For when it feels hopeless, and you need some hope.

As I’ve been working with clients, one reframing tool that I teach has resonated over and over again across many different clients. And it’s so simple. 

Our brains have a tendency to go into black and white thinking. They tell us:

• The job market is bad right now, I won’t find a job.

• I’m switching industries, no one will want to hire me. 

• My experience at a small company makes me unappealing to a large one. 

What happens is that the way we phrase these doubts in our own minds, they turn into certainties. And after all, if you believe that you won’t find a job then why take action towards it… It’s a waste of time right? 

So the trick is to give a hint, just a tiny little hint that you might not be wasting your time after all by adding the words ‘It’s possible’ to the beginning of the sentence. 

• It’s possible that I can find a job. 

• It’s possible that while I don’t  come from this industry some hiring managers might see that as a strength. 

• It’s possible that some teams in large corporations value small company experience.  

Those two words unlock an entire world of potential. Suddenly the possibility exists and therefore it’s worth working towards.  Even more importantly, these thoughts are very difficult for your brain to argue against. 

You aren’t saying that you definitely will find a job. Your brain has a million reasons why that isn’t true and the current job market is just the first one. It can spend hours giving you a list so convincing that by the end you aren’t sure you are actually qualified to work. Anywhere. At All. 

Or. 

You could say, it’s possible that I can find a job. And how can your brain argue with that? Can it know for sure that you can’t find a job? No. It has to allow for the possibility for this scenario to be true because it cannot check all scenarios in which it would not be true. 

This helps because now taking actions towards a job search is not a waste of time. If it’s possible to find a job then it’s possible that applying for that next position or reaching out to that old colleague might lead to a job. It’s a small shift in mindset but a huge shift in hope. And that makes all the difference.