Confident Career Decision-Making Part 1

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Shon Ellis
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1 Confident Career Decision-Making Part 1 Hello, this is Chrissy Scivicque, career coach and founder of EatYourCareer.com. Iʼd like to warmly welcome you to this audio program on the topic of confident career decision-making. As a coach, I help professionals make smart decisions and take meaningful action toward achieving career goals. In todayʼs session, Iʼll be sharing a few of the powerful tools I use for helping people make career decisions (whether big or small) in a comprehensive, intelligent way. The ultimate goal is to help you feel confident in your choices, knowing that youʼve taken the time and invested the energy needed to get the best possible outcome. Letʼs face it: The world is full of choices. You want fries with that? Small, medium or large? For here or to-go? How ʻbout a coffee? Regular or decaf? Room for cream? Sometimes, the answers are so obvious; thereʼs hardly a choice at all, and the consequences of making a poor decision are so insignificant it hardly matters. But when it comes to career decisions, most require at least a little analysis. After all, your career is a big, important thing. You spend hundreds of thousands of hours at work and for most people work provides financially for you and your family. Decisions shouldnʼt be made based on gut instinct alone. When you walk into Starbucks, itʼs fine to just impulsively order whatever sounds good at that moment. But the same is NOT true for your career. Careless decisions can haunt you for years. Perhaps youʼre thinking about quitting your job or switching to a new career or asking for a promotion. Maybe youʼre wondering whether or not you should go back to school and finally finish your degree. If you donʼt give your career decisions their proper attention, you can easily end up regretting your actions. Of course, there are no right answers in life. Every decision you make branches off into another million possible options and opportunities and possibilities. And each of those sprouts another web. You simply cannot predict with any certainty what will happen. Every decision is a risky one to some extent. You can only make a best guess. And yes, sometimes even your best guess will have unfortunate consequences. But that still doesnʼt mean it was wrong. The only outcome you should regret is that which comes from a thoughtless, hasty decision. If you treat the decision-making process with care and consideration, you can be confident that youʼve given it your best. To help make it easier, Iʼve outlined three distinct steps for making confident decisions.

2 1. Conduct a rational, thorough assessment of the situation and your options. 2. Evaluate the risks and rewards based on your unique personal motivations, circumstances and needs. 3. Make your decision with confidence. Letʼs look at each step in detail. 1. Conduct a rational, thorough assessment of the situation and your options. Slow, methodical, rational assessment is absolutely essential for achieving positive outcomes. One of the ways to almost certainly end up regretting any decision is to make a quick, emotional one. Positive and negative emotions alike will taint your judgment. In order to either enhance the pleasure of a positive emotion (like excitement) or reduce the pain of a negative one (like fear, stress, anxiety or anger), people often get pushed into taking quick, inappropriate or ineffective action or they simply avoid taking any action at all. Iʼve seen people make life-changing, dramatic career decisions in the blink of an eye because they were unable to control their emotions. And every single time, theyʼve regretted it. You hate your boss? Bummer. Youʼre angry because you got passed up for a promotion? That sucks. Youʼre stressed out by a conflict with a coworker? Afraid youʼre about to get laid off? I can sympathize. But stop what youʼre doing and donʼt move a muscle. Stay right where you are. Let the emotion burn itself out before making any sudden moves. Smart decision-making requires you to slow down and think rationally. Take your emotions out of the equation and be patient. Yes, I know that sometimes you DO have to act promptly in order to seize an opportunity. But recognize that there is added risk in doing so. Factor that into your decision-making process. But donʼt get stuck in a scarcity mindset either. Remember that opportunities are endless. If this one passes you by, another will come along. Donʼt convince yourself that this is a once-in-a-lifetime thing. Most of the time, it simply isnʼt the case.

3 Aside from engaging the rational brain, another key point to this step is that the assessment of your situation and the choices in front of you must be thorough. Often, we get stuck in limited thought patterns and we stop seeing ALL of the options available. Every day, I work with people who are facing major career decisions, and they construct the most unbelievably rigid, elaborate and dramatic either/or dilemmas. I can either quit today and be unemployed in this economy for who-knows-howlong, or I can stay in this job where Iʼm completely miserable and probably die of an ulcer next year. Really? Those are your only options?? Or how about this: I can either follow my dream to be a writer and barely make enough money to survive, or I can sell my soul and become a banker. Wow. Pretty harsh world that person lives in!! But I really do hear this stuff everyday. These people arenʼt looking at the decision-making process as a creative adventure. Instead, all they see is limitation. To help you understand what Iʼm talking about, Iʼd like to do a quick exercise with you. Recently, a Fortune 500 company was looking to hire a new CEO. The following question was asked to the top three candidates. Listen to the question and consider how youʼd respond. Youʼre driving a car down an empty road on a long, deserted highway. Itʼs pouring rain and night is falling. After a while, you come upon a bus stop. Huddled beneath a little tin awning, you see three people. The first person is a sick, frail old woman who desperately needs to get to a hospital. The second person is your old best friend from high school, whom you havenʼt seen in 30 years. And the third person is someone you have never seen before but in one glance you can tell, this is your soul mate. The bus isnʼt coming until morning. The storm is getting worse. And you only have room for one passenger in your car. Who do you take with you?

4 Itʼs a big question! Do you take the sick old woman to the hospital? Do you take your old best friend? Or do you take your soul mate?? Who would you be willing to leave behind? Do you have your answer? Feel free to pause the recording if youʼd like to think about it for another minute. Of course, thereʼs no right answer to this question, but Iʼm going to share with you the answer of the man who got the position as CEO. His response was as follows: I would get out the car. I would hand my keys to my best friend from high school. Iʼd tell him to drive the old lady to the hospital. And Iʼd stay huddled under that awning, cuddling my soul mate all night until the bus came in the morning. What an amazing answer!! Can you see why this person got the job? While the rest of the candidates were looking at the limitations, thinking they could only take one passenger in the car with them, this person got creative. He didnʼt assume anything. Instead of imposing an artificial constraint (thinking he had to be the one to drive the car) he saw no limits. He saw possibility where others saw impossibility. The lesson here? Break your patterns. Donʼt let assumptions or limited thinking force you into an either/or dilemma. There are always more options. There is always middle ground. Search for the possibilities that exist between the obvious answers. Brainstorm your choices without judgment or assumption. Whatʼs in between answer A and answer B? What would be possible if there were no limits? Look far and wide, high and low beyond the obvious. Donʼt think in terms of black and white; seek shades of gray. This is where youʼll find win-win solutions like the CEO in the story. Once youʼve completed your thorough, rational assessment, itʼs time to move on to step two. 2. Evaluate the risks and rewards based on your unique personal motivations, circumstances and needs. The concept of risk versus reward is quite basic: In general, any reward comes with potential risk. The greater the risk youʼre willing to take, the greater the possible reward. Itʼs a tradeoff. If you want certainty, you have to accept a lower rate of gain. Whether weʼre talking about investments or professional growth, the theory holds true most of the time.

5 An easy way to consider the risks and rewards is to simply weigh the pros and cons of each option. What are the known consequences? Whatʼs unknown? Consider the implications each option will have on your limited resources namely: time, energy and money. Then, analyze how well each one meets your unique needs and circumstances, and how well each fits within your accepted range of risk tolerance. This is where many people fail in the decision-making process. They evaluate the risks and rewards (and sometimes spend far too much time doing so) but they donʼt filter the information through their personal lens. Instead, they rely on the input of others. They base decisions on whatʼs expected or whatʼs socially acceptable. They let the opinions of friends and family members drown out their own innate wisdom. They gather so much advice from the people around them, they begin to question if theyʼre even capable of making a decision on their own. Stop listening to everyone else and just listen to yourself. Reflect on how well your possible options align with your values. Remember that your values are an essential component of who you are at your core. When your life is in conflict with your values, the result is frustration and unhappiness. The best decisions come from a place that honors your values and will allow you to live your life in a way that continues to do so. Aside from looking at who you are, look at who you want to become. Remember your future self in the decision making process. Who is that person? What advice would she give you? How does each option move you closer to or further away from that vision of yourself 20 years from now? These are questions only you can answer. Other people do not know your values or your long-term dreams and ambitions nearly as well as you do. When they offer advice, they come with their own biases, saboteurs, emotions, past experiences and limited beliefs. Perhaps they do have your best interests at heart, but they donʼt always know what youʼre really capable of or what you really want to achieve deep in your heart of hearts. They donʼt always know whatʼs really going on in your head. And truth be told, they donʼt always want you to succeed. There are a whole host of things that come into play when people give advice and most of it doesnʼt work in your favor. They probably arenʼt intentionally trying to sabotage you, but these are the facts. Smart decisions are made based on your unique personal motivations, circumstances and needs and no one elseʼs. Of course, this doesnʼt mean you canʼt get an outside perspective now and again. Itʼs always nice to share your decision-making process with others and ask for

6 input. They may help shed new light on your situation. They may have an idea you would have never thought of on your own. There is value to be found in sharing with others. But recognize that almost everyone you speak to has some personal agenda that is separate and different from yours. Unless youʼre working with someone like a coach, who is objective and solely concerned with helping you make the right decision for YOU, the chances are great that the advice you get from others is based on their interests, not yours. That being said, there will be times when compromise is necessary and the input of others must weigh more heavily in your decision-making process. Depending on your personal circumstances, your career choices can have significant impact on others, especially your family. In such cases, make sure you and your partner are communicating clearly and that you both understand one anotherʼs perspective. And remember to look for the options in between. Sacrifice is, indeed, necessary at times for the good of the entire family unit. But you donʼt want to end up resentful. When something is deeply important to you, I truly believe thereʼs always a way to make it work. Once youʼve completed steps one and two, itʼs time to move on to step Make your decision with confidence. Youʼve assessed your situation and your options with a rational mind. Youʼve collected all the data, rejected either/or dilemmas and looked for hidden win-win solutions between the obvious answers. Youʼve evaluated the risks and rewards of your options based on who you are and who you want to become without letting the opinions of others silence your innate wisdom. So now itʼs time to take an intelligent leap of faith. Remember, youʼre not a psychic so every decision has risk, but this isnʼt a blind leap into the unknown. Youʼve done the work. Now you have to trust yourself. Donʼt get stuck in analysis paralysis. At some point, you simply have to jump. If youʼre like me, and you find that itʼs easy to procrastinate this final step because the exploration and evaluation phase becomes absolutely overwhelming, step back and set some parameters. Give yourself a very strict, predetermined amount of time to analyze and then commit to taking action. Above all else, stay positive and confident. This isnʼt the time to let fear creep back in. We all know that the easy, safe path isnʼt always the right one. A little challenge, and yes, a little calculated risk, is required for growth of any kind.

7 Whatʼs your future worth to you? Put your fear on the backburner. You have big things waiting for you. Lastly, I want to address the topic of gut instinct. Earlier in this session, I said that decisions made from the gut were fine for choosing what to order at Starbucks but not for choosing the direction of your career. That statement is really only half-true. In reality, your gut is pretty smart. If you listen, it will tell you when youʼre veering off course. That doesnʼt mean you can ignore your rational analysis. But once youʼve used your head to make your decision, check in with your heart. Does it feel right? Remember that fear may try to hide in here so dig deep. You know what youʼre capable of. You know what you deserve in this life. Ask yourself: Am I taking full advantage of all I have to offer the world? Am I challenging myself to be the best, most magnificent version of me? Am I making decisions that will guide me to the destination Iʼm seeking? Listen to your heart for the answers. Make your decision. Be confident. Youʼve done the work. Youʼve made the best possible guess, and thatʼs the best you can do. Now, enjoy the ride. Thanks for listening to this audio session. Be sure to check out part two of this program where Iʼll explore four common thought patterns that often get in the way of rational decision-making and how you can avoid them. This is Chrissy Scivicque of EatYourCareer.com, wishing you success in all your future career and life endeavors. May you be blessed with confidence in every decision you make.

Your Money Relationship. Quiz. If money was a person, what would your relationship with them look like?

Your Money Relationship. Quiz. If money was a person, what would your relationship with them look like? Your Money Relationship Quiz If money was a person, what would your relationship with them look like? Is your relationship based in love, respect, and gratitude? Or is it based in fear, scarcity, and avoidance?