One day you’re casually moving through your career; the next, you’re sideswiped by negative, unexpected news.
Maybe a loved one was diagnosed with an incurable disease or suddenly passed away. Perhaps your spouse filed for divorce, or you broke up with your longtime partner. Or maybe you lost your job in a reduction in force or didn’t get the promotion, new job, or client you’d hoped for.
Whatever the case, an event like that can throw you for a loop. And even if it isn’t directly connected to your professional world, the setback affects how you work and what happens next.
Here are the three best things to do when life throws you a career curveball:
1. Embrace the power of the pause.
Your natural response to a negative event may be to lash out in anger, denial, or sadness (or a combination of all three), but an immediate reaction fueled by these powerful emotions isn’t always the wisest course of action as it often leads to bad decisions and regrettable actions.
Instead, force yourself to take a beat before reacting. Hitting the pause button will help you create space to reflect on what happened and keep you from saying or doing things in haste you’ll later regret.
2. Remind yourself you have a choice.
Once you’ve paused long enough to absorb what happened, remind yourself you have a choice in how you respond. Will you allow yourself to wallow in misery, or will you use it as a catalyst to transform your career?
A professional curveball can either make or break you and often comes down to your perspective. As tough as it might be, adjust your mindset to reframe your obstacle as an opportunity, asking yourself how you can turn this loss into a professional win.
3. Respond by taking positive action.
After you’ve paused to regain your composure and view your situation from a new perspective, it’s time to respond with positive action.
Research shows that escapism is a common reaction to career curveballs. Rather than losing yourself in a Netflix binge, doom scrolling on social media, or procrastinating with busy work, focus your efforts on more productive activities.
Use your unique circumstances to move forward and fuel a new path, whether shifting to a different company, industry, or role or striking out on your own. Though it may be difficult to see at the time, a negative event can often be a blessing in disguise, forcing you to finally take action to pursue your dreams, even if they’re in unknown career territory.
Dealing with a career curveball is never easy, but by pausing to reflect, reminding yourself you have a choice, and then taking positive action to move forward, you can successfully navigate a challenging professional situation.
As Victor Frankl, an Austrian philosopher and Holocaust survivor renowned for his contributions to existential psychology, has famously said: “Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response.”
Remember to choose wisely.
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