Fulfillment and Burnout
We often assume that fulfilling work, work that motivates us, work we feel enthusiastic about, and work we are fully engaged in, will provide us with a protective barrier and immunity from burnout. And yet even while enthusiastically embracing our work we can inadvertently stretch, or even abandon, the very boundaries we need for self-care, […]
Identifying Skills – An Experiential Worksheet
What comprises a skill set? We often associate our skill set with the functional skills or expertise required for a specific job, role, or profession. But this lens is too narrow; it does not capture the full scope of reality. Ourskills are in fact continuously developing and expanding over the course of our lives. Our […]
Career Assumptions: In Career Development
Dominant narratives and assumptions about careers are always with us. And they can influence our career decisions and how we develop our career paths. Career conversations can bring perspective to these narratives and untangle assumptions that may be impeding the development of your career path. Let’s examine 3 examples. “I want work that I am […]
The benefits of reflective practice
Reflective practice helps us stay connected to our lives, our emotions, and our experiences. It helps us balance the imbalance of hyper-busyness that we have come to equate with productivity and success. Reflective practice (and it does require practice!) is key to deepening our awareness, gaining perspective, being emotionally attuned and flexible, and building our […]
The increasing desire for fulfilling work
As a career counsellor, I have witnessed the increasing desire for fulfilling work amongst my clients. Fulfillment is at the top of the “want” list for those experiencing career transitions, for those re-assessing their relationship with their current work roles, for those who are experiencing and navigating work-related stress and burnout, or for those in […]
Answering your questions about Career Counselling
Career counsellors bring a wealth of diverse expertise and experience to the field. Selecting a career counsellor to work with is a very personal choice and it should be the right fit for you and the areas of your career you want to explore and/or work on. I wanted to respond to some of your […]
Returning to work after burnout
When I work with clients who have experienced burnout and have taken time away from work for self-care or to seek help and/or support, they often have mixed feelings about returning to work. Whether a client is returning to the same workplace or has decided to embark on a career transition, these feelings can include […]
Motivation
I am frequently asked, “how can I stay motivated through different career stages”? While we may desire a formula for maintaining a consistent level of motivation for our work, we are human, and motivation fluctuates naturally. I would therefore reframe that question with three others, “how can I become more aware of the fluctuations in […]
Acknowledging Our Burnout
We all identify with certain narratives and expectations about work, career, and our own professionalism. These narratives and expectations are both personally created and culturally constructed; very often they are a blending of both. Burnout can, therefore, feel incongruent with how we identify as a professional, with the expectations we have of ourselves and how […]
Experiencing Burnout
Think about your own experiences of stress, possibly of burnout. What stands out for you – physically, emotionally, cognitively, relationally? Think about your place of work, and the work you do. What are some of the prominent expectations and attitudes? How is the work environment structured? Leadership? Relationships amongst colleagues? How familiar do the following […]
