An Antidote for Desperation

‘So much of our success in life depends upon our attitude.’

This is a truism that most people would agree with. However, it is an idea which takes on new and amplified meaning when placed within the rubric of today’s job market.

Unemployment levels are at their peak and job openings are in the gutter. This makes competition for jobs intense and it exaggerates economic worries—resulting in desperate situations.

Desperation plunges many of us down rabbit holes with no bottoms. We fall and fall and lose our way. We are so entangled in our immediate personal situation that we lose the bigger picture. In the midst of so much heart ache and fear we become lost. It is no longer about searching for a job. It is about searching for ourselves.

On the surface, it seems that the only way to counteract this self-centered spiral is to focus more energy on our job search. We believe that if we block out our problems and ramp up our job hunt we will get over the depression and insecurity our desperate situation brings about. We think that finding a job is about focusing on job openings. We could not be more wrong.

Success in any job search is interwoven with our emotional state of being. There is no way around it…’So much of our success in life depends upon our attitude.’…

Therefore, in order to find the peace and stability we need to focus on finding work, it is vital we step back and examine those job skills that matter most—our feelings.

Fear and desperation quickly degrade our ability to land a good job. However, ‘hope’ and ‘passion’ can quickly get us back on track. In fact, the antidote for ‘desperation’ is ‘passion’. ‘Passion’ comes from knowing who you are, where you have come from and where you need to be. Those individuals that successfully communicate their passion for the job they apply to tend to be the people who are hired. You can not be passionate about a job until you know yourself. Therefore, the quickest way into a job is through your self.

Find your passion and you will find a way to successfully navigate even the most treacherous job markets.

Social Media Revolution 2 (Refresh)

Social Media Revolution 2 (Refresh)

A Space for Uncomfortable Goals: Part 2 - 'Definition and Examples'

A space for Uncomfortable Goals signifies a sincere attempt to leave ones 'comfort zone' and reach out into Unknown Territory. 

Recently, I set an Uncomfortable Goal for myself. Exactly 8 weeks ago, I decided I wanted to run an ULTRA-marathon--a 50K race. At the time, I was only running about 20 miles a week. I was not in the shape to run a 30 mile race! However, I was in the mood for a challenge. I wanted to feel some pain and try and do something I was not really sure I could actually do. 

Rather then set a practical goal I set an Uncomfortable Goal. I trained hard and gradually increased my miles, ate better and started feeling better about my chances. However, according to all the experts it was still a stretch to think that someone could train for an ultra marathon in 7 weeks. I was being slightly reckless and quite frankly...I was scared. 

Nevertheless, last Saturday, I accomplished that uncomfortable goal. I ran 30.4 miles from near Mount Rainer to the Puget Sound in Washington State. I did not run fast and I thought a few times during the race that I was going to break down into small pain-filled pieces and crumble away into oblivion. 

However, I did not break and I did not quit and I finally did it. Now, the universe is just a tad bit smaller and maybe even slightly less chaotic and incomprehensible as it was before...

Six months ago, I set a similar sort of uncomfortable goal for myself. I decided to switch careers in the middle of a recession while supporting a family. I was in a job I was good at and working with people I liked. However, I was not doing what I loved and I was not using my talents and abilities to the fullest. So, I decided to take a chance and set my feet toward unknown territory. Now, I am still friends with my previous co-workers but I have found a place doing what I love...all because I took a chance and pushed the limits a bit.

I guess in many ways, I have always lived my life this way. I guess it comes from being a runner and always seeking out Unknown Territory to explore. However, now that I am older and supporting a family and growing a career I see that it is harder to take chances. So, I have begun to think about the meaning, need and purpose of Unknown Territory and Uncomfortable Goals...

I do believe now that if we want to capture the truths we knew as children. If we want to truly live life to its fullest. We would do well to realize that Unknown Territory matters and that there should be a space for Uncomfortable Goals in our lives.

Try it and let me know what you find...:-)

Are You Linkedin? Here are Some Practical Uses of www.linkedin.com for Job Seekers

Awhile ago, I wrote a more philosophical piece about the nature and need of social networking.


http://anthropologyofwork.blogspot.com/2010/05/systems-thinking-and-trend-toward.html#links


Now, I would like to post a link to an article that gives some down to earth and practical advice about how to use linkedin.com in particular to find a job.


http://blog.guykawasaki.com/2009/02/10-ways-to-use.html#axzz0qNgPONFH

A Space for Uncomfortable Goals: Part 1 - 'Unknown Territory'

I have always been a runner, even as a child.

In fact, I think most kids are natural runners, always in motion, always at play. I know I was. Most of my earliest memories involve some form of running. I even remember my first real ‘run‘, when I circumvented the city block in Colorado where we lived for the very first time. I distinctly remember feeling that running that far was unknown territory and I was not sure if I could do it. Yet, as I ran I was surprised at how quickly each corner came. My doubt and fear were slowly replaced by a sense of completeness. I had discovered something new.

Later, as a teen-ager I spent many miles on the trails and back roads of North Carolina, learning how to push that Unknown Territory further and further out ahead of me, thriving in the midst of myself, pushing through the limits imposed by doubt and fear. I won many races during that time. Yet, the real joy in running came from where my feet took me, the challenges I faced and the life-lessons I learned.  

Running has always been like this for me, a combination of wonder and fear and movement and discovery.

It is this mixture of fear of the unknown and satisfaction of completing a difficult challenge that prompts us to do many of the activities in our lives, including running. We reach out into unknown territory, holding hope and perseverance in our hands like a lantern, and we end up finding new things that make our understanding of the world grow. Fear prompts action which in turn prompts discovery.

Ironically, I think this is also why many of us stop challenging ourselves at some point in our lives. In confronting Unknown Territory we discover that sometimes darkness is hiding darkness and not all discoveries are good. [After all, it is this same psychological combination, fear + action = results, that has been used throughout history by those in power to convince people to do things they might not otherwise do. We are exposed to fear-based advertising on a daily basis. We are entertained by fear-based movies and TV. And at the most extreme, we are continuously kept ’at war’ with either real people (Iraq, Afghanistan…) or ideas (drugs, terrorism, poverty).] Bombarded by notions of FEAR at every turn, we grow weary and no longer care to explore Unknown Territory.

Nevertheless, running has taught me that it is exactly during these periods, when the world seems too dangerous and we are afraid to take chances, that we need to re-evaluate who we really are and what we really want in life. What are our goals and where is our journey taking us?

For this reason, I have decided to make a conscious decision these days to allow space for uncomfortable goals.

[part two]

Barefoot Ted's Adventures: So, you wanna start running barefoot?

Barefoot Ted's Adventures: So, you wanna start running barefoot?

--For anyone even slightly interested in trying barefoot or minimalist running please read this article above...I have been 'running toward minimalism' for some time now and it does make running more fun and my body more in tune with the process. However, as the article above shows, you have to take it slow!

I started by taking the insoles out of my trail shoes (which is still the way I log most of my weekly miles). I run in Brooks Cascadias which are already a pretty minimalist shoe (designed by Ultra Marathon runner Scott Jurek)...With the insoles out you really get more feedback from the trail and street and your feet have a little more room to move around in the shoes. Just by taking out the insoles and focusing on taking shorter and lighter steps (not rolling from heel to toes but instead running on the balls of my feet) I have noticed a world of difference. My feet, ankles, legs and knees all feel stronger and my chronic (though mild) knee pain and Plantar Faciatis completly disappeared.

Shortly after ditching the insoles I also purchased these simple shoes used by pretty much everyone in China, martial artists, traceurs , and all the Shoalin Monks :-)  ...I have put 200-300 miles on them since December...usually 3-5 mile runs but a couple longer ones... (pretty much like barefoot running but with some protection..plus they only cost $20:-)

...finally, I have been doing 2-3 mile runs barefoot as my body/feet allow it...have gotten to the point I can run on any surface for a few miles and be fine...but I am taking it very slow and I recommend the same to anyone out there who thinks they want to shun the shoe companies and actually run the way our bodies were meant to run...:-)

For What its Worth:: ‘Systems Thinking’ and the trend toward ‘Social Networking’

For What its Worth:: ‘Systems Thinking’ and the trend toward ‘Social Networking’