
Yes, and I have a valuable perspective because of my years of experience that smart companies recognize and want.
I no longer feel confident in my career.
Yes, and I remember that Laurie said I am one thought away from believing in myself!
I feel ready for a career change. Yes, and I want Laurie’s support! Let’s schedule a call today!
