Questers Dare to Change Your Job and Life, by Dr. Carole Kanchier, shows how to start the fall season with a positive mindset.

Positive Mindset
Questers with a positive mindset are open to experiencing new things in all areas of life. They believe we are continuously growing. They seek opportunities tor improve their personal and professional lives. Questers with a positive mindset tend to possess the following traits:

– Desire to seek new challenges to grow
– Open to criticism and negative feedback to grow
– View failure or setbacks as opportunities to lean
– Persevere to overcome setbacks
– Find inspiration in others accomplishments

Questers with a positive mindset have the ability to see opportunity in the face of hardships. They tend to reach higher levels of success than those with a fixed mindset, because they have the motivation to learn and put in the extra effort required to succeed.

Questers don’t accept the idea that intelligence is a static. They believe that everyone has the ability to learn and develop high-level skills.

Take the Questers Quiz to determine whether you have a positive mindset and other Questers traits: www.questersdaretochange.com.

Rigid Mindset
People with rigid mindset think our abilities are predetermined from birth. They believe their mental capacity is static and cannot be changed or expanded upon.

Characteristics of those with fixed mindset include:
– Inability to hear negative feedback or criticism
– Threatened by others’ successes.
– Give up easily when things don’t go as planned.
– Avoid challenges or tasks requiring extra effort
– Avoid failure to prove their intelligence

A rigid mindset holds people back from reaching their potential. They avoid experiences that will allow them to grow personally and professionally. The inability to accept failure will prevent them from pursuing information or tasks that don’t come naturally.

New Beginnings
There are times when we all find ourselves themselves trapped in a rigid mindset approach to life. However, it’s important to understand that a static view of the world hinders us from achieving our endless potential. When we look at the world with an open mind, the universe is the limit for attaining desired goals!

– Believe in yourself. William James, the father of American psychology, said: “Your belief at the beginning of a doubtful undertaking is the one thing that ensures the successful outcome of your venture…” When you expect the best, you release a magnetic force in your mind, which by the law of attraction, tends to bring the best to you.

– Recognize you create your own thoughts and have power to change them. Think and talk about the kind work you want. Use positive statements about such things as enjoying your colleagues, having a supportive boss, and being in control.

– Concentrate on successes. Prepare a list of personality and work-related accomplishments, or create a collage using pictures that illustrate you succeeding in your ideal work setting. View this daily.

Review work accomplishments. Note the role belief and hard work played in achieving successes, and strategies used to accomplish results.

– Be genuine. Discard preconceived notions of what others think, and recreate the person you are, and want to be! Don’t compare yourself with others. Judge your job accomplishments against personal standards of self-improvements as well as company standards. Strive for excellence rather than perfection. Ask your supervisor for feedback and support.

– Break the worry habit. Empty your mind of worrisome thoughts about your job before sleeping to avoid retention of these thoughts in your subconscious. Picture the troublesome thoughts flowing out of your mind like water flowing from a basin.

– Forgive. Forgiveness is pardoning without harboring resentment. Release an old hurt about a colleague who started a malicious rumor about you. You don’t have to befriend the individual, but you must release negative emotions associated with that person. When you hold onto pain, you’re allowing that person’s actions to continue to hurt you.

– Define a clear career goal, and expect success. Be motivated by desire and goal attainment. When you arise in the morning, review this goal. Take one forward action step. Reward yourself for attaining this.

– Fall clean work space. Remove clutter. Add a plant or flowers for beauty and energy boost.

Remember, fall is about new beginnings and cultivating optimism. Use this time to create and pursue the job and lifestyle you want!

Questers Dare to Change Your Job and Life, offers inspiration, insight, and practical strategies to create your desired career and life. https://www.amazon.com/Questers-Dare-Change-Your-Life/dp/1508408963

Are you always jamming your schedule, feel you can’t waste a second? Do you allow the clock to manage you? Or, do you feel comfortable trusting your intuition to guide your time?

To better manage time, we set priorities and schedule our days and months. But we often still feel pressured, lack total control.

The conventional approach to managing time was appropriate for the Industrial-Age, but is this effective in the Information Age?

Most of us think of time in the linear way that has dominated Western thought since Isaac Newton imagined time to be a forward movement of orderly, unchanging hours, months and years. We manage time by inserting appropriate tasks into the right slots. And when our schedules don’t follow such orderly paths, we think we’re undisciplined.

This linear concept of time is useful but incomplete.  Another way of viewing time is to perceive it in a holistic fashion, and experience it through intuitive feelings. This requires that we transcend the parts to see the whole.

Albert Einstein pioneered a new view of time and the universe. Contemporary scientists such as David Deutsch, a quantum physicist, emphasizes that the structure of the universe is made in the image of its underlying field. The physical character of atoms, proteins and cells including people are controlled by immaterial energies that collectively form that field. This unique spectrum represents an invisible moving force that is in harmonic resonance with our physical bodies.

Time is infinite, inseparable from and interrelated with the universe.  Because time is limitless and highly personal, we can go within to establish a comfortable range of rhythms and balance.  We can manage time intuitively.

An ancient Chinese Taoist philosophy, described in The Tao of Time: A Revolutionary Philosophy and Guide for Personal Time Management, offers time management ideas that are consistent with current scientific views.

Taoism emphasizes the now. Living in the present helps eliminate clock-induced stress because we practice mindfulness, focus on present tasks.

Relaxation, patience and contemplation enable us to approach tasks openly at the appropriate time. When we wait for the right moment, actions tend to fall into place.

Taoism is concerned with being present in the moment. Once we have achieved being, doing and having will follow. We’re flexible, can respond to the moment. We can change plans with minimum discomfort, approach projects with new perspectives.

When we shift our thought patterns and fine tune our intuition, we can make quick decisions that we might have agonized over previously because we don’t have time to doubt.

Many of us prefer to act rather than contemplate. We surround ourselves with time-saving devices to make things happen on cue. We push to make things happen, creating resistance. In our hurry to achieve and acquire, we ignore our intuition and natural rhythms. Under pressure, we feel anxious, respond negatively.

Four interrelated Taoist principles form the underpinnings of this way of looking at time: nonresistance, individual power, balance and harmony.

– Nonresistance.  Resisting the natural flow of events consumes energy. Therefore, instead of forcing events, we should trust in the moment and allow them to develop naturally. We’ll be more content and creative.

Many of us tend to create resistance. Our schedules are so tight that we panic, become angry at one more intrusion on our time.  We worry that every interruption could further burden an already overloaded day. Our attitudes become defensive, unhappy and unproductive.

– Individual power. With individual power, we trust our intuition, and assert our right to control our time.  We give ourselves permission to step back and look at the problem.

Trusting intuition enables us to remove extraneous details that cloud our vision and decisions. We enhance clarity, confidence and efficiency. A challenging situation now seems effortless. Often, in our haste to stay on schedule, we experience clarity after the fact.

– Balance. This idea suggests our inner selves and daily activities are synchronized. To be balanced, we need to find our “centres,” and listen to and act upon inner cues. Rediscovering our natural rhythms eliminates the feelings that we’re constantly in a tug of war with schedules.

Most of us seek balance. We tend to schedule our days combining specific amounts of work, personal and civic-related time. But instead of tuning into our inner needs, we usually proceed on automatic pilot.

– Harmony. This concept suggests we’re synchronized with our environments. We’re not separate from time and the universe, but rather an intrinsic part of these, an element of the grand scheme of the universe.

In summary, nonresistance teaches us to let go of our prepackaged approach to time management and allows events to unfold. Individual power enables us to assert our right to control our time. Listening to and trusting our intuition help us live in the moment and balance daily activities. Centered, we no longer feel guilty about past actions or fear future choices.

As we become comfortable with the foregoing concepts and rediscover our natural rhythms, clocks and schedules won’t control us. We can use them as tools rather than absolutes.

Can you find a balance between the holistic and linear ways of perceiving time? How can you integrate these concepts into your management of time?

Learn more in my book, Questers Dare to Change Your Job and Life https://www.amazon.com/Questers-Dare-Change-Your-Life/dp/1508408963

Most successful people have learned to risk. The good feelings that result from taking a risk can be incredible. You see yourself as a survivor. You force yourself to grow by calling on abilities you haven’t used. Achieving your goal will enhance your sense of accomplishment, self-confidence and knowledge.

Are You a Risk Taker? 

Answer “yes” or “no.”

1. I often wish people would be more definite.
2. When I want something, I’ll go out on a limb for it.
3. If the possible reward is very high, I would put money into a business that could fail.
4. I like to plan my activities.
5. I enjoy taking risks.
6. I prefer job challenge to job security.
7. I enjoy working on problems that have ambiguous answers.
8. I accept the possibility of failure.
9. It bothers me when something unexpected interrupts my routine.
10. I trust decisions I make spontaneously.
11. In games, I usually go for broke.
12. Once my mind is made up, that’s it.
13. I’m in favor of very strict enforcement of laws regardless of the consequences.
14. I try to avoid situations that have uncertain outcomes.
15. I would not borrow money for a business deal even if it might be profitable.

Scoring: 2 points for responding “yes” to each of the following statements: 2, 3, 5, 6,  7, 8, 10, and 11.  A score of 10 or higher, suggests you enjoy taking risks. You are autonomous, like challenge, are confident, flexible and open to new experiences. However, if your score is 14 or more, your desire to risk may sometimes be extreme. A score of 4 to 8 suggests you may be open to some new experiences, but are overly organized or rigid in other areas. If you scored 3 or lower, you prefer a secure, well-ordered lifestyle.

If you want to develop your full potential, learn to take planned risks. Try some of the following:

— Make small changes first. This enables you to develop confidence and trust. You can then move on to more major decisions. Experiment with a different hair style or food. Change your routine. At work, offer new ways of tackling a job.

— Have a goal. A risk without a clear purpose can backfire. Focus on things you can change.  Have positive expectations, do your homework, know the pros and cons, and listen to your intuition.

— Believe in yourself. Affirm yourself. Replace any negative thoughts or statements with positive ones. Avoid phrases such as, “I can’t,” “I will never. …”

— Turn failure or crises into growth opportunities. Consider “failure” a temporary setback. Depersonalize setbacks. Learn from these. Ask yourself what you would do differently and then make the necessary modifications.

— Look upon something new as an exciting opportunity to challenge yourself and to grow. If you don’t try, how will you ever find out if you can do it?

— Balance tentativeness with commitment. Set goals but don’t write these in stone. Be open to new experiences.

— Establish a support group. Confide in and ask for help from supportive family or friends. Associate with positive people.

— Describe barriers that are blocking you from making a desired change. For example, Personal Barriers include fear of loss of a secure income; fear of failure (such as starting a new job); fear of what others will think; fear of success; and guilt that change might create family hardships.

Societal Barriers include old notions of “career”; outdated retirement policies; traditional gender roles; and blocks imposed by educational institutions, unions and professional associations.

— Complete the Fantasy Risk Exercise: Think of an important risk you would like to take.  What appeals to you about taking this risk? What would you gain?  What is frightening about this risk? What will you lose?  What’s the worst thing that could happen if it turned out badly? If the worst happened, what would you do?

Where could you get information to pursue this risk? From whom could you get support? What could you do to make this less risky? Less irreversible?

If you broke the risk into small steps, what would the first step be? How soon could you take it? Do this for each step. Evaluate the outcome of the risk. Did it turn out as expected? If not, why? What have you learned?

Celebrate your success whether or not it turned out as expected. Gradually, you will see yourself as a risk taker.

Creating a life worth living and finding the courage to risk pursuing you dreams isn’t easy, but you can do it! Questers, described in Questers Dare to Change Your Job and Life, shows you how!

https://www.amazon.com/Questers-Dare-Change-Your-Life/dp/1508408963

Where to start?

1.  View yourself as an entrepreneur.  Think of yourself as a product to be sold, rather than a job seeker. Your ability to get the job depends on how your accomplishments and skills can benefit potential employers, and how well you communicate these benefits.

2. Develop a positive mindset. Focus on what you can offer and rewards you’ll receive.  Believe in yourself, your product. Expect good things. Practice positive self talk. Use phrases such as, “I can . . .” Develop a positive support system.

3. Prepare. Identify organizations with which you’d like to work before they advertise openings. Know their needs, goals. Design resumes and other marketing materials to show how you can address needs.  Write a different resume for each target. Show how your experience, skills and accomplishments match job requirements, and how you’ll benefit the organization. Demonstrate how you can make or save money, help people feel good, or expand markets. Prepare a portfolio illustrating sample accomplishments.

Target decision-makers to determine job openings.  Request introductions, cold call or email.  To capture attention, offer creative comments about the organization, and devise innovative solutions to identified challenges.

4. Be genuine.  When you’re excited about a job that reflects your passion, possibilities arise.  Similarly, when you’re natural and honest, marketing is easy, successful.

5. Toot your own horn. Keep people informed about recent accomplishments. Use “I” statements to demonstrate achievements. Express feelings and opinions directly, honestly, assuredly. Maintain eye contact. Hold your head high, shoulders back.

6. Network continuously. Networking should be mutually beneficial.  Offer contacts assistance and ask for help.  Word of mouth is the best marketing strategy. Ask people, who have contacts in desired organizations, to help you secure meetings with decision makers. Thank contacts.  Timely, consistent follow-up is essential. Call or meet contacts periodically. Record contact activities.

7. Make effective phone calls. Cold call to ascertain job openings. Prepare by role playing before calling. Give yourself pep talks.  After a 10 second introduction, ask whether the decision maker has a few moments.  If so, refer to a series of written talking points including questions  to ask, facts to present, and answers to prospective questions. Request a meeting.  Also follow-up employment interviews to determine where you stand in the hiring process.

Use voice mail. Call busy people before 8:30, after 5:30 and during the lunch break. Leave messages. If they’re not returned, call back.  Don’t leave more than three messages over a ten-day period. Call again in a month. If you don’t get responses, send emails.

Consider using voice mail as an advertising medium. Compose “commercials” revealing interesting facts about what you can offer.

8. Be visible. Get involved in community events such as Chamber of Commerce activities and professional meetings. You’ll get most value from a group if you become a member, and go to the same group’s events rather than new groups all the time. Volunteer.

Enhance communication skills. Practice giving presentations, conducting meetings and listening nonjudgmentally. Join your local Toastmasters.

9. Know how to work a room.  Arrive relatively early. When meeting people, give a 10 second self-introduction, and a firm handshake. Discuss common subjects such as industry gossip or interesting things people have done.  Move around. Before leaving, indicate your desire to meet again.

10.  Look and act professional. Appear savvy, contemporary.  Dress with authority. Tailored dark suits with crisp shirts are appropriate for both genders. Coordinate pieces. Wear flattering colors and styles, well-maintained shoes. Have hair styled professionally. Avoid strong fragrances. Radiate energy, enthusiasm, friendliness, confidence and competence.

11. Be patient. Know the difference between what’s really happening and what you think is happening. When decision makers don’t call at assigned times, it’s probably because they don’t have time. If people say they haven’t had an opportunity to look at your resume, they probably mean more pressing projects have come up rather than they’re not interested. Ask when to call back. Keep in touch. Persist.

12. Follow the examples of the Questers described in Questers Dare to Change Your Job and Life.

Tom was approaching 30 and he wanted to step off the treadmill, but to do what? He needed time to rethink his goals.

Tom and his wife, Elva, decided on a moratorium — a time-out from responsibilities and commitments. They sold everything and bought a van. “But you’re giving up everything. … What will you do when you come back?” everyone cried.

After driving throughout North America, they settled in a small town. Tom does carpentry, an old hobby, and Elva is a bookkeeper. They have no regrets.

Time-out or moratorium was initially used to describe the period that adolescents go through while trying out roles in establishing their identities. Adolescents are given permission to delay adult commitments as they search for roles that fit. Those who experiment emerge stronger and more in control of their destinies.

But time-out is becoming more acceptable for adults. Adults want to derive more meaning from work and to define success personally.

Those who take moratoriums return from their breaks with greater vitality, enhanced self understanding, renewed confidence and greater vigor and courage to pursue their goals. They are healthier, revitalized.

Nevertheless, time-out may involve temporary personal or financial sacrifices or uncertainties. Tradeoffs include fear of not having a job to return to, loss of security or guilt that one won’t meet obligations.

Organizations are taking a more liberal view of time-out. While some have offered sabbaticals every five to ten years, many are recognizing that those who take time-out bring greater creativity and renewed vigor to their old or new positions.

Your identity is not static. You continue to learn and grow. Throughout life you progress through alternating transitional and developmental periods.

Transitions, which generally occur during late adolescence and around every birthday that ends in a zero, are times for questioning who you are and where you want to go. Time-outs usually occur during transitions.

Should you take time out? 

You must do what’s best for you. Responding “yes” or “no” to the following will help you clarify feelings:

1. I’m not sure what I want to do with my life.
2. I’m disenchanted with my lifestyle.
3. I question the importance and meaning of my work.
4. I feel stale or tired.
5. I’m restless.
6. I’m irritable and impatient.
7. I’ve explored many occupations, but don’t know what to do?
8. My body is sending me messages. I have frequent colds or other ailments.
9. I lack a clear sense of purpose.
10. Many things get me down.

Scoring: Four or more “yes” responses suggest you should consider at least a month off or get professional help. The more “yes” responses you have, the more you need time-out.

Prepare for Time-Out

– Listen to yourself. This will help clarify what you want. Believe you’ll succeed.

– Define and overcome barriers. Describe any blocks that are preventing you from taking time-out like fear of losing material things, power or prestige; fear of making a mistake; not knowing what you’ll do when you return; or guilt that change may interfere with relationships. What can you do to overcome the barriers?

– Let go of attachments. Growth requires letting go of material possessions and people. Ask yourself, “What do I need to let go of?” “What’s the worst thing that can happen if I let go?” “What can I do to minimize the risk?”

– Assess your finances and budget. Consider how much money you’ll need to live on. Can you survive on your partner’s salary? Live on savings for a year? Work at odd or part-time jobs? Live on less? Borrow money to survive?

– Know you have many exciting options. Investigate these. Research and planning will reduce risk.

Gloria took a sabbatical from teaching to study psychology. “I needed time to rethink the direction of my career,” she offers. Recently married and laid off, Barbara is enjoying the pleasures of day-to-day-living and developing previously ignored life components.

Mark’s illness, caused by job stressors, forced him to take time-out. During his convalescence he reassessed his career goals and researched his dream business. Today, this former executive describes his life as, “Disneyland … fantastic.”

Show prospective employers how you bettered yourself.  Many employers will respect your strength and courage.
Present a solid reason for your time-out. Have clear goals and focus.

Continuous learning is a hot topic so explain your new knowledge, self-understanding or skills. Illustrate how your enhanced creativity, enthusiasm, vigor and vitality can improve your performance and the company’s bottom line.

Time-out will enable you to develop courage to be open to new experiences. You’ll become more independent, mature, purposeful, flexible and have the power to effect change. You will be stronger and wiser.

For more advice, check out Quester’s Dare To Change Your Job and Life. https://www.amazon.com/Questers-Dare-Change-Your-Life/dp/1508408963