Mental Health and Career Development
This blog is a continuation of a series of blogs that will be outlining what I have learned from the interviews and readings regarding careers and career development.
The most important attribute would be understanding yourself and using this as a starting point. There are some key categories that a person should review as a starting point. The points would be health, mental health or outlook on life, relationships (family and friends), work skills, the viewpoint on work and money. I will talk about each of these in more detail in individual blogs coming up.
This week it will be Mental Health and or Mindset
Looking at the glass half full or half empty, are we considered optimistic or pessimistic, and how do we deal with our emotions - do we let them run away on us? Also, there is pressure from our competitive world that can affect our mental health. As I stated in the health blog https://www.thecareerguy.ca/blog/blog-4-health-and-career-development when we are healthy things work better and the same can be said about our mental health. When our outlook on life is good, we can deal with more complex problems, we can deal with adversity better, and above all, we can accomplish a lot more. That is the intent of this blog - to highlight some things to consider in dealing with mental health especially in career development.
With the list of interviews that I have done so far, in conversations that I have had, and in observing my career and others the one key attribute that seems to stick out is the ability to get along with others. While this may seem trivial, talented people can sabotage their careers by being inimical. This is not suggesting that we need to be everyone’s best friend. However, how we treat others and make others feel around us can dictate how well we can do for ourselves. In essence, we want to be able to make people comfortable around us, and in doing so others will be willing to help us out as well. This is a fundamental lesson, as we develop our careers, we will always need the help of others. Therefore, the ability to maintain good relationships is vital.
Emotional intelligence - understanding our emotions is central to maintaining relationships. Unfortunately, it is a topic that is not discussed very much but does have an impact on our life by dictating our outlook which leads to how we function. Daniel Coleman the author of “Emotional Intelligence” claims emotions that can be considered negative such as anger, frustration and rage can high jack our ability to think clearly and critically. So, it is being aware of what triggers those unlikable emotions inside of us that is important. Nobody likes to be around someone mad or upset and it can prohibit a good working relationship with others. So, understanding what makes us tick especially those unpleasant emotions and how to deal with them will assist a person in their career.
How we problem-solve can either lead to frustration or it can be rewarding especially in our technical world. A book that was written by Barbra Oakley “A Mind for Numbers” has many good tips for people pursuing fields in science and engineering as there are very technical concepts in these areas of study and they can be hard to learn. However, the tips can be used for everyday life as well as dealing with people who can be complex. She states that when we are relaxed, we can figure out the most complex problems. The key thing is to learn to walk away from the problems and let them simmer for a while, this does work for both technical and interpersonal relationships. It is when we divorce ourselves with these problematic issues that we develop those Aha moments.
Some of us do fall into this trap of working towards a goal (and the goal can be whatever you may want it to be) and developing the mindset that I will only be happy when I complete such and such. Again, with all the interviews that I have done, people that enjoy what they are doing are more likely to find pleasure in the process as well in whatever they are aiming to achieve. And in doing so they seem to find opportunities that they may not have thought about originally. In essence, goal setting is important but how we approach the process can make the bigger difference. In regards to mental health, it is important to be doing something that we enjoy. Of course, no matter what we do there will be issues, bumps, or things we do not like to deal with for example being a student and taking tests. With that, it is understanding and looking at the big picture. The people that seem to be able to do this tend to accomplish more.
I have only touched on this very complicated topic. The takeaway is to be aware of our own emotions and not to stop them but to understand what is triggering them. In doing so, when we are directing our careers, we will know what emotions will be triggered in certain environments. As an example, government organizations will have politics and some of us do not deal well with them, this is something to consider then when choosing a place to work.
Pursuing a career in science or engineering is challenging and a person that wants a career in this discipline has to want to embrace the challenges that come with it. The same could be said for working in the arts or in social sciences which has its list of challenges as well that are just different. It is understanding our strengths and our desires and finding something that is in alignment with us that can reduce anxiety. This leads to the final point and that is just enjoying the process. When we do find something that we are in alignment with, we are more inclined to enjoy the process involved. Just being aware of this and being willing to try things is a stepping stone but the results are worth it as we will become more productive and better to be around which will help our career in the end.