In my work as a career coach I notice patterns. Many people are telling me that they need long recovery periods after years of working in a stressful environment. Although they really want to launch into a new career path of self-employment or setting up a business, they don’t have their full energy resources available.
I remember when I left my job I so wanted to have the confidence and energy to start my new work as a coach, but the more I put into it the more drained I felt. I hadn’t given myself the time to recover from the anxiety and knock on my confidence and nervous system. I expected myself to just bounce back out from it and I put a lot of pressure on myself to make my idea work.
Of course most people need to work and can’t afford months off to recover. Plus it can feel very lonely and unknown territory to become self-employed or set up a new business. How can you restore your energy levels while starting something new and how long will it take? There aren’t quantifiable answers to these questions.
I believe that recovery from stress and anxiety needs to become part of your new career journey. If you don’t have the energy or confidence to launch into something new or to take a big risk, then I think it’s really important to acknowledge that and break it down into much smaller steps so that you have the space and time to gather yourself back together.
This is where I think spending time in nature can play a really important role. Walking in the countryside, sitting with a brew in the woods, learning navigation skills, sketching beautiful landscapes, and listening to rivers, has positively impacted all areas of my life throughout my career change. Spending time in these environments has helped me to recover from living and working in London and from being put down by managers. This is one of the reasons that I bring nature into my coaching practice, whether it’s walking in the moors or asking a question prompted by the season. It helps me and I believe it can help others too.
There’s a walk in the Peak District that I think offers a wonderful experience between both rest and movement. It begins in the woods surrounded by birdsong and ancient history, takes you up into the moors offering an entirely different perspective, and finishes along a gentle stream. If you’d like to book on to this coaching experience, please email sarah@sarahventurer.com for more information. Let’s call it a sustainable approach to changing your career.
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