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Seven Inner Practices for the Soul in Career Transition Crisis

Susan L Reid

Have you been waking up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat, panicked about your future and the future of your career?

Woman Juggling Is your stomach tied up in knots as you wonder if you’re going to be able to make things work out? Is your mind racing as you contemplate options, unsure about where to go from here? Do you find yourself wistfully thinking about the way your work life used to be and wondering how you might go back? If so, then you are in the middle of a career transition crisis.

It’s a crisis because you’re feeling unstable, realizing that you’re at a crucial turning point.

It’s a transition because you’re making the passage from one thing to the next and feeling out of control.

Nobody likes feeling out of control. This is especially true when making a career transition—either changing from one type of job to another, or moving from being traditionally employed to becoming a small business owner.

Transitions are rough. They’re hard on your body, spirit, and emotions. They’re tough on the people around you, your wallet, and your ego. Major life transitions beat you up, roll you over, and spit you out. Even if you planned your transition ahead of time, had all the kinks ironed out, and had everything lined up and ready to go, chances are it’s still going to be rough.

Lotus The good news is that there are things you can do to stabilize your transition. Here are the 7 main things I practiced to ease my transition from working in the Ivory Tower of academia to becoming a successful small business owner.

Seven Inner Practices to Help You Through Your Career Transition Crisis 

1.    Trust that everything in your life is unfolding exactly as it is meant to be.   Spend as little time as possible asking why or looking for answers. Trust and know.  

2.    Stay in charge of your happiness.   Understand that you determine your happiness—not someone or something outside you.

3.    Make your inner voice the predominant voice you listen to.   Turn to others for support. Turn inward for guidance. Not the other way around. 

4.    Remain unattached to outcome.   Fretting about the future or worrying about the past keep you attached. Stop doing both, and you’ll be surprised at the number of doors that open, pathways that light up, and possibilities that present themselves to you. 

5.    Stay connected.   Don’t allow your fears to multiply by isolating yourself. Remain in contact with family and friends who support your vision, and stay involved with leisure activities that you enjoy.

6.    Meditate and practice yoga, Tai Chi or Qi Gong to center and ground yourself, increase your energy, and sooth your psyche.

7.    Avoid jumping into anything new too soon.   Go slowly. When your life is disrupted by a transition—even one you initiate—it takes time to adjust to the new reality. Use that time to reflect and think about what is really best for you.

Woman Freedom Will these seven practices make your career crisis disappear? No. However, they will go a long way toward giving you some breathing room to explore what matters most to you and how you’d like your life to be. Doing these inner practices will help relax the tension in your body, clear away the fog of confusion in your mind, and allow your inner voice to speak to you.

Getting in touch with your inner voice and allowing it to guide you will put you back in the driver’s seat and turn your career crisis into a career transformation.

Copyright ©2011 by Susan L. Reid, DMA

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this blurb with it:

Dr. Susan L. Reid is a Small Business Expert and Business Catalyst for spiritually conscious women starting up businesses. She is the award-winning author of Discovering Your Inner Samurai: The Entrepreneurial Woman's Journey to Business Success.

If you're interested in finding out more about what steps you can take to ensure your lasting business success, then get instant access to your own free copy of Turn Your Business Dreams Into Reality Toolkit at http://YourSamuraiBusiness.com.



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