How do you feel about your current job? Are you focused on finding the perfect job for you?

In 2016, Gallup declared a worldwide employee engagement crisis. That’s worldwide and includes all working adults.

This explains the recent trend I’ve noticed of a fresh focus on employee engagement assessments and improvement efforts in companies. You may even have seen this in the company you work for.

In 2017 a Gallup poll found that 85% of working adults don’t like what they do, day-to-day, week-to-week. The numbers are slightly better in the US where 75% don’t like what they do.

That means only a mere 15% of working adults worldwide enjoy their work (25% in US).

And as if that isn’t enough, in May 2019 the World Health Organization announced that the International Classification of Diseases now defines an occupation based burn-out. That’s job or career burn-out.

I find these statistics crushing. And if I brought you down with me, then let’s look at what you can do.

How can you take control and avoid burn-out? How can you feel engaged at work? How can you be one of the thriving 15% who enjoys your job?

Make the 5 shifts before finding the perfect job.

In my work with clients (and from my own personal experiences), I have learned that the smart women who are part of the 15% – those who love what they do – have made 5 key shifts to successfully find the job they were born to do. They found a job that allows them to reach their potential while receiving the income and acknowledgment they deserve.

Here are the 5 shifts:

1. Smart women stopped focusing on what they don’t want and started focusing on what they do want.

The brain loves to focus on what it thinks you want, but ignores “No” “Not,” and “Don’t.” For instance, if I say don’t think of a pink elephant, you immediately think of a pink elephant. If I say think of a pink elephant, you also think of a pink elephant. The only way to not think of a pink elephant is for me to say something like think of a yellow banana. Voila. You now think of a yellow banana. The same is true for the job you want.

Focus on what a job you enjoy would be like. Then your brain will help you find what you do want.

2. Smart women embraced their real, authentic selves: their strengths and values.

Did you know that the brain is designed in such a way that its strengths support its weaknesses? This is one of my favorite learnings about our brains. If you focus on improving your weaknesses, you can improve. But, if you focus on leveraging your strengths, your brain will also naturally improve your weaknesses.* How truly awesome is that?

This is why you need to discover and embrace your strengths. This is where the power is.

Values are the principles, beliefs, and attitudes that guide our decisions, actions, and behaviors. Values can also change as we go through life. Major life events change us, change our values. It’s important to re-assess your own values to be sure they are compatible and are supported by your job.

Embrace the real you of today – your strengths and values.

3. Smart women have overcome the three fear barriers: fear of uncertainty, fear of being not good enough, fear of failure.

Everyone knows and has experienced these fears. It’s a human thing. The problem is most people stop when they feel fear, doubt, disbelief.

To avoid burn-out, feel engaged at work, and enjoy your job, you must overcome these fears to reach your goals.

4. Smart women target their ideal job – Seek it out, take aim, and land it.

Once you know what you want, are clear about what is your perfect job, one that brings you joy, go get it!

5. Perhaps the most important shift that these smart women made was to secure support and accountability.

This journey can be hard. The way to ensure your successful completion is to get support and have accountability.

Finding the perfect job doesn’t happen until you decide to do it.

If you want to join the smart women who are part of the 15%, you have a decision to make. Trying to find your perfect job and deciding to find your perfect job are two completely different things.

One thing every successful client has in common: they reached a point where they got fed up and decided they would not live this way anymore.

Have you decided?

* The Gift In You by Dr. Caroline Leaf, a cognitive neuroscientist with a Ph.D. in Communication Pathology specializing in Neuropsychology