Tulips need time to rest before they can bloom.
I talk to many job searchers. They all want the same thing a job ASAP. Some work hard on their job search and then take some time to connect with family and friends. They have projects to work on that make them feel they are accomplishing something during their job search. Others think that if they stay on their computer all day, submit their résumé to every job opening they see and only think about their job search.
These two groups of people will eventually get a job. But the people who take the time off are in better spirits than the ones who work on their job search exclusively. Letting your job search dominate your life will only lead to frustration much quicker. Everyone becomes stressed and frustrated in a job search, but you need to deal with these emotions.
Dealing with your job search emotions includes venting when needed, talking through your frustration while looking for solutions is one way; socializing with positive people and taking time away to concentrate on other tasks two others.
Wayne Muller, in his book Sabbath: Finding Rest, Renewal, and Delight in Our Busy Lives, says “if certain plant species, for example, do not lie dormant for winter, they will not bear fruit in the spring. If this continues for more than a season, the plant begins to die. If dormancy continues to be prevented, the entire species will die. A period of rest — in which nutrition and fertility most readily coalesce — is not simply a human psychological convenience; it is a spiritual and biological necessity. A lack of dormancy produces confusion and erosion in the life force.”
We are no different from the plants. If we continue producing and producing without rest, we will start to die. Yes, it can be a physical death due to the stress on the body. But it, also, is a death of energy and positive attitude. Working non-stop leads to despair.
Muller continues, “we, too, must have a period in which we lie fallow, and restore our souls. In Sabbath time, we remember to celebrate what is beautiful and sacred; we light candles, sing songs, tell stories, eat, nap, and make love. It is a time to let our work, our lands, our animals lie fallow, to be nourished and refreshed. Within this sanctuary, we become available to the insights and blessings of deep mindfulness that arise only in stillness and time. When we act from a place of deep rest, we are more capable of cultivating what the Buddhists would call right understanding, right action, and right effort. In a complex and unstable world, if we do not rest, if we do not surrender into some kind of Sabbath, how can we find our way, how can we hear the voices that tell us the right thing to do?”
Job searching needs you to be clear focused and energized. Image going into an interview exhausted and not thinking clearly, what kind of answers are you going to give? How will you look? What will your attitude be?
Take time away from your job search for your health and sanity. You deserve it. And your job search deserves it.
How can I help you in your job search?
