A new career search, by its very nature, requires us to be flexible, honest with ourselves, and willing to live outside our comfort zone.
Be flexible. There will be times when you'll have to change your tactics, your thinking, and even your goal. You'll have to evolve in response to the circumstances you encounter. You must be willing to shift your ideas, plans, and strategies along the way.
Be honest with yourself. There's always the possibility that you're getting in your own way, and you'll have to be willing to admit it. Maybe it's an ingrained attitude that's self-defeating, or a basic limitation that needs to be acknowledged: "Am I really a great multitasker?" "Do I truly prefer to run things? Or am I better at doing the job itself?"
It's better to know the difficult truths about yourself, your likes and dislikes, before signing on for more of the same misery at a different job. Have the courage to look within so that you can head toward what you want, not run from what your can't face.
Be willing to live outside your comfort zone. Whenever there's change, there's going to be a certain level of discomfort. This is fundamental... The more you practice tolerating change, the easier it gets.
You know this intuitively, but there's actually a scientific basis for it. When new information floods in - as it will during your career search - it is stored in the the brain's home for working memory. This is the brain's "holding area," where it stores new input to be compared with other information. This part of the brain is an energy hog; it can hold only so much data before it begins to get overwhelmed. The trick is to make these "new" things familiar - to get comfortable outside your comfort zone - so that they move from the prefrontal cortex to the basal ganglia, a less energy-intensive part of the brain where the neural circuits of long-standing habits and routines are stored.
Give yourself permission to Want it, Have it, and Be it!
http://www.employmentpipeline.com/
adapted from "The 10 Laws of Career Reinvention" by Pamela Mitchell
