How To Develop & Transform Your Career during the COVID-19 Pandemic

”We live unprecedented times”. How many times have you heard this phrase over the last 2 months? Although this is a fact, it has well influenced our emotional state. ”Wait a minute. Facts always influence our mood, don’t they?”, you might be wondering. Well..no! It’s our choice, Your choice, to be influenced by them in a positive or negative way. Yes, you can deal with any fact in a positive and beneficial way for you and your loved ones. By ”positive” I mean optimistic, especially in these hard times. In other words, You are in charge of your state of mind! Not the facts.

Why? Because facts are not ”good” nor ”bad” by their nature. They are what they are! It’s because we, as humans, operate and take our decisions based primarily on our emotions, how we feel. Otherwise, we would be a computer algorithm. So, for example, a fact is that thousands of people have lost their life because of this pandemic. On the other hand, this fact makes us feel sad, worried and stressed about the future. Now, I do not imply that you should feel happy for this tragedy. Of course not! What I do imply is to protect your emotional state as much as possible from any fact that makes you feel bad naturally. And a quick distinction here: ”Protecting yourself and your state of mind does not mean ignoring/devaluating the importance of the situation”. It does mean though to ask yourself this question:

”What can I do right now to support myself and others?”

This way, you can both empathize with people and help the world to go though this hard period, and any kind of hard period for the humanity. You move from a place of apathy, despair and fear to a place of courage, empowerment, certainty and optimism. And these are the things we need right now to go through this pandemic, together.

”But, Jim, what has my emotional state to do with my career development?”, you might be thinking as well. EVERYTHING.

Millions of professionals have lost their jobs and have seen their working hours and income being cut significantly. Millions of entrepreneurs have shut down their businesses or suffered from severe losses. If any of these cases does apply to you, it’s ok! It’s a fact. That is, it has already happened. It’s in the past. And you cannot change the past. But you can focus on your present and start building your future. So, instead of being angry, stressed, disappointed, frustrated, sad, depressed or afraid of your current situation, start asking yourself: ”What are the opportunities here for me and my career?”

You are the one, and only one who can answer this question. My goal and promise to you here is to give you a few perspectives on how you can approach your unique answer to this question. So, here are 4 strategies that can give you more insights and can support you to not only develop, but also transform your career during the pandemic:

1. Discover & Follow Your Passion

How much did you or do you love your current job? Are/Were you really passionate about the work you do/did? If the answer is not ”Hell YES”, then this period is the best opportunity of your life to find your dream career and sail towards the right direction. YOUR direction. It’s a unique opportunity for you to reflect on what are the things that you would do without getting paid because you really enjoy them, and at the same time they put you in a state of flow? How can you serve others and add value to the market by leveraging what you’re passionate about? If you do answer the above, you’ll be able to turn your passion into your dream career! This way, you’ll have a more fulfilling, successful and profitable career. Simply, because you’ll be devoting more energy and time in what you you do, while having lots of fun! The result? You’ll be adding exceptional value to the people you serve, whether it’s your employer and team, or your customers. And when you do that, you reap the emotional and financial rewards you deserve. Because you do deserve to be both successful and happy at work!

Besides that, discovering your passion is a great way to develop the skill of adaptability. Given that almost 60% of the current jobs will become extinct or change drastically in the next 10-15 years, you do need to be ready to adapt any time and any moment. The coronavirus pandemic will accelerate this process by the acceleration of the technological and scientific growth. So, how passion can serve you in this new post-pandemic era? To answer this, we need first to make a crucial distinction: Passion is not a job.

A job is just one way to do what you’re really passionate about, not the only way. For example, my passion is to inspire people to discover and follow their passion. A job is a just way to capitalize on that. I can honor my passion in many profitable ways:

a) One-to-one coaching sessions (transformational career coach)

b) Public speaking (professional public speaker)

c) Writing a book on finding and following your passion (author)

d) Creating online programs for organizations to serve them to enhance the productivity and engagement of their people by putting the right persons in the right roles (contractor/individual contributor).

All the aforementioned are just a few ways to both express and get paid for my passion. So, stop worrying about the future of your job, and discover your top passion for this period of your life, and start monetizing it by adding value to others through it! Because remember: You do not get paid for your time. You get paid for the value you bring to the society. This is also the reason why two professionals with the same employer, skills, qualifications, and working hours can have a substantial difference in their salary. The new world is and will be unpredictable. That’s how life is. But when you’re crystal clear on your passion, then the possibilities to add value to others are…infinite!

2. Establish Your Success Habits

The biggest part of our daily activity is monitored by our subconscious mind (95%-97% of our activities). This means that for most of our time in the day we don’t act and think consciously, but unconsciously, in an automatic, default mode. Typical examples are driving, getting dressed, eating, brushing your teeth. We don’t think how to do any of these things. We just do them! Why is this info important? Because you are what you do. Day-in, day-out. That is, you are your habits. So, your habits do affect and determine your emotional state and the way you think. That’s why you need to establish the habits that will make you productive and physically, emotionally, mentally, and socially resilient. This way, you’ll be well-prepared and ready for any challenge in your life, whether it’s a personal or a global one. Here are the 4 main success habits categories, along with a few habits for you to start adopting:

a. Physical

Our physiology, our body, affects our psychology. So, make sure you keep yourself on a great shape. You can exercise in any way that works for you, whether it’s sports, walking, dancing or doing yoga. Besides that, nutrition has a direct and powerful impact in your body. Sugar food, or high-carbs food in general, spike your blood sugar and increase your stress hormones levels, such as cortisol levels. Yes, eating sweets can make you feel stressed! Of course, you and your body are unique, so what spikes your blood sugar does not mean that spikes the blood sugar of other people. That’s why you should look for professional advice to create and establish the kind of diet that works best for you. That is, eating healthy without sacrificing pleasure!

b. Emotional

You can do a few specific activities that will set the pace for the rest of your day in a quite positive and empowering way. Meditation, prayer and practicing gratitude (you can keep a gratitude journal and write down 3 things you’re grateful for every day) can have a tremendous positive effect in your life, and your career; because, whether you admit it or not, our personal life has a big impact on our professional life, and vice versa. Why? Because you are the one and the same person. You, as human, you are whole, and greater than the total sum of the roles you play in your life.

c. Mental

Staying sharp in times of chaos, fear and panic is crucial. Reading books that can help you to get new insights and empower you to achieve your career goals can make a huge difference in your mental resilience. Writing or active learning (e.g. learning a new language, attending a personal/professional development seminar/program) will boost your alertness and sharpness, which will help you deal with challenging situations smoothly and effectively. This is the power of knowledge and of putting it into practice.

d. Social

As Aristotle said, ”Man is a social animal”. This quote is more true now than ever before. Make the most of the quarantine and social distancing by leveraging the power of the internet. Connect online through groups, blogs, forums, communities and social media with people who share with you the same interests, goals and aspirations; people who have also achieved what you want to achieve; people who can support you in your career; and people who are completely different from you in order to get new perspectives and ideas.

3. Give Back

The highest and greatest source of happiness is unconditional contribution. You give without expecting to receive anything back. The pure act of giving makes you feel blessed, privileged and happy. That’s why, for example, people who volunteer tend to enjoy higher levels of happiness in their life. Because it’s in our very nature to support one another, make an impact, and thrive together.

In fact, this is exactly what I’ve been doing since the pandemic started in order to deal effectively with the pandemic: Giving away my time and skills to support as many people as possible. It was this behavior and attitude that also helped me to recover from the coronavirus; because I wasn’t focusing on the problem (the symptoms), but on the solution (actions that will boost my mood and state of mind). Plus, when you give unconditionally, you operate from a place of service; and people feel that, and they appreciate it. The result? You open yourself to much more opportunities than you could have ever imagined, thanks to the fact that you act as a human; with love and compassion. And remember this: In life and at work, the most important and powerful resources you can access are people; including yourself. This brings us to the last point:

4. Invest in Yourself

Use this pandemic as a unique opportunity to have access to the resources that can support you in your career goals and aspirations, and which you would have never been able to access to if this crisis had never happened. Why is it a unique opportunity? Because the entire world right now has moved online, whether it’s entertainment, amenities, communication, or work and businesses; you name it! So, you have the chance to find the resources, people or information, that can serve you to take your career to the next level. The best part? Most of the valuable resources are now free or at a fraction of the cost, because the economic downsides of this pandemic are enormous.

In Chinese, ”Wēijī” means crisis. The first syllable, ” Wēi”, means danger. The second one, ”jī”, means opportunity.

Which one will YOU choose?

Let’s connect! Connect with me on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/jim-panos