You can (and will) do hard things in your job search

A few years ago my daughter was in a Shakespeare class that culminated in doing a play.  Before the culmination, they studied seventeen Shakespeare plays, memorized and recited lines (outside of the end-of-year play), had deep discussions about meanings, wrote papers, did presentations, and did group exercises that made them come out of their comfort zone.

I know it was hard work, and she did stuff that I had never done, and didn’t feel capable of doing.  But she plowed through, and loved it.  I remember her regular saying “I can do hard things.”  This is self-talk and affirmation that I don’t remember having… ever.  Not that I wasn’t self-driven, or self-motivated, or one who would accomplish many things… but for a 12 or 13 year old to regularly say “I can do hard things,” positively, and then work through the hard things… where did that come from?

It came from her Shakespeare mentors, who were reading a book on that very topic.  They brought that phrase to her, and she internalized it.

I invite you to internalize “I can do hard things” right now.  You have been invited, by virtue of being in a job search, to do hard and uncomfortable things.

Not many people like to pick up the phone and put their ego on the line, and be in a position of hope, want and need – and let the whole world know it.  That is hard, for many people.

Not many people want to disect themselves and their personal career, trying to figure out who they are, what makes them tick, what values they bring to the table, and how to word all of that.  That is HARD!

Not many people want to be in a position worse than paycheck to paycheck… that is, a position where they don’t know where the next day of food is coming from.

Not many people want to [ fill in this blank with whatever scares you in this job search! ]

I’m not saying that you want to be here, doing this, but here’s what I’m saying:

YOU CAN DO HARD THINGS!

Devote yourself, recommit yourself, and DO IT.  Step by step, task by task, DO IT.

I know it looks hard, but once you get going it can be fun, and rewarding.  More than that, the personal growth you’ll see (or that others will see in you) can be a huge boost for the next steps in your career.