Sunday, October 21st, 2007

Career Authenticity - Step 1 - Assess Your Physical Health

Career Authenticity - Step 1 - Assess Your Physical Health
By Melani Ward

Feeling authentic at work can be a challenge when you hate your job and it feels like a perfectly wrong fit for you but, you can begin to work more authentically when you practice listening to your body.

Step 1 - Identify all of the things you do at work that feel counter to your authentic self. Can you name the feelings you associate with the tasks? Can you identify what is going on for you physically when you are doing or saying things that feel counter to your authentic self?

I worked with one client who was a reporter. She knew from a very young age that this is what she wanted to do. She had dreams of reporting on important pieces and writing stories that spoke to the human spirit. Instead, she found herself constantly fixated on the next big story because that s what was paying the bills. She would push and shove to get a word in and more times than she liked to admit, she found herself prying in on people s most private and heart wrenching moments. Her body would tense up and she would feel physically sick. She carries this around with her all day at work and it is not until she begins driving home at night that starts to relax.

When I asked her to identify how she felt or explain what was going on physically for her, her words flowed like a rushing river. She was very in tuned with what this was doing to her but she felt that she had no options. Eventually she realized that just the act of naming it gave her a sense of freedom and encouraged her to move on to Step 2 which I ll touch on next time.

Exercise: List as many words as you can that describe how you feel when you are conflicted about your work. Name some physical responses your body has to this incongruency and what you are currently doing to minimize them. What would you be willing to do to change your situation?

Our bodies are mirrors to how we feel inside. When we live from the outside in, we miss a critical link in the mind body connection and as a result both body and mind suffer. Listen to the lessons your body is teaching you and identify moments when you feel stressed and tight and rigid. Seek more moments of openness, lightness, and calmness in your body and pay attention. If your job is making you sick, find out what would make it better.

To find out if your career is aligned with your body and mind go to http://www.coachmelani.typepad.com/. Melani Ward is a career coach and the founder of Career Fitness. She helps people create balance in their body, mind, and work. She works with yoga practitioners and athletes on career discovery and development, resume and interviewing strategies, setting and achieving goals, and uniting who they are with what they do.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Melani_Ward
http://EzineArticles.com/?Career-Authenticity—Step-1—Assess-Your-Physical-Health&id=565886

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Career Authenticity - Step 1 - Assess Your Physical Health

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