How to Refocus & Reignite Your Career, While Being a Parent

It’s an age-old tension that, for many, has been amplified by the times. Work, home, parenting, purpose, passion, interests - they all spin around and often feel like they’re competing with one another for center stage. And, not infrequently, we start to feel like none get done on a level that makes us feel truly good, competent, and alive.

Throw in all the considerations that also come with career transition and everything starts to feel a little out of control.?

In moments like these, while you might have a strong idea about what you want to do next or which skills you'd like to hone, the transition into a new organization, role, or even routine isn't always so seamless. And once you've begun to realize that other responsibilities, distractions, and everything else life throws at you can make it challenging to put your best foot forward towards your passions, you might start to wonder:?

How do you refocus your drive, your yearning, your skills to match what makes you come alive - what Sparks you - in work and life when the ground feels to be perpetually moving beneath you? And then, how do you balance your own goals with parenting, family, and other life priorities??

These questions were brought to us by SPARKED podcast listener Carrie, who shared her struggle to harness her passion for writing and natural knack for leading after leaving the hospitality industry to work from home with and homeschool her young children. What Carrie describes in her letter to us in today's episode is a delicate balancing act that I believe some of us are all too familiar with. To help tease out insights, ideas, and strategies, I'm joined by SPARKED Braintrust mentor Charlie Gilkey, a strategic advisor and executive coach, founder of the Productive Flourishing consultancy, and author of the multi-award-winning book Start Finishing.?

You can listen to today's SPARKED Podcast episode by hitting play on the player below or find it on your favorite podcast app.?

And, remember, we all have a unique imprint for work that makes us come alive: your Sparketype?. When you discover yours, everything - your entire work-life journey and even parts of your personal life and relationships - begin to make sense, and you feel better equipped to find, do, or create work that (finally) sparks you!

To learn your Sparketype, check out the free Sparketype? Assessment.

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