How to Use Your Instincts to Succeed at Work – Erica Jong
“Everyone has talent,” says Jong. “What is rare is the courage to follow the talent to the dark place where it leads.”
You can have all the courage in the world, but it’s useless if you don’t know what you want out of your job and life! To enhance your mind-body connection, read Find Your Inner Voice: Using Instinct and Intuition Through the Body-Mind Connection. And, here are seven steps to tuning in to your inner voice…
How to Use Your Instincts to Succeed – Erica Jong
1. Listen to your physical body – pay attention to stomachaches, headaches, etc. Give your body a chance to voice its opinion as you think about your job responsibilities, interactions with clients, communications with coworkers. Pay attention to your physical energy every time you make a decision at work. Do you feel calm or excited or lethargic? Listening and responding to the cues your body is sending doesn’t just improve your mind-body connection, it can help you solve work problems.
2. Consider your personality traits. Succeeding at work involves factoring in your personality and preferences. Do you like to work on your own thing, or do you thrive in a group of colleagues? Do you operate best in the morning, afternoon or evening? You’re more likely to be successful at work (and enjoy your success!) if you work with your natural style and rhythms — not against them. Use your instincts by writing down the top five characteristics of your ideal job. Don’t think; just write.
3. Be realistic about your current life and work goals . Do your plans to succeed at work jive with your home situation and lifestyle? For instance, if you need to take care of young children or elderly parents, then you might not be able to put a full-time effort into starting a new business. Are you relocating, changing jobs, going back to school, or dealing with a health issue? Listen to your gut instincts: you may not be up for a particular task or career move just yet. But, don’t give up hope. Just thinking about your future success can help you succeed.
4. Take career risks, and acknowledge your efforts. To succeed at work, you need to take risks and reward yourself no matter what the outcome. A career risk can be as little as speaking up at meetings or as big as applying for a new leadership position in your company. Maybe work success means solving problems with coworkers or learning to read nonverbal signals from your boss. What do you want out of your career — and what are your instincts telling you? Learn to take risks by taking risks…because as Erica Jong says, “If you don’t risk anything, you risk even more.”
5. Evaluate what works for you. If you keep track of what is already working for you at work, then you’ll be more likely to handle difficult coworkers or challenging assignments. If your instincts are whispering about fear, self-doubt, or uncertainty, then take action. For instance, you may need to take smaller steps, resolve fears by talking to your boss or colleagues, or get admininstrative or managerial support.
6. Adjust what doesn’t work. If your instincts are telling you that you can’t complete a certain task or achieve a particular goal at work, then adjust your course. This is another way for your mind-body connection to jump in: listen to your inner voice tell you what’s not working, and then ask it to help you find what will work. Remember that all your experience and effort still counts…and you’re just tweaking your action plan!
Using your instincts at work is about empowerment! ”Take your life in your own hands, and what happens? A terrible thing: no one to blame,” says Erica Jong.
If you have any questions or thoughts on using your instincts to succeed at work, please comment below…
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