Using mindfulness to gain insights to your career

Having worked in consulting and tech startups, I have encountered many wonderful high-achievers who have done amazing things in their careers. What often struck me is that despite the achievements, many have the feeling of ‘I need to do more’ or ‘I haven’t done enough’. Interestingly, it is this drive and desire for growth that got them where they are, yet deep down they feel a sense of needing to rethink their strategy of constantly seeking more. 

High-achievers often come to coaching with an initial question of ‘What is the more that I want to tackle?’. During the coaching process, another inner voice tends to arise, and that is a seeking of feeling fulfilled. It is these two seemingly conflicting forces that lead to a sense of feeling blocked from moving forward. Having experienced this myself many times, I know this is an incredibly frustrating place to be!

What has helped me navigate this inner conflict, the method I still come back to regularly, is the technique from mindfulness practice. 

Often when we think about mindfulness, we immediately have the image of someone sitting still, trying to tune out the noise. Some people resist mindfulness because it seems ‘boring’ or they feel like ‘I need action, not inaction’. Yes, one of the main ways to cultivate mindfulness is through seated meditation. However, mindfulness isn’t limited to that. In fact, once you’ve understood the mechanism of mindfulness, you can employ it anywhere and anytime.

What is the mechanism of mindfulness? I’d describe it as theability to zoom out from a frustrating situation, from your thoughts, from emotional turmoils. It is the realisation that you can simultaneously experience the difficult situation and observe it from a distance and see other options. It’s an incredibly useful tool when you’re feeling stuck - it helps you connect with all the potential paths available to you. 

How can this be applied to gaining insights into your career?

In the example of earlier where you feel that sense of ‘I want more in more career’ but you’re not sure what that ‘more’ is, you could explore the following steps:

1. Observe how much you identify as this person who constantly seeks to do more. Is that the entirety of you? Can you bring to light other parts of you that also exist? I find that going for a short walk in the park or nature helps with this exercise. As you’re on the walk, pay attention to your surroundings and your being in that environment. Don’t look at your phone (better yet, don’t bring your phone). You’d be surprised by what you may notice about yourself.
2. Once you’re able to reconnect with other parts of you, listen to what those other parts may need. Often there is something else we also seek, but that career-centric voice takes over and we don’t hear the other needs. Sometimes we even try to fill the other needs by seeking more in our career because it may seem like the most familiar and obvious route. Remember, your career doesn’t exist in isolation, it is a part of your life.
3. Get creative with consolidating what you’ve observed and learned. When we put thoughts into words (verbal or written), imagery (doodle, drawing, diagram), play (visualisation, small experiments), we are able to test our assumptions and turn rumination into something constructive.

Mindfulness can help you step away from your thinking about your career and help you see the bigger picture in relation to the dilemma or inner conflict you’re experiencing. It will give you new insights to work with and help you get unstuck!