The Best Career Advice of 2021

Individual Counseling Insights brought to you by California Psychotherapeutic Resources, Inc.

One thing we’ve all had to be over the last couple of years is “adaptable.” Whether you’ve had to figure out how to breathe properly through a mask while you work out in the gym, or juggle simultaneous online school sessions for two kids, the more creative and adaptable you’ve been, the better.

Young workers in the lunch room

Adapting to new situations at work, though, is a little different story. You may not have quite the control over your decisions that you have in your personal life. Unless you want to take this opportunity to make a career change, you’ll need to balance how you’re being asked to change with your personal style of reacting to change.

Writing for HuffPost, Monica Torres tackled the topic of adapting to a changed work environment. She interviewed a variety of prominent therapists to find out what advice they’d given to clients over the last year. Here are the bits of wisdom she uncovered, which may help you in the coming year.

“Take your self-doubt with you.” This is a bit counter-intuitive, but it makes a lot of sense if you think about it. Consider people who think they are 100 percent right 100 percent of the time — not very attractive character traits. For them, a little humility is in order. On the flip side, consider people who are plagued with self-doubt. Maybe they’re a bit too humble. Realize that a little self-doubt is okay — just don’t let it stop you from acting. Don’t let self-doubt rob you of confidence.

“Your job pays you for your time, experience and effort, but not for your soul.” Ambitious people are prone to give all of themselves, so much so they may neglect anything from their family to their spiritual life. The way to avoid this trap is to simply set boundaries at work.

“Different doesn’t mean better.” If switching jobs or careers has begun to seem an attractive option over the last couple of years, just remember this truism.

“Remind yourself that no job is worth your mental health and happiness.” As rewarding as you may find your work, over time you’ll find this bit of age-old wisdom is as valid as ever: a life in balance is the most fulfilling life.

“If you’re having a hard time, it makes sense.” Living through a pandemic is a traumatic event. Just because virtually everyone on the planet has lived through it together does not lessen its impact on you individually. If you’re having trouble making sense of work or your personal life, that’s perfectly normal — it’s normal to have trouble making sense of a traumatic event.

Read more of Torres’ interviews with prominent therapists here.