Top 3 tips to get motivated in your job search

Fed up in a career that you don’t want? Perhaps you’re worried about money, career progression, personal development and don’t know where to begin…?

Here’s our advice on the best 3 steps to get motivated, and get moving:

1)   Motivation is not going to come and jump towards you – you have to claim it

Sometimes, it’s easy to get stuck in a career which you find unsatisfying, demoralising, perhaps even boring but there are other factors. Convenience, money, stability, comfort zones all come into play when thinking about a career change.

If you are a slave to money, and you believe you just can’t live without the salary you’re making, then you won’t make change.  You won’t see the danger signs until too late, and you won’t notice the hole you’re slowly digging yourself into. You’ll make the worst career blunder anyone can – staying miserable and staying put, thinking that something miraculous will occur and all will work out well in the end.

The chances are that it won’t – the only thing that can change this is you.  You have to claim it, finally recognising that your life and your happiness means more to you than a certain salary figure.  You have to open up to the idea that you have an important purpose for being on this planet at this time, and it isn’t just about paying your bills.  Yes, your financial obligations are important and need to be met, but that isn’t why you’re here at this time. Do what you must to stay afloat, certainly, but also plant the seeds for your future self.  There’s more going on and a deeper reason that you’re here, with the special and unique talents, passions, abilities and interests that you have and the powerful difference you’re capable of making.  Open yourself to that possibility, discover what potential you really have and discover a career that fulfils, inspires, motivates and pays the bills.  

2)   Understand that you don’t have to quit your job today

Change doesn’t have to start with you ditching your entire career, handing in your notice and hurling yourself into uncharted territory. The journey starts with some inner work now in order to figure out what you want to leave, and want you want to keep and focus on going forward, from your current professional background, experience and talents. No talent or skill is wasted, just have these clear in your mind.  

The key is to understand what has to change, and to tweak those areas, while avoiding the “pendulum effect” – being so miserable in your current situation that you end up running into the first new role you find, only to face the exact same problems and crises in a few years because you didn’t address the root of the problem.

3)  Being out of your comfort zone is OK  

If you’re afraid to make change, one key reason is that you’re not comfortable with discomfort. Most of us are exactly the same.

To live a big, fulfilling and joyful life, you must stretch beyond where you are today, and move into areas that make you feel a little afraid.  That’s the whole point – to spread your wings and bump into new things that are scary to you, so that you can then realise that you will survive and you’ll become a bigger, better more powerful person than you were before.

Another potential block is that some people are attached to the self-esteem they believe they get from the money they make, and the things they buy with their money. An intense attachment to the money can make people more insecure, the more they stick to the belief that money defines their worth, the more stuck in life they are.

Look at your skills, your dreams and your hopes. Take a leap outside of the comfort zone and find what your ideal role and life looks like. Get that idea in your mind and take small steps towards it each day. You are in control of your own life, whether that is one giant leap or tiny steps, you can make it happen.