Management consultant and author Marina Spence discovered after writing her book, Make Every Day a Friday!: The joy of connecting who you are with what you do, that without the three inner keys she describes in her book, having a smooth and stress-free transition to a new career is very difficult. Since they are so vital we will review what she recently said about Tuning In, Noticing and Knowing.
The reason the keys are so important is because change is difficult, and it’s difficult to make a change without connectedness to your inner self, and that comes about in the first inner key, which is called Tuning In. Tuning In is a modified form of meditation. It is modified because each person has to discover for themselves what the best meditation technique is to use, how frequently to meditate, and when to meditate to quiet the mind, slow down the thoughts, and allow access to their true feelings in their inner selves. Once we reach that inner space, we have clarity about who we are, what our purpose is in life, and what is the best thing for us to do in any given moment. It translates into how we convey that purpose in work that gives us a living that is meaningful for us.
The second inner key is Noticing. That is based on the Buddhist practice of mindfulness. It’s noticing where we are in every single moment. Noticing is being present, being aware of what is going on in our lives, in our thoughts, and what we are doing. When we have that single mindedness, that appreciation of what the present moment is, it allows us to be happier. Fear happens in the future and regret is about what happened in the past, but when we’re in the present moment, we’re happy. Noticing is also a wonderful way to be more productive when we’re at work because we’re wholly focused on that.
The third inner key is just Knowing, which is tapping into our intuition. Our intuition or our sixth sense
Is information outside of our five senses, and is something that we all have. It’s something that most of us have been programmed or conditioned out of, and we have overly relied on the left side of our brain, the more analytical, logical side of our brain. Intuition is a way of getting information that isn’t necessarily linear or logical, it doesn’t come from your thinking but it can come in a variety of ways, and can be just as useful.
There have been lots of studies and books that have actually shown the usefulness of intuition. When a person meditates and tries that process of quieting the mind, then that also increases their ability to tap into their intuition, this beautiful fountain of knowledge that we all have, because what gets in the way of intuition is our thoughts. Our thoughts of how things should be or how we think they should be logically. So the practice of mediation increases that road to intuition, and that’s so important when somebody is dealing with career issues. Because sometimes it is not logically clear. Should I take this job or should I not? Should I try to approach my boss at this time about a raise or should I not? Some of those things don’t come from a logical place, and being more in alignment with your intuition to make decisions can be very helpful in your career, in your career change, and finding your purpose and your passion of life.
Marina discusses the steps to stress-free career change and to career enjoyment, and many more helpful ideas, in Make Every Day a Friday! For more of what Marina had to say, click on the linked articles Make Every Day a Friday and How Hating Your Job can be a Gift.
Marina Spence is a management consultant working in the San Francisco Bay area. Purchase her book online and locally at the East West Bookshop in Seattle.
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