This article is part of the Coaching Collective series, featuring tips and expertise from Flatiron School Career Coaches. Every Flatiron School graduate is eligible to receive up to 180 days of 1:1 career coaching with one of our professional coaches. This series is a glimpse of the expertise you can access during career coaching at Flatiron School.
Behind every coaches cheer is the power of optimism!
A cheerleader’s primary role is to support and encourage their team through coaching. They are peppy and positive and chant words of affirmations such as “you got this” and “we believe in you.”
Cheerleaders are like coaches- there to override the team’s doubts and to help them push through their fears. This support is valuable when folks are looking to make a career change and are not sure how to get started.
However, just saying positive words to oneself a couple of times isn’t enough. It takes regular habit-forming practice to be able to transform positive thoughts into beliefs.
Try practicing positive self-talk for 30 days to make it a habit. Stop and ask yourself, “Are my thoughts today empowering thoughts?” If the answer is no, how can you think differently?
Career Coaches as Inspiration
Career Coaches and cheerleaders are not the only ones that know how to promote and spread self-pride. One of the habits Navy Seals are trained in is cheering themselves on. They have one of the most rigorous training programs in the world!
They are taught to create an inner cheering voice when they are struggling to say things like, “You can do it! Forget that mistake! Focus on the next task! You are getting better!”
They learn to align their self-talk with their goals, not their fears. This is one method they use to overcome their fears and push through a big challenge.
Believing in your goals and saying them together with encouraging words can improve mental health, broaden your perspective, and stimulate your creative juices.
Cheerleaders can teach us how to apply these positive messages to ourselves. The key is to become more like The World’s Greatest Cheerleader and start looking at yourself as if you were your best friend.
How To Get Support From Friends And Family
No human being can thrive alone. We need each other for support and encouragement, especially when we have challenging situations we are trying to overcome.
To gain the support of friends and family, come up with all the reasons why your career change is so important to you. Use it as a conversation piece and ask if they can think of any additional reasons to support your case. Then ask them to remind you of these reasons when they see you struggling or starting to doubt your capabilities.
Find a time to talk about where you are in the process and what your next plans are. Talk about it over a nice meal or while going for a walk. Talking to someone makes it more real and helps you with accountability.
Consider Flatiron School’s Career Coaches for Support
Start by talking with someone you trust about your upcoming career change, then start including others in your circle. Identify one main person you can go to for ongoing conversations about your progress and struggles. This person can be your accountability partner.If you have trouble finding someone, consider working with a career coach.
As part of Flatiron School, we not only provide the training you need to make a career change to tech but we also include a supportive network of peers and career coaches. Each graduate receives up to 180 days of 1:1 career coaching with one of our professional coaches.
How To Prevent Career Change Drift
You are the sum of all the people and content you are exposed to. Meaning, you reflect on all that you have encountered, learned, and chose to adopt as part of your belief system. Taking more control of the people and things you have in your life to ensure they are positive and healthy in nature will provide a conducive environment for you to thrive in whatever you choose.
If you are stuck because you don’t know how to move to the next level, think about what you need to learn to close the gap. Find the training and support you need to start learning to pursue mastery in your knowledge gap.
Align yourself with a positive environment
When you have big goals such as making a career change in coding, you will need as much support as you can get to achieve success. Connecting with positive content through various channels such as uplifting blogs, videos, podcasts, or connecting with mentors, groups, or people you respect will help you stay inspired and motivate you to take action in the right direction.
How Flatiron School supports career change for all students
You could even join a program like Flatiron School that incorporates a combination of a healthy learning environment along with supportive teachers, peers, and encouraging coaches.
Citations:
- (Hoobyar, E. and Dotz, T, and Sander, S., 2013. NLP The Essential Guide. New York: Harper Collins.)
Julie Allen is a career coach with Flatiron School. She also has a private career coach business called The StoryMakers. Julie comes from 20 years as a manager in the tech industry helping corporate America achieve its goals. She is located in the Seattle area, where she inspires young professionals to go after their dream jobs. Julie holds a BA in English and Psychology from Washington State University and an MBA from Golden Gate University.
