Push, Pull, or Ignite
Many of the conversations I have with professionals are around a transition they want to make in their careers.
There are three energies I see in career transitions: push, pull, and ignite.
Push Energy
If you feel burned out, work in a toxic environment, or aren’t working in your zone of genius, you may feel push energy.
These are all good indicators that you need to make a change.
Leaving your job becomes the single most important thing. You want freedom from your job.
It is almost as if you are being pushed out.
While push is a good indicator to listen to, push energy is not a great place to come from.
If you show up for an interview and all you know is, “I’m burned out, I need a change,” you will bring your burned out energy with you to the interview.
And that’s the impression they will have about you.
This is hugely problematic, because there is so much more to you than that burned out energy. So. Much. More.
So we need to shift that.
Pull Energy
If you have something to run toward that is pulling you forward, then you are filled with excitement and anticipation for what’s next.
You are creating freedom to pursue new career endeavors.
And that’s the energy others will sense when you are speaking with them.
So how do you generate pull energy if it’s not already there? Or how do you shift from push energy to pull energy? Even when you haven’t identified that next job?
This is the space where magic happens. A few questions to help:
Remember your prior career accomplishments. What are you most proud of? What impact did you create? (Write down how you feel after recalling this.)
What makes you feel alive? What are the activities that when you do them, you lose track of time and enter a state of flow because they are so energizing? This is your Zone of Genius. It’s the thing that only you can do to generate the results only you can.
What matters to you most at this phase in life? Identify your top 3 values.
Where do you see a need and know you can contribute?
Are you starting to feel a pull toward something new?
Ignite Energy
I once met a woman who started a non-profit to advocate and provide legal counsel to stop the illegal disposal of hazardous waste that was a threat to the families and children in her community.
She was on fire.
She was on a mission so powerful, nothing could stop her.
Photo by Cullan Smith
My cousin’s daughter was born with Cystic Fibrosis. She and her husband tirelessly fundraise for the CF Foundation every year.
She is on a mission so powerful, nothing can stop her.
When you have a powerful mission, you can do things that would be considered impossible in ordinary circumstances.
There is something known as the mama bear effect, and mothers have been known to save their children from near-death situations, even lifting a car off their child’s body.
When you are on a mission that is so powerful, nothing can stop you, you have ignite energy.
Others that you encounter are also ignited with your energy.
You are setting the world on fire.
You cannot be stopped. Motivation isn’t a question. You don’t have to wonder if you have what it takes. The mission is too powerful.
Can you feel the energy?
__________________________________________
If you’re in a transition, what kind of energy are you putting out into the world?
I’d love to know.
