Episode 45: How to Honor Your Pace and STOP "Should-ing" All Over Yourself

---

---

Hey Career Girl Nation!

This episode is on a topic that’s very near and dear to my heart. I’m diving into how to “honor your pace” or simply put: How to stop obsessing over self-imposed timelines when it comes to your career and life.

There’s a post on my Instagram account about my struggle with honoring my pace that really resonates with the people that read it. It seems like more than just a few people can relate to feeling like they need to accomplish this or that by the time they’re X years old.

As a career coach, I speak to women from various walks of life in different spaces in their career and no matter how different each of their career stories are, the one constant is the fact that they all feel they aren’t progressing through their career as quickly as they feel they “should”.

In this episode, I’m going to break down the pitfalls of living in your “shoulds” and give you practical ways you can work toward honoring the pace things are unfolding in your own life.

P.S. If you enjoy this episode, please subscribe, rate and review on iTunes.

---

---

Episode Gems You Don't Want to Miss:

• The dangers of living in your “shoulds” and why staying there leaves you feeling unsatisfied

• Why you must move away from focusing on the timing of your goals and aspirations and what to focus on instead

• The pitfalls I’ve faced over the years trying to rush through the self-imposed timelines I’ve placed on my life

• What really happens when we make decisions from a space of fear and lack

• 5 ways to finally start honoring your pace in your career and life

---

Links mentioned in this episode:

• The “Honor Your Pace” post on my Instagram account

• Episode 01: How I went from unemployed and depressed to loving life as a career coach

• Episode 09: 6 Things I did Before Making the Huge Career Switch to HR

• Episode 10: How to bounce back after being laid off

• Episode 13: How I went from $45k to Six-Figure-Status

• Episode 40: How To Prevent Burnout In Your Career

---

Let's be Internet BFFs:

• Your Career Girl Instagram

• Your Career Girl Twitter

• Your Career Girl Facebook

• Join the Your Career Girl Private Community

---

If you enjoyed this podcast episode, please take a moment to subscribe, rate and review on iTunes. This is how we can spread the word about the Deeper than Work podcast and have as many women as possible join the Career Girl Nation!

---

Episode 44: How to Know When It's Time to Leave a Workspace You've Outgrown

---

---

Hey Career Girl Nation!

As a HR leader and career strategist, I’ve spoken to thousands of women over the past decade at various stages in their career. While each woman’s experience is unique, I’ve been able to categorize the challenges women face in their professional journeys into a few main themes.

One theme that comes up a lot in my work is overcoming the challenge of leaving a job/career/company that no longer serves you. In fact, of the 100 women who’ve applied to have a free career exploration call with me since February of this year, an overwhelming majority of applicants list some variation of this as a main career challenge they’re facing: “Exiting a work space I’ve outgrown”.

With all the challenges women - especially Black women - face in their careers, it’s no surprise they’re having trouble making the leap to bigger and better opportunities at work.

In this episode, I’m discussing 1) how to know you’ve outgrown your current work space, 2) why it’s hard for you to walk away from that space even when you know you should and 3) what steps you can take once you’re finally ready to move on to the next phase in your career.

If you’re on the fence about staying or leaving your current work situation, this episode is just for you!

P.S. If you enjoy this episode, please subscribe, rate and review on iTunes.

---

---

Episode Gems You Don't Want to Miss:

• The 3 big signs that’ll clue you in to the fact you’ve outgrown your job and it’s finally time to move on

• The 5 stages of change and why understanding which stage you’re in is the first step to making a career move

• 3 reasons Black women (and all women, minorities and other people from marginalized groups) find it difficult to exit work spaces they know they’ve outgrown

• What to do once you’re finally ready to move on to the next phase in your career

---

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Overview and explanation of the Five Stages of Change

• #BlackWomenAtWork chronicles the challenging experiences of Black women trying to do something as simple as working while Black

• Episode 23: The Exact Process to Finding Your Dream Job in 21 Days (The D.R.E.A.M. Job Profile Episode)

• Schedule your Career Breakthrough Session now if you’re ready to break through their overwhelm, confusion and negative thinking to finally have 1000% more clarity about what’s next in their career

• Want to work with me, but not sure how? Sign up for a free career exploration call and let’s talk through your career goals and how I can help!

---

Let's be Internet BFFs:

• Your Career Girl Instagram

• Your Career Girl Twitter

• Your Career Girl Facebook

• Join the Your Career Girl Private Community

---

If you enjoyed this podcast episode, please take a moment to subscribe, rate and review on iTunes. This is how we can spread the word about the Deeper than Work podcast and have as many women as possible join the Career Girl Nation!

---

Episode 43: Part 2 (Where the heck have I been) Lessons learned from my silent growth period

---

---

Hey Career Girl Nation!

I’m back with Part 2 of the “Where the Heck Have I Been” episode and ready to dive even deeper into the lessons learned from my 6 month hiatus. If you haven’t already, be sure to go back and listen to Part 1 in episode 42 where I break down into detail what served as the catalyst for my silent growth period, where I went and what I did while I was away.

In Part 2, I’m digging deeper into my lessons learned during my silent growth period and also sharing the specific tools I’ve incorporated into my daily routine in order to decrease the chances of having to take such an extended leave again or worse - experiencing another bout of burnout!

Lastly, I walk you through the new direction for Your Career Girl and Deeper than Work and clearly explain what I do and who I serve.

As always, I truly appreciate all of your support and encouragement, and I’m grateful to have a community who embraces me - flaws and all!

P.S. If you enjoy this episode, please subscribe, rate and review on iTunes.

---

---

Episode Gems You Don't Want to Miss:

• The dangers of not pacing yourself, running on all cylinders all of the time and not prioritizing your goals

• Who you should be surrounding yourself with and why you need them in your corner as you move toward achieving your career goals

• How vulnerability and asking for help plays a role in your growth and why not being open and transparent is dangerous

• Why getting into deep alignment is the major key to success and peace of mind on your professional (and personal) journey

• Six specific strategies you can use to avoid getting overwhelmed and burned out in your career

---

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Episode 42: How To Prevent Burnout In Your Career

• Transformation Church located in Tulsa, OK, pastored by Michael Todd

• Who Do I Run To by singing group, Xscape

• Join the Your Career Girl Private Community

---

Let's be Internet BFFs:

• Your Career Girl Instagram

• Your Career Girl Twitter

• Your Career Girl Facebook

• Join the Your Career Girl Private Community

---

If you enjoyed this podcast episode, please take a moment to subscribe, rate and review on iTunes. This is how we can spread the word about the Deeper than Work podcast and have as many women as possible join the Career Girl Nation!

---

Episode 42: Where the heck have I been? Lessons learned from the 6 month hiatus of the Deeper than Work podcast

---

---

Hey Career Girl Nation!

It’s baaaaack! Yes! The Deeper than Work podcast is back and all new with episode 42 all about what I’ve been up to over the past 6 months!

In this super personal and candid episode, I break down into detail 1) what happened, 2) where I’ve been and 3) what’s next for me, the Your Career Girl brand and the Deeper than Work podcast.

There’s so much in store for Your Career Girl in 2019 and beyond and I’m excited to dive into so much new content and career advice in the coming weeks, but before I do that, I wanted to take the time to walk my listeners through my growth journey to not only explain where I’ve been, but to provide support and encouragement for those of you who may be experiencing something similar.

For all of you die-hard listeners of the podcast, this one is a must listen! I truly appreciate all of your support and encouragement, as always!

P.S. If you enjoy this episode, please subscribe, rate and review on iTunes.

---

---

Episode Gems You Don't Want to Miss:

 The importance of aligning on expectations for the relationships you’re in (work, personal, family, etc.)

●     Why you need to pay attention to your moods, ebbs, flows, highs and lows

●     The difference between a silent growth phase and a loud one + the benefits of each

●     The top three ways to know if you’re in need of your own silent growth phase

---

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Episode 40: How To Prevent Burnout In Your Career

---

Let's be Internet BFFs:

• Your Career Girl Instagram

• Your Career Girl Twitter

• Your Career Girl Facebook

• Join the Your Career Girl Private Community

---

If you enjoyed this podcast episode, please take a moment to subscribe, rate and review on iTunes. This is how we can spread the word about the Deeper than Work podcast and have as many women as possible join the Career Girl Nation!

---

3 Pieces of Career Advice I Wish I'd Had in My 20s

I'd like to think that when people look at me, they see a woman who’s got her stuff together – someone who is sure of herself and her career.  I am a career coach and HR professional and have the opportunity to do something for work that I love and am good at. 

I’ve hit the career lottery, but I can assure you, this hasn’t always been the case.

Throughout my time in college, I just knew I was going to become a therapist. I declared the right major, got the right grades and was accepted into an Ivy League clinical psychology program when I graduated.

Everything in my life seemed to be falling into place, which is why I stunned everyone around me (including myself) by writing a letter to the admissions office, asking to defer my acceptance into the grad program for one year.

The idea was to accept a full time job, where I'd be supporting a trading desk at an investment bank in NYC. I had it all planned - I would only stay there for one year while I saved some money to provide a cushion for when I went to grad school for my Masters and then Ph.D. Never mind that I had no interest or experience with anything related to Wall Street – that was irrelevant.   Fast forward 10+ years later, and I never made it back to get those degrees.

Although my career path has been unexpected to say the least, I've learned a lot about the world of work, human beings in general, and myself over the past decade in Corporate America.

I’m sure I could go on for hours with encouraging words of wisdom and advice (like how many hours of sleep I actually need and how I do my best work a few hours before a deadline), but the biggest career lessons I’ve learned can be boiled down to 3 main points.

1. IF YOU DON'T MAKE YOUR OWN CAREER CHOICES, SOMEONE ELSE WILL MAKE THEM FOR YOU

This is a concept that I really wish I'd grasped earlier on in my career. I spent the better part of 5 years going through the motions every day and letting my career be dictated to me by my company, my boss and my family. If I'm being honest, the decision to abandon...I mean defer grad school and enter corporate America was solely to please other people. I never felt anyone truly believed in my dream to become a therapist, and even those that did, were still convinced it would never make me any real money.

Sure, I was paid well on Wall Street, but my hours, wardrobe, interests, and social life were controlled by my job. What good is making a lot of money if you’re working 12-hour days and weekends, never given the chance to enjoy it?

2. TAKE RISKS SOONER RATHER THAN LATER

The beginning of my career – before the husband, the kid and the mortgage – would've been the perfect time to explore some of my riskier dreams and passions. I've always wanted to work and live abroad, become a teacher, work for a non-profit and join the Peace Corps.

While I know I can still accomplish at least one of these things and there's no expiration date on going after a dream, I have to admit that it's a lot more challenging to do so with a 2 year old in tow, no matter how adorable she may be.

3. KNOW WHEN IT’S TIME TO WALK AWAY

I knew on my second day at that investment bank that it wasn't the right fit for me. Yet, even with that knowledge, it took five years before I did anything about it.  That's five years of not working in my purpose, five years of mindless, soul crushing work and five years of unnecessary stress that led to weight gain, health issues and sad times.  Looking back, I can tell you that I was paralyzed by fear – of failure, change, and the unknown.

Would my career journey have been easier if I knew then what I know now? Sure. Would I have ended up in a drastically different place than I am today?  Maybe not.  Eleven years after college graduation, I can tell you with 100% certainty that I have zero interest in being anyone’s therapist.  I also believe that I would've come to this same conclusion even if I went off to the Ivy League instead of Wall Street.

We spend most of our waking hours at work, and while it would be amazing if every person were given a step-by-step, specific blueprint of how to navigate the 40-50 years they spend at work, this just doesn't happen. The best we can all do is to learn from our mistakes and have the courage to change direction when the current path isn't working.  This is my goal every single day and I hope it's yours as well.

If you're currently on a career path and you think it's time for a bit of course correction of your own, check out the Career Makeover toolkit. My free 5 day guide to transforming your career into the one you've always wanted.