Let’s face it. The COVID-19 pandemic, the economic consequences of lockdown and the continuing infection across the country (plus, the world) mean that we still don’t fully understand what the “new normal” will look like. Especially as “back to school” is just around the corner.
I’ve seen people get laid off, businesses forced to pivot completely or close, essential workers afraid whether they are exposed to round 1 (or round 2) on their commute or at work, and others who decided to move back home with their parents to make life work.
At the same time, many people blessed with the security of their jobs and who get to “work from home” while taking care of or homeschooling their children, can still pay the rent or mortgage. I know many who are taking the uncertainty of the future as an opportunity to move out of the city to a place that has open space and nature, or just live the nomadic lifestyle in a van. There is a lot of privilege to have the means to do this… but I give them credit for seizing the day. For having the guts to do so.
In these times of uncertainty, now is a great time to take a pause and reflect on your career. You may be saying to yourself that you don’t really know what you want. And that’s okay! Or you feel selfish that you don’t want to go back to school or the office because you want to put the safety of your family first. And that’s okay too.
These are real situations and real emotions that come with it. No matter what your own situation is, whether you love your job or you’re rethinking your direction, whether you’re feeling lost, angry, or excited, let’s pause to really feel and appreciate the humanity in that… in your ability to even feel these feelings.
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I decided to channel a reading to see what the highest guidance is for us at this time. The situations may not apply to you, but the questions they pose are universal. Here is what the Guides say:
“Today, let’s talk about career. There is a lot to be said right now as people hold on to their jobs, as they think about whether they want to risk their own lives and the lives of their loved ones to not only provide a SERVICE through their jobs, but also to earn money to feed their families.
A career is something that speaks to your heart and also is practical.
There is nothing WRONG with earning a good wage to support your loved ones and also pursuing those things that you REALLY care about -- whether it is through reading, sharing, volunteering, or expressing yourself through the arts or other form of creativity.
There is nothing WRONG with earning a paycheck. And there is nothing WRONG with feeling like you don’t want to risk even a fraction of what frontline healthcare workers have risked because you are afraid of getting sick.
No matter what time it is right now — either during or after a pandemic — the timeless questions are this:
How do you want to spend your time, if it is finite?
How do you want to spend your free time and how do you want to spend your working time?
Do you want to spend it resenting your job or wishing you had another, or do you want to pour yourself into the excitement and feeling of open possibilities as you look for others?
Do you want to spend it hating your boss or company for demanding things of you or setting expectations that you don’t agree with or do you want to take a STAND for what you believe in?
Whether this means you take a different path because of the pandemic, or you embrace the uncertainty and exploratory phase of this part of life, you can CHOOSE what kind of EYES you see THROUGH.
Your PERSPECTIVE is what guides your attitude and what guides what doors you are capable of seeing.
You understand on a base level that when you are in a negative perspective, seeing yourself as small, unworthy, or not good enough, that you will automatically see those doors closing in front of you, whether or not that is ACTUALLY true. This is the illusion that you may have heard of -- the illusion that things are permanently the way they are.
Instead, EXPERIMENT with shifting your perspective.
Put on a different hat. Put on a different pair of sunglasses. Put on the rose-colored glasses, the ones that let you see everything in a different light so that you can pick out the details and opportunities you seek.
Try shifting your perspective when it comes to your career. And really look at your life to see -- is this how you want to spend your time?
If the pandemic is teaching anything, it is that life is precious. Time is precious.
All we have is this present moment, when we can be AWARE, and in AWE of what life is capable of bringing us -- all the ups AND the downs.
Because those experiences --- that is what LIVING is all about.”
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What does this reading bring up for you? I recommend journaling on these questions and experimenting with this shift in perspective.
Let me know what you come up with and how your process is. This can be an exciting phase of your life, but first, comes seeing in the way your soul wants to see.