My exact plan for getting unstuck (Week 1)
Looking back on it – getting laid off from my ‘dream job’ was a pivotal moment for my career and life. But maybe not for the reason you’d expect.
Sure, it felt like a huge rejection and an urgent crisis to resolve.
(After all, I’d never been let go before, and in between all the shame I felt, I ALSO needed to figure out how to pay my rent.)
But that’s not why this moment mattered so much to me. Getting laid off was pivotal for a different, more unexpected reason:
It forced me to put my skills to the test.
See, up to that point, I’d been practicing innovation methods inside organizations for years. But it wasn’t until I got laid off and decided to apply the ‘tools of my trade’ to run my own Life Design Sprint that I realized the goldmine I was sitting on.
A goldmine of methods and mindsets that would eventually lead me – and now, my clients – out of self-doubt, uncertainty and ambiguity, and into clarity and confident action.
That’s right: the EXACT SAME METHODS that companies use to innovate can be applied to any work or life challenge you’re facing.
Starting today and for the next 7 weeks, I’m showing you how to run your own Life Design Sprint, step by step.
Maybe you’ve been feeling stuck in a role with no growth potential.
Maybe you’re looking for work but feeling uninspired by what you’re seeing on job boards.
Maybe you’re unhappy with your physical health but don’t know what or how to change.
No matter the problem, I guarantee these methods will bring you clarity, lock in your confidence, and get you taking action – fast.
Are you ready? Let’s dive into our first week.
Week One: Prepare Your Perspective
“Oh, how I love feeling stuck!” – said no one, ever.
Quite the opposite: feeling stuck sucks. It drains our focus and energy, not to mention our optimism and creativity.
So before we can get to any kind of ‘life designing,’ we need to talk about a reframe. A perspective reframe.
Think of a perspective like a pair of glasses; it’s the lens through which you see yourself and your potential. We all have default perspectives – our go-to ways of feeling, seeing, being and behaving.
Your perspective influences not only how you feel and what you think, but also what you do.
This means if you want to get unstuck, you have to start by changing your perspective.
Ready to try on a different perspective? Take 5 minutes and try this:
Look around you and identify an object. It could be a coffee cup, the chair you’re sitting on, your favorite souvenir from your last trip. Choose something that catches your eye (there is no right choice!).
Describe it. Write down the colors, shapes, forms and materials you notice. What is it made of? How big is it? What temperature is it? What’s it like to touch or hold it?
Expand on these descriptions to describe what this item evokes in you. Your cool-to-the-touch, blue ceramic mug might evoke the feeling of dipping your fingers into the cold ocean. Your comfortable, upholstered arm chair might make you feel held and supported. Your pair of Mickey ears from a recent Disney trip might make you giggle with silliness and delight.
Feel into and sense the emotions, sensations, and moods of your object, then give those words a title: “The Cool Blue Mug,” “The Comfy Chair,” or “Silly Mickey.” This is a new perspective to try on.
Reconnect with the problem you’re feeling stuck on. What might your new perspective tell you about this problem?
If you feel frustrated by your dead-end job, what might it be like to show up to your next meeting with the cool, fluid approach of The Blue Mug?
If you’re looking for a job but not having much success, how might you bring more support to yourself, just like The Comfy Chair?
And if you’re struggling with your health routine, what might be different if you brought some “Silly Mickey” to your next sweat session?
Give this a try with a challenge you’re facing and see how your approach shifts as soon as your perspective does.
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Next week – we’re diving into the next method in our Life Design Series: Discovering your values. I promise: values go deeper than you think!
Onward,
