The Workplace Therapist

We all have our own unique set of fears – everything from snakes to public speaking.  And all of those fears cost us something.  Whether it’s a refusal to visit the reptile house at zoo or an avoidance of anything resembling a microphone, we pay a price for carrying those particular fears in our mental suitcases.  However, not all fears come with the same price tag.  Some fears are much costlier than others, particularly as it … Read entire article »

John looked at me with a half serious, half dismissive expression and said to me, “That sounds fine in theory.  And if I was younger perhaps you might be right, but I have to worry about paying for my kids’ college, my family’s health insurance, my retirement, etc…  As much as I hate my current job and see it as a dead-end, I really can’t make those changes right now.”  John’s argument sounds so logical.  In … Read entire article »

Got purpose in your career? Purpose is one of three critical ingredients necessary to overcome our fear to make changes in our lives.  So what is purpose?  It’s a vastly overused but important term.  Simply put, we can define purpose as it relates to our careers as “work that provides us meaning and fulfillment in our lives.”  Who doesn’t want that?  Purpose is essential to overcoming fear because it helps give us the strength to … Read entire article »

Are you courageous?  Courage is the second of three critical ingredients to overcome fear of change in our lives.  Do you have the courage to make the changes in your life you want to make?   Let me rephrase that… have you discovered the courage inside of you to make the changes in your life you want to make?  Often we think courage is reserved for Superman or Wonder Woman, but it’s not.  Courage is a … Read entire article »

Got faith?  Faith is the third of three critical ingredients necessary to overcome fear of making change in our careers and lives.  So what is faith?  I’m convinced of two things as it relates to faith: Each of us has our own personal definition of “faith” Either you got it or you don’t Given these two important traits of faith, this is gonna be a short post – but an important one nonetheless.   I’m also going to take … Read entire article »

This month we’ve tackled a dysfunction that affects all of us personally and professionally “I’m afraid to make the changes in my career and life that I want to make.” Who can’t relate to the debilitating effects of fear. Our fears are always bigger in our minds than they really are. We give them pointy teeth and terrifying claws. And the costs associated with listening to our fears are high – … Read entire article »