Reflect to Reset
Time for a reset? Are you looking at finding a better job; advancing your career; starting your own career or business or enjoying a more balanced lifestyle? Or, are you stuck and don’t know how to find clarity and purpose in your life?
Hey, you’re not alone! Many of us can relate to this, especially in the current environment we’re living in.
A few years ago, I changed careers. I realised I had to make a change for the better. I was no longer enjoying what I was doing, and I felt I had much more to offer than a job that was becoming mundane. Nobody was going to do it for me, but somebody could help me.
The time for a reset can happen at any time. Sometimes you are forced into it and at other times, you just got to make it happen for your own sake!
Maybe you are at that stage now…trying to take charge of your life, like our client Yang below.
It’s All About You…Taking Charge
Before we get to Yang’s story, let me share this with you:
You know, you are far more capable, competent, and powerful than you imagine. You know you have within you, right now, the ability to vastly exceed all your previous levels of accomplishment. You also know you can take complete charge of your life, in every area, and directing your future in any way that you deem desirable or necessary.
There are no limits on what you can achieve with your life, except the limits you’ve put in your own mind, and falsely believe in them.
I also realised that in taking charge of my life required me to be happy and that the key to happiness is to dedicate myself to identifying and developing of my natural talents and abilities, by doing what I love to do, and by doing it better and better in the service of a cause that is greater than myself.
I learned that one of the best ways of taking charge of your life is to firstly have a very good understanding of YOU-Who you are? What are your strengths and weaknesses; what really motivates you-and by that I mean what drives you to get up each morning to do what you do; how you communicate with others and how you would like others to communicate with you; These and many more questions I learned to address about myself and it has made a tremendous difference to Who I am; Why I do what I do and How I was going to use this information to ‘take charge of my life’. This is transformation.
Today, I am in charge of my life; I am doing what I love to do and I’m doing it with purpose and enjoyment.
You only feel really happy when you are moving, step-by-step, toward the accomplishment of clearly defined goals that you feel will enhance the quality of your life.
We requested Yang to write about her story.
“Yang’s” Story…
“My name is ‘Yang’. (I prefer keeping my real name private). I am a single mum with two kids. My husband passed away in car crash when my kids were only 4 and 2 years old respectively.
In my 27 years of corporate working life, I started off as an admin clerk for a small accountancy practice and later did data entry work for a bank for a few years, before moving to a financial services company, where I worked in a customer service position. I became the Client Services Manager for this company and held this position for 12 of the 15 years that I worked there.
I loved my job; the people and the company. For me this job was made in heaven! I felt I made a difference to people’s lives; not only to the people I worked with, but also to our clients. They drove me to become better!
The office ran smoothly most of the time; my team of 8 colleagues were happy and enjoyed working with me; the work environment was excellent, and the bosses were (mostly) happy and appreciative of my efforts and rewarded me and my team appropriately.
Until, one morning in November 2019….
I was told that the company was undergoing major management changes through acquisition and that my role was no longer available. I was to be made redundant! Most of my team was to be made redundant and a couple of others moved to another department.
I was in total shock! Why me!? What did I do wrong? How could this happen? How come nobody mentioned anything about it? I couldn’t believe how my life could ‘turn upside down’ overnight. I thought first and foremost about my kids, their security and their future. I was going to turn 48 in a month’s time! What now? What will I do? What will I tell my two adorable kids? Everything I do is for their future. Who will employ me? What job will I do? What skills will I need? A gazillion thoughts ran through my mind like lightning! I’ve never been unemployed in all my life! I felt as if all my energy had been sapped; my self-confidence and my self-belief vanished! I suddenly felt deflated; vulnerable; inefficient; worthless; a loser!
I left for home at lunchtime on that day, feeling sick in the gut. I’d been dealt a severe blow! I took it personal although they said it wasn’t. How could it not be personal, I thought?
I called my best friend and confidante who is a Marketing Manager and told her. We met that night and spoke more. She could feel my pain! I could not and did not tell my kids. They could, however, feel my uneasiness but did not ask… Thankfully!
A couple of weeks later, my friend invited me to a business networking event. She knew lots of people and introduced me to some of her network.
Later that night, she met the ‘Trio’ from Keystone, whom she had known for some time. They had previously helped her husband with starting up his business. She introduced me to them. I briefly shared about what happened with my job and how this has impacted me and that I’m lost as to what I need to do next. They sensed my desperation, my anxiety, my lack of clarity and direction.
One of them said: “Maybe you are searching among the branches for what only appears in the roots”.
Today I can say this intro was meant to be! That quote struct a chord with me. It not only made an immediate impact on me, but it made me go home and think more and to act. It made me take a deeper look at myself! It still impacts on me now and I use it to motivate and inspire my kids too.
As Brian Tracy says: “It doesn’t matter where you came from. All that matters is where you are going”.
Today, I can confidently say, I am well on my journey to success. It is never easy! But it is good to know that nobody has to reinvent the wheel. Take the advice and guidance from a good coach. I have learned more about myself, my real passion, what motivates me and more, which I never knew before. Keystone have helped me to ‘Reset my life’. My journey continues with them. I continue to learn and grow through their coaching and mentoring programs. I invest in my personal and professional development to remain relevant, to grow and reach a point of self-actualisation.
So, if you can relate to my experience, whether you’re an individual or business owner or an executive; whether you’re looking for personal success or business growth, or want to develop your team, or just want some clarity with your career direction, take my advice; take that first step as I did.
Why am I sharing this with you? This is my way of giving back to inspire others that you are worth it. That you have within you, everything you need to grow and become the best version of yourself. Today, I own my own bookkeeping practice, helping small businesses to grow and scale their business.”
