5 STEP PROCESS TO ACHIEVE CLARITY FOR YOUR CAREER & PERSONAL GOALS | SMart Choice Lifestyle

I've always had an eclectic way of seeing things. I draw my inspiration from an incredible array of sources, time periods and industries. It's like I'm building a never ending vision board for my life and career. 

AWARENESS FIRST

Thankfully I had a constant throughout: thinking in pictures. I draw out the way all my ideas are going to look, act and what purpose are they going to serve and need are they going to take care of. The natural outcome was that I ended up pursuing a creative career, dealing with images and stories. Hence, I decided that I am a visual storyteller. 

Becoming aware of your talents and the skills that can help you move forward is essential if you want to grow a career out of just a passion. "Passion" is such an emotion-filled word. "What you're naturally good at and enjoy doing" sounds better. But for the sake of word economy, let's continue naming it "passion".

Being multi-passionate and loving to do many things can become confusing if you don't spend time working out the bits and pieces that will help you understand what career should you really follow. Most of us finish school and immediately get a job. "That's the safe thing to do!" common sense tells us. Sounds fair, and for many of us, it ends up being their road in life. And that's completely fine and normal. It's their choice and if it makes them happy, go for it!

MY DREAMS AND MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS

I was the other kind. The one that had the regular 9-5 job, but had her mind on creative projects almost all of the time. Given the situation, I kept the things I loved to do as hobbies and tried my best to integrate them into my daily work tasks. Every time I got the chance to do one of them, I felt happy. That feeling went away when I got back to whatever I was working on.

For a long while, I thought it to be normal. We all have jobs that get us tired and hobbies that help us refresh and get us back on track. And so a few years passed and while I was working, I always thought of starting my own thing on the side. The dream of building my own business doing what I loved never left me. 

The decisive moment that completely shifted my actions was the 25th of July 2014, the day the neurologist told me that I had Multiple Sclerosis. In less than 24 hours, all my thoughts pointed to living my life the way I always wanted and making my dreams a reality. Even more so, wanting to continue working equaled pursuing my passion. My time was limited. Nobody knew by how much or less. The illness is unpredictable, so I have to hurry! 

There was no turning back after that. After just a week back at the office, I listened to my gut and left. It no longer provided me with anything rather than monthly pay. I chose my health over money. And so I started my sabbatical. Taking time to clear my head after the diagnosis, learn as much as I could about the disease, find ways in which to keep it inactive and most of all follow my dream career.

Do you know that feeling of liking so many things that you can't really decide which one to really pursue? Or, if you had narrowed in down to two or three areas, it's still difficult to start because for each one there are SO many things that you can say or do? Welcome to my world!

The funny thing is that I already know what I want to do (and I kindda knew it for more than 7 years now), but there's always something left to do, improve or wait to be the right moment for. Up until a few months ago, I thought it to be fear of failure. But no. Failure doesn't scare me for quite a while now. I mean, what's the worse it can happen? I already have an incurable disease! (*smiling ironically here*)

The fear of not being good enough isn't it either, as I managed to get passed peer pressure too. The thing is I find it difficult to decide. And that's so funny, because the blog is named SMart Choice, so technically, I should have mastered the decision making process by now. But not in the things I hold dear to my heart.

And so my one year sabbatical became two years, and the more I learned and the more ideas I had, the worse I became at deciding to start. I had it all planned on paper, all organized, but no action. Constant learning. An eternal student. I like learning, but I also like to be productive. 

The biggest lesson that I've learned these past two years is that you can't work on your dreams if you don't know the dreamer. Meaning that you first have to come back to knowing who you are and then see what you can do for work. 

HOW TO ACHIEVE CLARITY FOR YOUR GOALS - 5 STEP PROCESS

That's why I came up with this 5 step process that you can also take to get in touch with your true self, or at least with your inner motivations and ideas that make you uniquely you, helping with your career goals.

So, without further adue, here are the steps that get you closer to yourself. You'll need a piece of paper and a few minutes to write things down.

1. DEFINE THE CONTEXT

Find a picture of yourself as a kid. Look at it and try to remember who you were back then. Asses your current lifestyle choices, the things you're naturally good at, the skills you've learned throughout the years and see where you stand. What's the thing (or things) that have remained a constant? Note them down and move on to the second step...

2. WHAT DO YOU STAND FOR AND WHAT DO YOU WANT YOUR LEGACY TO BE?

Note down your core values (limit yourself to just 5, the most important ones). After a life spent working, what would you like to be remembered for? What are the most important things that you leave behind as a professional?

3. ALIGN GOALS TO PERSONALITY AND VALUES?

Make a list of goals that you want to achieve during this lifetime. Be specific in naming them. No matter how big or unimportant they seem, they are part of your vision, so note them down. Given the values and legacy that you've decided upon already, how do you plan to achieve those goals? Define a short strategy. What choices will you need to make in order to achieve those goals?

4. DAILY ACTION PLANNING

Achieving mastery or anything in life means discipline and work. All the people that got somewhere with their lives and careers have to (and most still are) work hard to get their goal. You'll need a plan. Make it simple, actionable and daily. Think of the bigger picture and then narrow it down to what are the daily tasks that you need to do in order to get where you want to. Start with the first goal on your list and go from there. Then act upon that plan, but...

5. FOLLOW-UP AND REVIEW

To know how far you've came, you need to do regular reviews and measurements. Nothing fancy, just, for example, see how much of Project X is done and what's left to do. You need to know what you need to do, in order to plan your day and efficiently dose your energy, especially when living with Multiple Sclerosis.

Liked this post? Subscribe HERE, to be sure we stay connected. Let me know if you’d want me to write a more extensive piece on this topic, or on smaller topics from it. Would love to hear your opinion on this! Leave your comments down below.

Sincerely,

Denisa

#MSWorkability - Are You Ready for Work? Twittchat about Career andMultiple Sclerosis

Neurons were firing brightly on last evening’s twitt chat! Once more, the EMSP and Emma Rogan took the conversation about multiple sclerosis and work to the social media agora. Last year they invited us to twitt chat about work with MS management issues (read more about it here). This time, they partnered with The Work Foundation at Lancaster University to bring to life a new project called “Ready for Work”. Read on to find out more!

CONTEXT AND CONCEPT

Their collaboration is focused on supporting young people with MS into employment, and in time making it a purpose for clinical care. The project emphasizes the important relationship between doctors, patients and employers and the individuals’ abilities to work and continue their careers in today’s european socio-economic context.

As Lead Coordinator of “Ready for Work”, Emma Rogan introduces the concept of “workability”, which describes the situation of doctors clinically discussing the issue of work with their MS patients.

Multiple sclerosis is “usually diagnosed during the prime working years of a person’s life, between the ages 20-40” (@WorkFoundation) and the impact on the individual’s life of not being able to work is far greater than one can think. Not to mention the huge amount it costs the state to keep all MSers on welfare alone. Which usually is only a temporary thing anyway.

WHAT WAS DISCUSSED?

The common enemy here is the social stigma associated with illness. People who suffer from MS might end up with mild to severe disabilities, and that scares employers as much as it does the MSers themselves. Both are afraid of losing something: one risks losing profit, the other his or her’s whole life. It’s basically the same need: the one to survive in today’s world.

People are usually afraid of what they either don’t know or don’t understand. They tend to reject that thing by default. Prejudice is deeply engraved for most individuals. The key to better understanding and less fearing MS is more awareness. Hopefully, as people talk more and more about this illness, they will understand it more and fear it less. They will care.

In this context, employers (as well as the general public) need to be educated about what multiple sclerosis really means for the individual and what it also means in terms of costs and gains for their businesses and society at a larger scale.

For one, having a workplace and a peer community to go to everyday brings more social connection, thus avoiding social isolation that can deeply affect the quality of life of a person with MS. It also helps with gaining and sustaining financial independence and creativity into one’s life. Being involved in various projects and tasks gets one’s mind off the illness, whilst providing financial security.

Keeping MSers employed can actually cut costs and increase revenue for businesses, as they are still highly skilled, love their jobs and want to be of use and contribute to their workplace in spite of being diagnosed with a chronic and possibly debilitating disease. Their dedication and willingness to keep their jobs actually shows they are loyal, courageous and have lots of willpower to make it work. These are the kind of people every business should want working for them.

This is where the EMSP Toolkit for Employers can help a lot in understanding what needs to be done and managed when employing a person who has multiple sclerosis. At its very basic, this situation only needs minor adjustments like: flexible hours and the ability to work remotely / from home, cooling devices in the summer and a place to rest during lunch break.

Think of an MSer at work as if it were a smartphone: it does all this complex tasks, it solves lots of issues you might have, and after a while it needs recharging; after the battery is full, it can resume its tasks with the same excellent results.

"The relationship between doctor and patient also has to be an open and inclusive one" (@eumsplatform), to make work a crucial discussion topic during regular check-ups. Career and staying at work are essential things to all young MSers.

My personal belief is that a holistic approach to MS treatment is now needed. Medical, emotional, lifestyle and career factors and their balance make an individual a part of society. The collaboration between doctors, employers and patients is crucial.

Also, a good starting point would be a clinical test result to support one’s working skills and abilities. A medical certification that he or she is able to work within certain conditions and environments. Helping match the skills and career aspirations of young MSers to the demands of their work, will hopefully ensure access to good quality work and minimize the underutilization of their skills at the workplace (@eumsplatform).

On top of that, training the HR departments (where applicable) would be more than useful (@emmabear88), as oftentimes, MSers are afraid of disclosing their illness because of prejudice, of being seen as less capable and even of getting fired.

On the long run, the more cohesive a society is, the more it can withstand its hardships. So, in conclusion, the more we raise awareness and advocate for inclusion of all people in the workforce, the more diverse and powerful our societies will be.

Humans are social animals. We can’t survive so well on our own. A business needs skilled individuals to get things going forward. As a tribe thousands of years ago, it needs skills to evolve. Think about it: what happens if the right skills disappear when you fire an MSer? Just think about it!

CONCLUSIONS. WHERE TO NOW?

Support the “Ready for Work” Project. Spread the word. Use the EMSP Employee Toolkit to raise awareness and continuously educate. 

And last but not least, join the European Multiple Sclerosis Platform (@eumsplatform) and Emma Rogan (@emmadragon) once more on the 12-13th of March, as she takes over their Twitter page for an in-depth discussion on brain health, work and related issues. 

See you there! (or read you there!)

(Read the whole twitt chat here, #MSWorkability)

As always, wishing you the best,

Alexandra

How to Keep Working While Living With Multiple Sclerosis - #SMartWednesday

Last year I was telling you about my plans of starting a business while living with MS. Today I’m going further on, and begin talking about how I think of making it a reality. I hope sharing my story can inspire you to do great work yourself.

The first thing I learned in my journey so far, is that you need to focus on your strenghts, on what you can and love doing. All the rest is weighing you down from achieving your goals, be them career or personal ones. We are all good at something, or do some things especially well. Think about what you love doing and what are you really good at, what do people always compliment you on.

Money and financial security keep you healthy and basically alive, as they provide for all that helps you going on living from month to month. But on the long run, are they really worth your health, mental clarity and emotions?

Adjust your current conditions at work. Talk to your employer about what your needs are and what can you both do to continue having a productive and healthy collaboration. If all this fails, go back to your main resource: yourself.

Invest time into searching for a new job or take a leap of faith and start your own thing. Read here some of the conclusions of the twittchat #WorkOutMS that I was on last year, organised by shift.ms and the European Multiple Sclerosis Platform. You'll find it useful.

By age 25-30 you are certainly very good at something. Think how you can transform that into a product or service and start your own business. But start small and gradually go upwards. It’s going to be hard at times, but think that the alternative can be having no job at all, and not being able to contribute to your family’s income. You have MS. Can starting a business scare you more?

Of course, there are also the cases when you can’t move, or have a mobility issue. As long as you can write, speak and express yourself, you can do it. There are tens of examples of people with major disabilities who have made it through and established a name for themselves. Prove society wrong! You are a perfectly gifted individual, who has a lot to offer to the world. Be that only your MS experience. Write about it, turn it into a workshop… You know best what you’re good at.

For me, I decided last year to focus on my writing skills, on portrait photography and on developing my yoga practice. The business I’m starting is all about visual storytelling and family portrait photography. Starting this while I dedicate the rest of my time to writing and developing my yoga practice (planning to become an instructor someday).

This is one of many articles to come regarding work issues and how to start and manage a business while living with multiple sclerosis. It’s a broad subject and a passionate one for me, as I always was an independent spirit who loved to do things my own way, and help people along the way. You will be seeing more of this topic! Hope you like it!

Tell me your story! Subscribe for more upcoming articles!

Love,

Alexandra