Much of my approach to coaching/mentoring is based on Buddhist Psychology and mindfulness techniques. Lately, I have been receiving a number of inquiries from students and clients questioning their careers and feeling overwhelmed with constant negative thinking in relation to their situations. Below are bits and pieces of an email correspondence I thought I’d share to give some insight in case there are others out there feeling the same things.
Client: “I have a question relative to negativity and using mindfulness to fight it. I don’t get much satisfaction out of my work, and it’s tough to strike a balance between just trying to create a different response to the environment and knowing that I’m just in the wrong profession. Any advice on how to tell the difference? Thanks for your time, and I hope everything is going well!”
Wisdom Roots: “This is where the real practice lies; in how we perceive, create and navigate through our reality….particularly when our deeper understanding and knowing resists the circumstances of our life.
1. Awareness: First off, the fact that you know you are in the wrong profession is a big indication that you are moving, even if slowly, in the direction of change. Awareness is the first sign of transformation. Give yourself credit, you are young, well educated and have a promising future. You are discovering your truth early on, and gaining wisdom by asking questions. With this awareness comes the sense, and the reminder, that everything can be as temporary as you want it to be. You are not locked into this profession for the rest of your life, unless you choose to be. Remembering that it is temporary can often alleviate the tension and heavy bearing that you feel right now under these frustrating circumstances. Trust in the process of change.
2. Acceptance: Negativity grows when you feed it negative thought and resistance. Look at the situation for what it is and don’t take it too personally. Once we stop resisting and start accepting things for what they are, they negativity loosens its grip. Acceptance is a fundamental part of the mindfulness practice. You already know that you are unhappy with your profession, rather than feed the negativity associated with it, direct your energy, attention and awareness to a place of acceptance. If your attitude is that work sucks, then accept, “work sucks’, and begin to ask yourself, “what can I do about this?”
3. Compassion: This really is one of the most powerful practices. Be compassionate to yourself, don’t beat your self up with comments like, “how did I end up here.” Don’t be mad because your have discovered that this isn’t right for you. Everything we experience in life is a teacher, and everything, if we let it, will help bring us closer to our core, most certainly the things that are uncomfortable or challenging. Recognizing your unhappiness and the need for change means that there is a part of you awakening and getting more inline with your path. Be compassionate to the lessons and circumstances, they do appear for a reason, and judging them only feeds the negativity.
4. Gratitude: So simple, and yet so easily overlooked. It is ties into compassion in the sense that we are grateful for times of challenge, and negativity (so long as we don’t feed it too much) because they truly can be the catalyst that helps propel us to a new growth and transition. Look at your job and find things that are good about it. Perhaps you have met colleges or friends, perhaps you traveled, perhaps you got to simply experience it for what it is. It has provided you with learning, and based on this inquiry, some wisdom and clarity. It has helped pay your bills and put food in you belly. It has brought you to this moment.
5. New Beliefs: Right now, practically speaking, you have a job to do. Perhaps it comes down to simply going to work, clocking in, doing a good job, be mindful, accepting and compassionate throughout the day, clock out and start building you new life after hours, so to speak. Source and discover your power and happiness for somewhere else, because it will not come from this profession. You have the ability to dig deep and consider the type of profession that would better serve your passions, and then implementing the logistics of making it happen. Start examining what you want your life to look and feel like. Redefine your beliefs and you will recreate your reality. This will not happen overnight, but it is building a solid foundation for you to step onto when you are ready to leave. When you can direct the attention to something else, such as what profession you are drawn to, you start creating a new process of thinking and therefor a new reality. Old thoughts and patterns will feed the current situation, whereas new thoughts will create new patterns, new opportunities and an improved quality of living.
These mindfulness practices (awareness, acceptance, compassion, gratitude, new beliefs) will help you respond more positively to your environment. They will also prepare you for a more meaningful and balanced future. Knowing your are in the wrong profession is a positive, not negative, opportunity because it means there is potential for growth and possibility.
For the record, I used to be a private investigator for Criminal Defense Law, and I was considering training for the FBI (criminal psychology). I understand completely what is feels like to be in the wrong profession, but that does not necessarily mean that you are on the wrong path.”
If you are interested in establishing mindful or spiritual psychology/coaching for your personal questions and concerns please email me for consultation, or if you want to share your inquiry on the blog with other like minded readers. robinayoga@yahoo.com (note there is an ‘a’ between robin and yoga)
Thank you J. for allowing me to share some of our work together.
Have a beautiful day…choose it.
Blessings, Namaste, and Aho
Robin Afinowich
