Losing yourself in Change and Ambition?

Keywords: Psychological wellbeing, leadership development, resilience, coaching, mental health

Author: Dr Anna-Rosa le Roux
Date: 13 August 2024, Worklife Digital

In the relentless pursuit to grow and strive to be successful, it's easy to lose sight of oneself amid change and ambition. This is a challenge familiar to many leaders, including a recent client who, after a brief sabbatical, embarked on a significant career shift. His journey toward personal mastery—a crucial element of psychological competence—began with deep introspection and a commitment to managing life with greater effectiveness.

Through resilience, creativity, and courage, he not only rediscovered his sense of purpose but also cultivated a stronger, more resilient self. For leaders facing similar transitions, this story serves as a reminder: in times of change, it's vital to pause, reflect, and seek the support that enables you to thrive.

Meet our client: The Mental Health Professional

Our client is a father, a partner, and a professional, who had recently relocated with his family to the UK. The fresh start required him to recalibrate his life and career.

He worked in the mental health sector, which carried a significant emotional load. Most of his clients felt lonely, disconnected, and purposeless. His job was to help them navigate these feelings and set meaningful goals. This responsibility took a toll on him, leaving him stressed, depressed, and drained. The constant negativity from his clients compounded his own feelings of exhaustion.

The client noted that people often underestimate the impact of relocating or changing jobs on themselves and their families. The upheaval affected not only him but also his family, adding to his stress.

Finding the balance: Personal Mastery

He sought professional coaching as he wanted to reflect on his decision making and take stock of his personal life journey. He realised that he needed to work on himself first, before he can show up as a balanced practitioner with his clients, his family and for his partner.

The coaching report he received affirmed his experiences and highlighted the importance of building resilience. For him, his coaching journey started with exploring his personal mastery.

Personal mastery is a set of specific principles and practices that enables a person to learn, create a personal vision, and view the world objectively. Personal mastery is associated with psychological competence, and individuals with lower scores tend to struggle more with work-life balance and psychological wellbeing.

Our client reflected on certain aspects and explored certain paths that he could take towards personal mastery:

In which areas of my life should I assert greater control to enhance my overall effectiveness? Establishing clear goals and priorities in these domains is essential.
What obstacles do I encounter, and how can I address them? Cultivating creativity and resourcefulness is key to problem-solving, and mastery is achieved by persevering through challenges rather than retreating.
How can I embody greater courage in my actions? What steps would I take if I were to act with increased courage? Embracing adaptability and flexibility is crucial as circumstances evolve.

With these questions answered, our client felt that he had a starting point for addressing his own wellbeing. By identifying areas where he needed to take control and set clear goals, he could begin to manage his life more effectively. Recognizing the difficulties he experienced, he was motivated to practise creativity and resourcefulness in finding solutions, understanding that mastery required perseverance in the face of challenges. By embracing courage and exploring what he would do if he felt more courageous, he aimed to foster adaptability and flexibility in navigating life's changes.

Are you feeling extreme levels of stress and complexity due to relocation or job changes? Are you burdened by the pressure to be successful and fear regretting your move?

Take Action: Reflect and Rebuild

Remember, you don't have to navigate this journey alone. Engaging with professionals can help you work through issues that will positively impact your life. Often, we are unaware of the unconscious issues that keep us stuck in old patterns of behaviour.

We work with you to address issues that are below the surface. Shifting theses brings new insights and resolution for our clients.

Identifying areas of psychological wellbeing that hold you back, and focusing on addressing them is key to developing a strong, healthy mindset. Our free assessment helps you identify your strengths (areas where you are an ambassador) and areas where you have room to grow. Recommended guidance also helps you to focus on and develop areas of weakness and provide insight in how to use your strengths as a leader for others.

Click here for your 15 min free assessment and diagnostic report.

WorkLife Digital is a global mental-wellbeing consultancy driven by the mission to improve the sustainability of businesses. Our psychological wellbeing tool, Worklife Quotient (WL-Q), is modelled on cutting-edge scientific research and provides organisation-wide measurement and intelligence on the mental wellbeing levels and psychological resilience of staff. WL-Q also assesses the impact of organisational practices (i.e. people and culture, leadership styles, organisational purpose and values, social impact) that have a direct influence on staff wellbeing and provides strategic recommendations on addressing risks and promoting strengths.

For more information, get in touch at anna-rosa@worklife.digital