Once upon a time……  

I was fully active and enjoyed attending events, playing sports and travelling to meet and work with my valued clients and for speaking engagements. But mindful of having severe wear and tear and an arthritic hip, I acted on advice and recently underwent a full hip replacement operation. The recovery period made me stop and this gave me time think and reflect on how we deal with situations in life and take the smallest things for granted. One minute I was perfectly capable of doing things around the house and then returning from hospital I couldn’t even do so much as shower or make a cup of tea!

 One day………

 I found I had become totally reliant on my trusty crutches to walk and and others support me. Although I realised this was just a temporary period of immobility and inconvenience, I quickly realised how we can take our mobility for granted. Having seen how other people I knew coped with such a major operation, I was conscious that it would be east to become complacent and comfortable being cared for by others, as the next step was way too scary to consider!

Because of That……

I therefore took a decision to take back control of the situation and began to take regular and increasing amounts of exercise to rebuild my strength, stamina and confidence to stand and walk. I began to walk with small steps at first and gradually increase the regularity and duration. The more I did, the more I felt a great sense of achievement and progress as I regained the confidence to walk and felt a resumption of my independence.

Because of That…..

I was struck with the similarity of emotions and frustrations that people typically experience when changing careers or recovering from redundancy. In those similar circumstances you have the opportunity to take no action when it feels too scary so let the circumstances ride and just do more of the same old. But here’s the thing………… in doing so you will never lose those ‘crutches’, you’ll never lose the reliance on others ….you’ll never break free to discover what may be possible, will you? I realised I had unlocked the cycle by changing my mindset!

Because of That……

I am now on the road to recovery and moving towards my goal to regain full health and get back on the tennis courts as soon as possible. I can also see how this change of mindset is powerful enough to create an energy and impetus that is needed to make a successful career change, or indeed ‘Win Through Redundancy’.  Just making simple decisions put me back in control by taking responsibility of my recovery and my future.  In my case I wanted to lose those crutches and progress to the next step – I moved to just one stick in just two weeks before embracing the challenge to walk unaided.  And I know you’ll be wondering just how scary this can be, won’t you?  ….but can you see how this increased my chances of a speedier and more complete recovery?

Because of That…..

I began to realise that for many people it may seem easier to continue as you are and not confront your fears, but this won’t help you progress, will it?  Just as you pro-actively tackle career transition, you must believe in the process and keep building momentum to move forward towards your goal, rather than doing nothing to restore that important confidence and self-belief.

Those early small steps allowed me to reach the point when I could stand unaided, fill the kettle and make a cup of tea – it began to feel like a major breakthrough. Can you imagine the exhilaration I felt when just a week later I took much greater steps to walk the length of the local park – I felt I had completed a marathon!  I didn’t have to walk too long or far…..just take that first small step.

Until Finally…..

I emerged from the comfort of my chair at home and am now regaining increasing levels of fitness and health and this in turn is allowing me to regain interest and confidence to tackle that growing range of items on my business action list. Therefore, for those of you who are feeling ‘lost’ following redundancy, or considering a career change, you can do yourself the biggest favour right now by ‘losing your crutches’ just by taking that first step of my Career Navigation Cycle to ‘Let go and look forward’. You will then start on your road to recovery, embrace new opportunities and begin the journey of a new life path as you proudly take back control of your career and your life and how good would that feel? Great, I’m sure!