The national unemployment rate has soared to its highest level in 16 years, offering little encouragement to the 12 million plus Americans who are unemployed. During these difficult economic times, intuition expert and best-selling author Lynn A. Robinson, M.Ed., offers sound advice on how to stay positive when you're out of work.
Robinson offers the following tips and techniques:
GET CLEAR ON YOUR GOALS
Napoleon Hill states in his classic book, "Think and Grow Rich, "Whatever your mind can conceive, you can achieve." What do you want to create in your next position? What kind of people would you like to work with? Keep a journal and write it down. Describe your perfect job description and salary. What would an ideal day, week or year look like in the life of your dreams? The key is to stay focused on what you want, versus what you don't want!
SHIFT YOUR PERSPECTIVE
Whether you're facing an upcoming interview or writing a check to pay your mortgage, pay attention to what you're telling yourself! Keep it positive. It will make a dramatic difference in how you feel.
VISUALIZE
Olympic athletes do it. Successful business people do it. The images you hold in your mind have power! Think of a time when you were successful at something. Perhaps you won a contest or you were given a promotion at work. Bring to mind the feelings of pride, success and confidence that achievement created within you.
WHAT'S THE BEST THAT COULD HAPPEN?
We tend to imagine the worst case scenario -- stammering through a speech, having no one to talk to at a party or losing our confidence at the all important job interview. Write down in detail what it would look like if the BEST CASE SCENARIO happened?
TRUST YOUR GUT
Intuition is quick and ready insight. It's an extremely valuable tool whether you want to succeed in business, in relationships or when you're trying to find a job. We all receive it in different ways, through feelings, images, hunches, instincts and the proverbial gut feelings. Notice what excites you when you're looking for a job. It's a critical clue from your intuition. The word "enthusiasm" comes from the Greek root, entheos, which means "guidance within." If you feel energized by a course of action, it's your guidance within, your intuition, telling you to pursue it.
TAKE SMALL STEPS
Nothing restores your confidence faster than achieving a goal. You can tackle big, long-term, difficult objectives later. But for now, what are some small things you can do each day to make yourself feel better and help reduce your stress? The trick to creating a workable transition after a job loss is two fold: 1) just begin and 2) start small. Take a first step toward what you feel excited about and then take another one and another one. Remain centered in the present. That’s your point of power.
ASK FOR SUPPORT
Try summarizing your credentials and the position you're seeking into three or four sentences. Make it easy for the person who could offer a referral to remember what you're looking for. Consider joining a support group. Not only are they a valuable source of referrals, they can also help you from becoming too isolated while you're out of work. Tell people what you need. They may not know unless you tell them.
© 2010 Lynn Robinson, M.Ed. All rights reserved in all media.
Lynn A. Robinson, M.Ed., is one of the nation's leading experts on the topic of intuition. Through her work as an intuitive she's helped thousands of people discover their life passion and achieve their goals. She's a bestselling author whose latest book is LISTEN: Trusting Your Inner Voice in Times of Crisis. Her other books include Divine Intuition and Trust Your Gut. Her free Intuition Newsletter is available at http://www.LynnRobinson.com. She may be reached at 800-925-4002 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 800-925-4002 end_of_the_skype_highlighting begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 800-925-4002 end_of_the_skype_highlighting.