Here's How to Keep Motivated as You Make a Career Change

You are looking for a career that is fulfilling and exciting. One that will get you out of bed in the morning with a smile on your face. So you begin looking for that career. Weeks go by. You are still stuck in that life-sucking job. How do you keep motivated enough to do the work it will take to find your next career?

The key to success that is most often ignored or forgotten is this... Take time to celebrate! I can hear you saying, "I have nothing to celebrate. I am stuck in this job and I haven't made the career change I want." My answer is find something to celebrate. Researchers show that people we consider successful tend to focus on their past successes . People who we would consider failures tend to focus on their past failures. We get more of what we focus on. Plus how motivating is it to focus on past and current failures? It doesn't get you out of bed filled with energy to work on moving towards a new career!

I will share with you two simple activities to help you focus and celebrate your daily successes. (Yes, you have them!) The first activity is a "Success Log." Peter Thigpen, a former vice-president at Levi Strauss & Co. kept a "Success Log" on his desk. Anytime he had a success whether it was big or small he wrote it down. Everyday he wrote at least a couple of entries. Sometimes the entries were about work, sometimes they referred to success in his personal life. When he had a bad day or when he was about to do something uncomfortable like make a speech to the board of directors or negotiate a big deal Peter pulled out his Success Log and read his previous entries. Doing this kept him focused on success and prepared him for a confident speech or negotiation.

Start a Success Log today! I don't want to hear that you have nothing to write down! Are you out of bed? Did you get the kids off to school? Did you drive safely to work? All of us have many successes everyday so write some down! Give yourself credit. Most of us have a double standard in regards to taking credit. When we complete something successfully we tend to downplay it. In contrast when we make a mistake we tend to blow it up and take full credit. Not fair! It is time to take full credit for our successes instead. Focus on success.

The second activity to help you focus on success is the "Mirror Exercise". Every night before bed simply look in the mirror, right into your eyes and say your name... I appreciate you for ______________ today. For example I might say, "Leanna, I appreciate you for going on a run today." or "I appreciate you for making that hard phone call." List five successes you have had today. When you are done look yourself in the eyes and say, "I love you." Many people have trouble with this last part because they truly have a hard time loving themselves. Do it anyway because as you change careers you need the confidence that will come from loving yourself. If you can't look into your eyes at first then look away and say it. It will get easier.

In order to have courage and motivation to take the risks necessary to have a career you love you must gather strength from your past successes. You need to celebrate each step of the way. Doing this will not only give you confidence but it will help make this career change journey exciting and fun.


Leanna Fredrich
Life Coach
If you are ready to create the career of your dreams contact Leanna at coach@leannafredrich.com.