Episode 24: Mastering Your Mindset for Career Success.

Ever wondered why some people smoothly transition through career changes while others struggle? Maybe it's not about working harder but tuning into the power of your mindset. Join us, Jodi and Judy as we unpack the secrets to aligning your mental state with your career aspirations. Our episode explores how a confident mindset can be your strongest ally during job transitions. We shed light on the natural brain wiring for safety that turns change into a threat and explore practical strategies to turn self-criticism into a powerful motivational force. Through belief audits and visualization, we guide you on reshaping your thoughts and energizing your career journey.

Battling inner critics like the judge, avoider, and hyperachiever? Let us guide you towards a sage mindset filled with empathy and curiosity. Learn how micro shifts can transform your job search from daunting to dynamic with the "three before 10" rule and networking reframed as meaningful connection rather than a sales pitch. By setting micro goals and using tools like journaling and positive affirmations, you can fuel your job search with positivity and intention. Ready to shift your perspective and supercharge your career transition? Tune in for insights that could transform not just your job search, but your entire professional outlook.

Chapter Summaries 

(00:00) Aligning Mindset for Career Success
Align mindset with career goals, overcome fear with belief audits and visualization, and energize job search process.

(09:14) Managing Internal Challenges for Success
Managing mental barriers during job searches with a sage mindset, positive questions, and tools like Positive Intelligence and Energy Leadership Index.

(20:04) Building Momentum Through Micro Shifts
Micro shifts and intentional energy can improve networking and mindset in job searching, using tools like journaling and positive affirmations.

Transcript

00:00 - Jodi Hallerman (Host)
Performance science tells us that elite performers aren't elite because they just push, they actually align. They don't just work hard, they manage their internal state, and in everyday life that might look like creating routines or just catching when your energy is off. So again, it's about alignment of your thoughts, your emotions, your actions, and you want them all pointing in the same direction. When you start feeling scattered or stuck, ask yourself is this energy in service of my goal or is it pulling me away from it? 

00:44 - Judy Gelniak (Co-host)
Welcome to the In your Head podcast with Jodi and Judy, where we're all about helping you get out of your own way. Our focus is on your mindset and helping you remove the mental roadblocks you've created so that you can unleash your potential and get more out of life. 

00:58 - Judy Gelniak (Co-host)
Welcome back to In your Head with Jodi and Judy. I'm Judy and I'm Jodi. Lately, we've been focusing on mindset through the lens of career transition and job loss. In this last installment of our four-part series on this, we're looking at specific ways, specific tips, to align your mindset with your career transition goals. One of the things that we know about mindset is that what you believe really does shape how you show up in any activity and then what you do. 

01:32 - Jodi Hallerman (Host)
That's right. So, since we're talking about career transition, when people are starting to look for a new job, it's really easy to jump right into updating your resume or scrolling job boards. But if you're doing that from a place of doubt or fear or maybe confusion, it's like driving with the parking brake on right. 

01:52 - Judy Gelniak (Co-host)
You're not going to go very far, so we're going to help you release that brake. 

01:55 - Jodi Hallerman (Host)
We're going to use a mix of tools from leadership, psychology, brain science and coaching, and we'll provide some examples and practical tips for aligning your mindset and your goals for success in your work and life and specifically in your career transition. 

02:09 - Judy Gelniak (Co-host)
I love this. So let's start. Let's start with why mindset matters so much to career change and for career success. I mean, it's obvious that a good, confident mindset is going to help us, you know, get started with it and carry us through to the end, right? Neuroscience actually tells us that the brain prefers safety and predictability. It's wired to protect us, not to expand us. Think about, you know, prehistoric times, right? You know, really, really having to stay safe in numbers. It also favors certainty and familiar patterns. It's always looking for ways to be more efficient, to use less energy for us. 

02:48
And so these are reasons why job transitions can feel threatening, because our brain isn't working for us in those situations. Put ourselves out there too much. Let's make sure that we don't stand out from the group, from the clan, too much. What are other people going to think about us? All these sorts of fear-based primal thoughts come up in challenges like this. And so, because career transition goals often bring up those self-critical thoughts, they stem from peers and negative thought patterns. For example, I'm too old to change careers right now, I don't measure up and I'm not qualified for advancement, right? Someone contemplating a career step? Or someone who was laid off or fired. You know I was laid off and who the heck is going to hire me now? I feel like damaged goods. So naturally, if your thoughts are full of those sorts of statements, you're actually sabotaging your progress, and maybe without even realizing it right, yeah, exactly. 

03:53 - Jodi Hallerman (Host)
Well, that's what cognitive behavioral therapy calls automatic negative thoughts, because they shape your emotions and your behavior. Positive psychology says that we can actually cultivate optimism, and that's not by ignoring the hard stuff. That's going to be there, but it's learning how to deal with it better and training yourselves to look for possibilities instead of just looking at the hard stuff, the hard side of it. So I would ask for you to think about what's the story you're currently telling yourself about your job search, and is it energizing you or is it draining you? Think about how you feel each day when you wake up and you embark on this job search. So one practical tip that works really well is to do a belief audit. So actually just write down what your career goal is and, underneath it, jot three thoughts that you have about that goal. 

04:50 - Judy Gelniak (Co-host)
Then ask yourself do these help me or do they hurt me? And then think about maybe naming the fear and then name the values. So what I mean by this is, if you're feeling stuck on, you know, identifying your thoughts, write down, just start writing. I'm afraid that and it gets easier to fill in that blank what are you afraid that will happen as a result of taking action towards your goal? And then, after that, right, what matters to me about this goal is blank, right. So really, what? What do you feel passionate about? What does this matter to you? Accomplishing this goal? Why is it important? This simple exercise can help you shift focus from that fear to a more motivating state, right? 

05:28 - Jodi Hallerman (Host)
Another great practice is to visualize a successful outcome. Take a full minute and just close your eyes and picture yourself thriving in the job that you want, understanding that you're the one that made it happen. Think about how you feel. What is it? You're the one that made it happen. Think about how you feel. What is it you're doing? When you can picture yourself and visually see yourself doing something that you love or something that you've made happen, it boosts your confidence neurologically. 

05:56 - Judy Gelniak (Co-host)
Yeah, it really does. I mean, it can seem hokey to do a visualization, but it's worth a try. Any of these practices, try them, see how they work for you. So let's illustrate this through a scenario, a job loss scenario, just to kind of really, you know, bring them home for you. So we work with a lot of candidates who are looking for jobs, a lot of clients, and so we're just going to make one up right now. 

06:21
We're going to take some from real life, based on true story. Based on true stories, things have been changed. We have Angela. Angela's 54. She was laid off from a 20-year career in marketing and she keeps thinking to herself companies just want younger candidates who know the latest tools. That thought actually keeps her from applying to jobs she's qualified for because she feels like why even do it? Because I don't measure up, I'm not qualified in this way anymore. 

06:50
So if Angela decides to go through these practical tips, right, she starts with a belief audit and she might write down her goal, which is find a senior marketing role with a purpose-driven company. And the immediate thoughts that come up are you know, I'm too old, they want fresh skills. I don't interview. Well, all kinds of things can come up for people when they think about taking a big step forward and accomplishing a big goal. And then she asked herself do these thoughts hurt me or help me? And obviously we know if we're thinking these ways, this is hurting our progress, right? So that's one thing, that one way to bring that forward, bring that awareness forward. 

07:33 - Jodi Hallerman (Host)
Then we're going to do? We're going to shift from fear. So we're going to name the fear. Think about like, what is it we're afraid of? So Angela writes down I'm afraid that I'll be overlooked. Then what is it that matters to her? So what matters to me is leading a team that creates meaningful campaigns. So she's connecting to that motivation instead of the fear. So going like doesn't matter if you're overlooked. What really matters to me here is that I'm creating meaningful campaigns. 

08:05 - Judy Gelniak (Co-host)
Right, it may even be something she's really passionate about, which just drives motivation even more. And then she engages in a visualization and this would be, you know, picturing herself leading a brainstorming session, let's say, in a new supportive workplace, and as she's doing this, she has the understanding that she's accomplished this goal. This is her goal and she's living it and she's, you know, noticing how she feels, going through that exercise. Right, and what this does is this can really build that hope and readiness to take on the goal right. 

08:36 - Jodi Hallerman (Host)
Yeah. So those are some just easy, simple tips to help you shift out of that fear mindset. Let's talk about positive intelligence. Intelligence, because we've spent a lot of time in this podcast talking about positive intelligence. But many times we have this little internal struggle or kind of a tug of war happening when we experience challenges and again we covered this in our first several episodes in the series. 

09:03
Saboteurs are those inner critics that derail you, so they typically don't do a lot of good for you. They typically will derail you from accomplishing or doing something that you're meant to do. So in the job search, the most commonly experienced, I guess saboteurs would be. Number one would be the judge. Think about all those things you say to yourself. You should have figured it out by now. You know nobody's going to hire you, you're no good. Those are all very loud judge voices speaking to you. Another one that comes up often is the avoider. Looking for jobs is not fun, so it's really easy to put off like you know what I'll just do that tomorrow or I'll work on that next month or next week Comes up quite often. And the other one that we hear often is the hyperachiever, so that feeling of if you're not landing those top tier interviews. Things aren't happening really fast. That you're failing, yeah. So the thing with these voices is they don't just disappear typically, but you can turn down the volume and you can learn to manage them a little bit better. 

10:06 - Judy Gelniak (Co-host)
Yes for sure. And what positive intelligence, or PQ, as we call it for short, really shows us is what to do is to shift into what's called the sage mindset. So the sage mindset is grounded in empathy, curiosity and clarity. It's really based on facts and truths and not on the fears that generate those negative thoughts. So it's that voice that asks what can I learn from this moment where I'm feeling challenged? So maybe we can apply this to a real goal that someone might have. Let's say that we have a client who wants to transition from tech to nonprofit, so transitioning to a new industry, and the saboteur, you know, one of the voices comes up that says hello, you're starting over and you have a family to support. Is this a good idea? 

10:58 - Jodi Hallerman (Host)
I don't think so. 

10:59 - Judy Gelniak (Co-host)
Right and then the sage. Conversely will say. 

11:01
And then the sage, conversely, will say well, what strengths from tech can I bring to this space such that I can make myself more marketable and maybe earn a decent salary in this new industry? So again, the Energy Leadership Index backs this up too. We covered the ELI, as we call it, in our second series. You can go back to episodes I think it's 14 through 21 to learn more about that. Similar concepts to positive intelligence. It looks at energy through different energy levels. Level two on the ELI sees only loss or conflict and feels angry a lot. So it's a very conflicted level and that's a natural state when one gets laid off. We're in protection mode and we get into loss and conflict. But then, as we're transitioning and shifting mindsets to higher levels, we might get into levels four and five and be able to ask how can I serve or grow through this challenge? And that's where we can really start to, you know, build that momentum and actually move forward on our goals. 

12:09 - Jodi Hallerman (Host)
So much of this, judy, is just about awareness. You know it is and it's catching yourself. You know, when you're getting those negative mindsets, being able to, you know, kind of figure out what's going on and recognizing what triggers it. So let's talk about some practical tips here, and what I would say this week is try to catch the saboteur or the negative thought that you're having this week, something that might keep coming up. So you'll know you're having it when you feel that negative emotion of frustration or anger or very disappointed. So catch that and then label it. So if it's, you know you're saying bad things to yourself, like you're no good, you know you're not worthy, nobody's going to hire you, that's the judge. And then reframe it with a sage question and, instead of letting it judge, you think about like okay, what is possible here? What strengths am I building right now? 

13:01
Because, even going through a job search. What I find is people grow so much throughout the process, so try to recognize that and think about that as you're going through it. What are you building, what kind of strengths? And then what is the gift and opportunity in this challenge? There almost always will be a gift and an opportunity. You may not see it right then, but ultimately you will. So you can also check out episode two of this podcast, where we talked about the different saboteur characteristics that we all carry, and then you can also take the free saboteur assessment that'll help you learn how to label it. You can find that at the positiveintelligencecom website. 

13:38 - Judy Gelniak (Co-host)
Yeah, and we should say you know we're talking about this lens of challenges that come up in a career transition. You can use these tools, obviously, for any challenge in life, yeah, or in life right. So let's talk about what happens when our thoughts, emotions and behaviors are in conflict, when they're not aligned. You know you might want to move forward, you want to get a job Everyone wants to get a job, right when they're out of work but maybe your energy isn't behind it. You can set goals all day long, but if your energy and mindset aren't aligned with them, then you're not likely to act on them very consistently at all if at all. 

14:17 - Jodi Hallerman (Host)
Right, right, well, you know performance science tells us that elite performers aren't elite because they just push, they actually align. So they don't just work hard, they manage their internal state, and in everyday life that might look like creating routines or just catching when your energy is off. So, again, it's about alignment of your thoughts, your emotions, your actions, and you want them all pointing in the same direction. When you start feeling scattered or stuck, ask yourself is this energy in service of my goal or is it pulling me away from it? And try to figure out where your lack of alignment is. 

14:56 - Judy Gelniak (Co-host)
Yep, by going back and doing some of those things we talked about, and here are some others, because we know that your behavior will reflect the energy and attitude that you bring. Small mindset shifts can unlock bigger actions. So it doesn't have to be a big heavy lift, big heavy exercise that you do. It can be really small things, and that's what we're talking about in this episode, or what are some really practical, easy things we can do. So if we're using that if-then planning we call it we might've talked about this in other episodes. 

15:26
We have some other tips here that are new as well, but if-then planning is if I start feeling overwhelmed by my job search, then I'll go for a 10 minute walk and come back with fresh eyes. You know this creates that automatic mental response for those common stressors. So, again, you've raised your awareness, you know this is happening for yourself and you're planning for the next time it happens, because this is life and this is. You know how the brain works and so understanding and interrupting it when it does happen, with that planning of if this happens, I'm going to take a break, I'm going to take a walk, I'm going to take a nap, whatever it is right and come back and is right, and come back to it Right. 

16:03 - Jodi Hallerman (Host)
And so, coming back to the awareness, it's being aware of what are those triggers? So if you know something's happening to you every single day, something's triggering you, something's causing this to happen, then sitting there and thinking, okay, when that happens so not if, but when that happens, then I'm going to do this. 

16:19 - Judy Gelniak (Co-host)
So you've got your plan ahead of time, absolutely Changing your environment to shift your mindset. I just have been using this tool lately for myself in dealing with some personal things that are really challenging and involve me sitting at the computer and making phone calls and wanting to bang my head against the wall, not getting any answers, and so I naturally have been procrastinating these things, and what I decided to do was really engage my five senses within my environment, doing things that I enjoy. So having things around me that I enjoy, that bring a sensory experience so you can clean up your workspace. I did that for sure. Add a motivational playlist, you know, maybe listen to music that that you find enjoyable, or work from a different spot. Change your location altogether to reframe your energy. 

17:01
I've had some clients say I need to actually be around people because I'm going crazy in this isolation of my job search, and so we've talked about going to workspaces, going to coffee shops and changing up that environment in order to do your work, and with a different energy. Right For me it's, you know, lighting a candle, it's having flowers on my desk, it's listening to nice calming music while I'm having some tea, whatever it is. Those things help me tackle those harder, challenging activities that I don't necessarily want to do, but I know I want to achieve the result of having done them. There's also the three before 10 rule. This is about doing three small things, really small things that you know you can accomplish. Doing three of those things before 10 am, before you get too far into your day, because accomplishing even small things is going to build the upward spiral of motivation in your brain and it's going to build momentum and help you achieve more throughout the day. 

18:01 - Jodi Hallerman (Host)
Yeah, and then also, don't forget to use the ALI, so naming that current energy level, and there were seven levels of energy. Again, you might want to go back and listen to our series, episodes 14 through 21, to remember what those were. But, for example, if you're angry at your boss for firing you, you're going to be at a level two on the index and think about, like, what's going to shift me from that to something higher, even if it's getting to a three, which is again that what's one thing that I can act on and own. That just changes your mindset enough to help move you forward. And if you're interested in taking the ELI, which there is an assessment, just reach out to us on Facebook and we would love to set you up to take that. 

18:46 - Judy Gelniak (Co-host)
Absolutely so. Let's look at a job loss scenario through the application of these tips that we're talking about. So this time our client is Sam. He's 46. He was let go after 12 years in project management and he keeps telling himself he's ready to find a better role but spends most of his mornings doom scrolling job sites and job boards and feeling discouraged. Job sites and job boards and feeling discouraged. And so let's say that he commits to working through this with these practical tips we're talking about. 

19:19
So the if-then plan. What he comes up with is if I catch myself scrolling aimlessly, then I'll take a 10-minute walk or make a networking list. And so what this does? It interrupts the loop of passive searching for him and allows him to do things that he enjoys more, so that he maintains his energy level and can eventually come back and look at job boards in a different way. Right, change environment. Maybe Sam sets up a dedicated tidy workspace, lights a candle, like I do, starts his mornings with a short energizing playlist to kind of get him in the mood, have him feeling good about what he's doing. And again, this is setting the stage for clarity and confidence for him as he gets going. What else? 

20:05 - Jodi Hallerman (Host)
The three before 10 rule. So setting yourself up to do three small tasks before 10 AM. So one might be to just check one job alert, another one might be sending one connection request on LinkedIn yeah. And another one might be journaling for five minutes, because once you doing these little things starts building momentum without burning you out yeah, right. And so by 10 AM you've already done a few things that have got you moving forward, yeah. Then the other thing is again that catching the energy. So doing the energy check. When you catch yourself blaming your last boss because he laid you off and you're angry, instead going, ok, what can I own today, what can I be in charge of, what can I be in control of, and that moves you more towards a mindset of empowerment. 

20:54 - Judy Gelniak (Co-host)
Yes, absolutely. 

20:55 - Jodi Hallerman (Host)
Right. So we just kind of touched a little bit on taking these smaller step. But let's talk about micro shifts, because micro shifts are really really powerful and they're really just tiny little changes that will rewire your mindset over time. So your mindset change doesn't require this massive big overhaul all at one time. It's really all about those little micro shifts. 

21:18 - Judy Gelniak (Co-host)
Yeah, and all of these things that we're talking about, these practical tips, are engaging in micro shifting, and so they really do work. Brain science shows that the small, consistent, small and consistent actions actually build new neural pathways, those new thought patterns in the brain. And even 10 seconds engaging in 10 seconds of this of micro-shifting is enough. So let's give a few ideas for micro-shifts through the lens of networking. Jodi, you and I work with a lot of clients who are looking for work, and one of the things that is difficult for a larger percentage of people is networking. Some people do it really well, but that's usually a smaller percentage. I've worked with a lot of people on networking activities and some people never engage with it and that can be damaging, because it does take longer usually to find a job when you're not networking. 

22:10
It does, and that can be damaging because it does take longer usually to find a job when you're not networking, it does. So I think this is a good example to share with how we might work our way through those activities to meet those networking goals. So actually I've had, as we talked about, many clients who are not aligned with networking and one particular client I had he really hated it, not aligned with networking, and one particular client I had, he really hated it and through our work together he was able to reframe it from that thought that he was having, which is I have to pitch myself and I'm not in sales and I don't love that. I don't want to be doing that. It makes me feel vulnerable and gross. And that's definitely that ELI level two of being in conflict, eye level two, you know, of being in conflict. 

22:55
And what he was able to do is eventually adopt a new mindset. He reframed it to I get to connect and learn. I get to connect with people I haven't talked to in a while and learn about them and maybe I can help them. Right, and it's not about me asking them for help. That shift made his outreach feel more energizing instead of draining. And you know this, Jodi, whenever we start in a job search. We start talking with people and we don't have that sense of vulnerability that we're asking them for any certain thing. We're connecting, we're catching up, we're finding out how we can be helpful to them. Those conversations actually turn into job leads right, that's where the job leads come from. Networking is coming at it with that type of energy. So there's some mindset shifts that you can do to bring that energy forward. 

23:41 - Jodi Hallerman (Host)
Yeah, so let's talk about just some kind of networking, mindset micro shifts. Then One would be the morning journal prompt asking yourself what energy do I want to bring to my job search today? This is going to help you choose an intentional search versus being reactive, so I think that's a great exercise to do. Again, it's just that simple question what energy do I want to bring to my job search today? And then set a daily reminder on your phone, or maybe have a sticky note that interrupts those self-doubt loops before calls or outreach, because I know, right before I pick up a phone to do something, sometimes I start going through all these things. So have something there to kind of prompt you that might say pause, breathe, choose curiosity and then reminding yourself it's connection, it's not perfection. 

24:31 - Judy Gelniak (Co-host)
Yeah, I love that one. And then there's it's connection. It's not perfection, yeah, I love that one. And then there's reframing, like I talked about with the example of the client. Before any networking message or conversation, say out loud to yourself I'm not selling, I'm sharing and listening. I'm here to learn and connect. This is actually a two-way conversation. I'm going to learn about them and how I might be able to help them as well. Right, and you know so, really leaning into the statements that are true about the situation that you're engaging in and not the fears that you have about it, and then regroup. That's. 

25:04
This is another another tip when feeling challenged with networking, do that one minute PQ rep we just referenced right, you can find what a PQ rep is listening to episode three of our podcast, way back when we were doing this in the early days. And so do that one minute PQ rep. That's going to actually you do that. You're not going to be challenged by what you were just thinking because you've dropped that thought and now you're going to move into what I want to do next, right Through the sage mindset. Or do an ELI check-in, as we've been talking about. What level of energy am I in? Raise that awareness for yourself so that you can make conscious choices. 

25:39 - Jodi Hallerman (Host)
Yep. And then I'd say the last one is just to set a micro goal. So instead of saying I need to reach out to 20 people today, say I'm going to message one person today that I'm genuinely curious about and keep the bar low but the energy high. I'd say let's give an assignment of choosing one mindset or energy ritual that you could start this week and keep it small but be consistent. 

26:03 - Judy Gelniak (Co-host)
That consistency is really important, but just trying to do that this week, that's a great way to get started Just commit for one week and see what happens as you're doing this. So this wraps up our four-part series on mindset and career transition and, just to recap, in today's episode we looked at how aligning your mindset with your goals can change the way you approach your job search, and this concept again this applies to other challenges in life as well. These practical tips we're talking about. This is not just application of job search, obviously, you can use these in any challenge you're having. 

26:38 - Jodi Hallerman (Host)
Yeah, that's right, and we explored how your thoughts and your energy and those small actions can either move you forward or they can hold you back. So, from the belief audits to that if-then planning, setting those micro goals, these tools are all here to support your progress. They're not here to add pressure. 

26:56 - Judy Gelniak (Co-host)
And I'd say one of the biggest takeaways here is that your mindset is a practice. It is not a fixed state. It is not just who you are. You have a choice. It's okay and it's normal to have doubts and tears. What matters is how you respond to them, what you do about them. You always have the ability to pause, reset and choose a new direction. 

27:17 - Jodi Hallerman (Host)
Yes, Back to you have the power to choose right. Yes, so your challenge again this week is to try to just fit one of these tips into a real situation. Okay, so, maybe it's a belief audit, maybe it's an if-then plan or micro shift, like journaling or breath work or visioning, but consistency is the goal. So don't worry about the intensity of it, just try to be consistent. 

27:41 - Judy Gelniak (Co-host)
Make it small. Yeah, and remember the energy of success begins with what you believe is possible. Keep aligning, keep taking intentional steps and reach out. Reach out to us if you want help identifying where your mindset might be blocking your momentum, so that you can find customized solutions for aligning your goals and your mindset for success. Thanks for listening. Catch you next time. 

28:13 - Jodi Hallerman (Host)
Thanks for listening to In your Head. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with someone you think may benefit. Give us a like or a positive review and subscribe to follow us. 

28:22 - Judy Gelniak (Co-host)
We hope you continue to tune in and join us as a loyal mindset warrior. Thank you.