When you read this title what emotions do you feel? Confusion? Intrigue? Curiosity? Relaxation? Or nothing. Feelings are a core component of our mental state. You might be aware of the increase or decrease in your emotions and how they move around all the time, just like the air in a balloon that you blow into. I came across a good article on LinkedIn about the emotional ride around job searching: the highs of handing in an application, to the lows of rejection. Here is the article link with the good tips: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/riding-waves-navigating-emotions-job-searching-lucia-galassi-ojfhf/
Feelings are core to the mental work that I do with organisations and individuals.
I experienced this directly on the JobsInAdtech.com job seekers call, with my interview with Sophie Large a few weeks ago. We discussed the emotions in the Jobs in AdTech arena and I have to admit that there were some emotions for me – both positive and negative - just being interviewed! I realised that those emotions were normal which alone helped me to manage the interview.
Feelings are our own mind’s reaction to external moments that our brain tries to translate. To put it into context: our brains can be capable of executing as many as 100 billion operations per second (https://www.britannica.com/science/information-theory/Physiology).
Our feelings are only a partial component of our mental health. The other mental components are ‘thoughts’ and ‘behaviours’, however, our feelings can overwhelm our entire mindset. When you have this focus, it is important to review ‘why’ you feel as you do. Sometimes it will be based on a true and rationale moment outside the brain. Sometimes it will be based on your mind’s translation of an unreal moment outside the brain; like a warning or prediction.
I recently watched my 11-year-old son play cricket. It was full of emotions for him, and me. Before he batted, his mind was working on the different scenarios he would face – I know because I was throwing practice balls to him! The practice role was for both his body and mind to prepare. His mind was working around how to react to certain scenarios, some might happen and some might not. That is how our minds work from the moment we consider and prepare to apply for a job It is important to know that our feelings can be generic and linked to other moments in our day and therefore not focused only one specific area.
Imagine you have applied for a job. It is normal for your mind to focus on the next steps and translate how to react next. Your feelings will come from the moment you think about your application, to the moment you received the result, and further. It is like a campaign: from taking a brief, to delivering the strategy and campaign and reviewing the results, and using that campaign as a case study for the next brief.
From the moment you look into a job, your feelings will be part of your application journey.
Now, going back to the ‘why’ when you experience different feelings during your job journey. Be aware how they can impact your other sides of mental health, especially your behaviour. Asking yourself ‘why’ can take yourself away from the moment and give you the space to understand if you are having a rational approach, or if your emotions are making that decision.
Patrick runs mental programmes to take away stigmas and build resilience: talks, research, podcasts, articles and MHFA England training. You can find and contact him at https://www.linkedin.com/in/melvillesolutions/