“Work shapes our sense of self.”

The following key ideas serve as a foundation for Heart at Work:

1. Fullness of life is about connection and balance. When we lose connection to self, others, nature or purpose, we diminish the sense of work and life balance in our lives.

2. Work is often the arena in which individuals explore larger issues in life. Therefore, attention to one’s life journey is key to most work-related dilemmas. When work presents a spiritual challenge, there are specific characteristics associated with it. Understanding these characteristics helps to shape our response to the challenge, and more effectively move through it.

3. Individuals hold within them the knowledge of their authentic work in the world for any stage or time in their life. This knowledge becomes blurred when an individuals’ resources are depleted or when they become attached to a particular outcome defined outside themself. Time and attention devoted to self-care and stillness allow this knowing to take shape.

4. Quarterlife may be a time when individuals face greater responsibility (but with less guidance) than they had in high school or college. Overwhelmed by options, they are confronted with decisions about work, finances, living situations, and relationships—often for the first time. The intense pressure of this time may cause some to feel anxious, doubtful, or indecisive. With a better understanding of oneself, an individual can make smarter decisions about career options.

5. Midlife is often a time when individuals experience a compelling call to change. This call might be linked to work and a desire to make a greater contribution to the world. It may also come from a desire to use personal gifts or explore interests that have been forgotten or neglected.

Keys to Balance:

What you can do to experience life more fully

Connection to Self
Acknowledge and honor your physical, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual needs.

Connection to Others
Seek out people in your life from whom you ask for help and with whom you share your joys and sorrows.

Connection to Nature
Make regular contact with nature in ways that are meaningful to you.

Connection to Purpose
Create alignment between what you most value and what you uniquely offer the world.

Strategies to Bring Balance into your Life:

Become more conscious of your breathing.
Practice the following breathing technique for 3 weeks:

Relax in a comfortable position.
Touch the tip of your tongue to the ridge between your upper teeth and the roof of your mouth. Keep it there during the entire exercise.
Exhale completely through your mouth, making an audible sound (whoosh). Then close your mouth and inhale quietly through your nose to the count of four.
Next hold your breath to the count of seven.
Then finally exhale audibly through your mouth to the count of eight.
This constitutes one breath cycle. Repeat for a total of four cycles, then breathe normally.
Do it two to four times a day. (from: Andrew Weil’s: 8 Weeks to Optimum Health).

Focus your attention.

Experiment with doing one thing at a time and concentrating only on that particular task.
Attempt to bring this mindfulness to daily activities.

Renew or establish a connection to Self, Others, Nature, Purpose.

Each month, check in with your connection to each of these areas.
Determine which one needs attention and take steps to bring this connection more into focus in your life.

Dwell in gratitude and appreciation daily.

Sit quietly and breathe deeply for a minute or two. Bring to mind someone in your life for whom you are grateful.
As you breathe in, take this person into your heart. Breathing out, let heartfelt gratitude shine to them and through them.
Do this for as many people as you want. You can do the same for aspects of your life for which you are grateful.

© Barbara Babkirk

10 CHARACTERISTICS OF A WORK-RELATED SPIRITUAL CHALLENGE:

You sense a stirring, a call to do something new or different.
The call feels more like a challenge and counters the more prevalent advice of the day, putting at risk other’s approval.
You feel drawn into a process in spite of perceived risks, as you experience an inner knowing of what you need to do is aligned with your truth, integrity and values.
You develop an awareness of time passing, prompting an urgency to act.
The challenge seems too much, yet it persists.
Fear is juxtaposed with compelling desire.
You are called to enter the unknown, and let go of the person you have known yourself to be.
In moving forward with the challenge, you must release the familiar, practical or seemingly sensible options to the promise of the unknown.
The challenge prompts connections with people and with a Source greater than you, offering a larger context from which to view your process.
You experience a "test" following initial action that pulls back; this occurrence represents personal doubt or fear, or reinforces the "status quo".

WHAT IS NEEDED TO MEET A WORK-RELATED SPIRITUAL CHALLENGE:

Vigilance: Be alert to what is happening in your life.

Mindfulness: Stay present-minded in your thinking.

Desire: Know what you want and create a vision that reflects its essence, rather than the particulars of it.

Intention: Create a plan to succeed.

Focus: Keep your sight on your vision; allow fears and limiting beliefs to appear, yet not distract you.

Faith: Believe you will be all right no matter what.

Trust: Choose to be confident in your path and transform thoughts that are fear-based.

Patience: Develop the capacity to wait and trust the timing, especially if it is different from what you had imagined.

"BEST PRACTICES": RESPONSES TO THE SPIRITUAL CHALLENGE:

Look beyond the obvious and the familiar and be open to creative solutions.
Notice when your thoughts reflect your fears, rather than your desires. Practice shifting your thoughts back to your vision.
Be willing to ask for support and help.
Surrender the timeframe and outcome of your desire.
Practice non-attachment to your vision.
Resist judgment from or about others.
Love and accept yourself and cultivate self-compassion.

Looking back on the challenge…

To others, your actions seemed to require great courage, but to you, there was really no other choice.
The most difficult part of the process was anticipating the unknown and letting go.
There was a shift in your relationship to fear accompanied by increased control over your life.
You experienced a deeper connection to Spirit, bringing a sense of relief, peace, and flow that shaped the remainder of the process.

BASIC AND ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF SELF CARE:

Be mindful of and attend to your body, mind and spirit.
Stay tuned in to your feelings and express your emotions.
Rest when you are weary or tired.
Seek help when you need it.
Take time in each day to pause, reflect and be in the moment.
Develop and listen to your intuition.
Keep to a 40-hour work week whenever possible.
Give yourself positive feedback daily.
Avoid judgment of others.
Engage in activities that align with your gifts and values.
Breathe consciously.

TIPS FOR CAREER DEVELOPMENT DURING THE QUARTER-LIFE STAGE

1. Avoid the “Major” trap. Many recent college grads feel compelled to pick a job that’s based on their college major. But just because you were a Sociology major, you don’t have to be a sociologist! College was a time to develop fundamental skills—how to investigate and research, how to write, and how to balance school-work with social life. Most employers—especially those trying to fill entry-level positions—place more emphasis on a candidate’s general abilities than on a specific skill set.

2. Assess yourself. Most of us spend our teenage and college years trying to “fit in.” However, a key to finding a satisfying career comes from recognizing your unique qualities and how they can best be used to contribute to an employer. Career assessment tools can help you discover your skills, interests, values, and motivators as they relate to work–and these can help you clarify and identify career choices.

3. Get informed. Informational interviewing is the best-kept secret to finding a job. Are there careers that you have always been curious about? Even if you think it’s totally unrealistic, what’s your dream job? Developing an informational interviewing strategy will help you learn about an occupation before diving into it. By talking with people in a variety of careers, you’ll learn about the day-to-day realities of a range of jobs—even juicy details like salary.

4. Hone your marketing materials. Every job search requires an effective resume, an articulate cover letter, and polished interviewing skills. First or second-time job seekers may have less confidence about their accomplishments and limited experience with articulating them to strangers. Good interviewing skills are not something you’re born with—practice makes perfect. Likewise, developing a targeted resume helps you feel more confident and prepared to meet a prospective employer.

5. Find a mentor. Talk to someone 5 to 10 years older than yourself; they will have experienced the “quarter-life” stage of life fairly recently. You’ll discover that they—and, indeed, like most people—followed a winding path before finding their ideal career. A mentor can help guide you along your own path.

GUIDELINES FOR MOVING THROUGH MIDLIFE AND INTO THE SECOND HALF OF LIFE:

Acknowledge and be curious about this important life transition.
Give attention to what is happening within you.
Action step: Invite stillness and reflection, write in a journal, and meditate.
Ask: What/how am I feeling?
Live in the present.
Stay focused on one activity at a time and be mindful of all actions.
Action step: Give up multi-tasking for a few hours, then extend it to half a day, then a day…notice what difference it makes.
Ask: What grounds me in my life?
Learn to live with the discomfort of uncertainty.
Acknowledge your discomfort with the unknown.
Action step: Be aware of your breath. Conscious breathing will help you center and release your fear.
Ask: What DO I know?
Develop your intuition and creativity.
Acknowledge and make time for your creative self.
Action step: Engage in specific activities that develop your creative side.
Ask: What nurtures my creative spirit?
Be open to different perspectives and new paradigms.
Give space and attention to ideas that are intriguing yet disconcerting because they are new.
Action step: Notice internal and external messages that are life affirming and those that are not. Focus your attention on the positive.
Ask: What beliefs and thoughts support me in moving forward?
Get in touch with your deepest longings.
Give yourself permission to identify your desires or to recreate a dream.
Action step: Keep a dream journal; What dreams have you had that still remain desires.
Ask: What do I long for?
Establish a supportive community in your life.
Accept and receive help from others.
Action step: Identify those people who contribute to your growth and those who hinder it. Commit to be with those who encourage you.
Ask: What would I like to receive and from whom might I receive it?
Express your gratitude daily.
Act as if you believed that gratitude was the most transformative force in the universe.
Action step: Be aware of the abundance in your life.
Ask: For what am I grateful today?