Moving tips for relocating to a new work “town”

Not everyone is intentional about where they choose to work. Sometimes we get complacent with where we “grow up” and we forget to venture beyond our own boundaries. Other times, we hop from “town” to “town”, never truly satisfied, hoping the next town will be different, yet somehow end up in the same situation surrounded by the same people as before.

In work, just like in life, there are the places we reside and then there’s the place that feels like home. As a resident, we may not be completely in alignment with where we are at, and because of such, we don’t drop into the experience as deeply as we do when we feel at home. There are several factors that help make our work feel like “home”:

• Integrating all we’ve previously lived into our current work
• Having opportunities to share our unique wisdom, insights, and perspectives
• Doing activities that make the best use of our strengths, gifts, and talents
• Acting in alignment with our core values
• Having a clear purpose and vision that guides our decisions
• Being surrounded by people who truly see us and we see them
• Creatively expressing ourselves in our work

The intention behind discovering, creating, and living your inspired work is that your work becomes the place where you feel most at home, both within yourself and out in the world.

Popular work “towns”

Just for fun, I have created some fictional towns to represent different work scenarios. Of course, they are exaggerated and do not represent a holistic picture, however, there might be aspects of each town that feel familiar to you, either currently or from your past. Do any of these towns resemble where you work?

Nightmare Gulch

• Population: Diminishing
• Who works here: Walking Dead, Power Mongers
• Point of interest: The waste dump where all humanity has been forsaken
• Why people stay: They are energetically feeding off of their work and each other
• Why people leave: Either their work kills them or life intervenes on their behalf

Snoozeville

• Population: Far too many
• Who works here: Those Going through the Motions
• Point of interest: The town clock only has the numbers 9 to 5
• Why people stay: It’s safe here because nothing much happens
• Why people leave: Something in them yearns to be excited about waking up every day

Meaningless Creek

• Population: Overcrowded
• Who works here: The Depressed and The Despondent
• Point of interest: The creek running through the centre of town that divides what people do for work from who they are
• Why people stay: They’re stuck in the trappings of their conventional jobs
• Why people leave: They want to make a valuable contribution by being exactly who they are

So-So City

• Population: Plenty of folks
• Who works here: People of the Forgotten Dreams
• Point of interest: The mid-sized monument dedicated to being “alright”
• Why people stay: It’s “not so bad”
• Why people leave: It’s “not so good”

Las Inspiración

• Population: The more, the merrier
• Who works here: Creatives, Visionaries
• Point of interest: The town square where people gather weekly to support and celebrate each other
• Why people stay: They are able to express who they are in their work
• Why people leave: They like to go on vacation, but usually they are just as happy to return

Joyful Heights

• Population: Not enough
• Who works here: Embodied Realized Beings
• Point of interest: The beautiful park dedicated to experiencing the simple joys in life
• Why people stay: They each have their own reasons
• Why people leave: Who wants to leave?

Perhaps you hail from a different town, what’s the name of yours? Does where you work feel like home or is it time to make a move?

When your work “town” no longer feels like home

We can be perfectly comfortable for a long while in a particular workplace. Sometimes, we even believe we are in the place where we will be “forever”. But life changes. We change. Accordingly, the circumstances that may have once served us well will also need to change. But before you pack your entire life into boxes, throw them in the truck, and hit the highway to “Somewhere Else”, spend some time reflecting on the following:

• Who do you want to be and how do you want to feel when you arrive?
• What are your priorities at this time in your life?
• What kind of amenities would you like to have access to (e.g. working online, community spaces, etc.)?
• What types of activities would you want to participate in and are they available? (i.e. What do you love to do and is there opportunity to do them?)
• What is the quality of life you wish to have (e.g. income potential, amount of time spent at work)?
• What is your ideal environment (e.g. amidst the hustle and bustle of a vibrant workspace, or working outside in a remote location)?
• Who do you want as neighbours? (i.e. Who do you want to work with and what are they like?)
• What social aspects are important to you (e.g. being part of a community, having solitude, etc.)?
• What are the deal breakers for you? (i.e. What are you not willing to compromise?)

Your answers to the above will help you more easily identify potential new work “towns” and rule out those that aren’t suitable. But before you move, you might also benefit from decluttering some of your old junk. You need to decide which aspects you are bringing with you and which are you leaving behind.

What to bring and what to leave behind

Every work experience helps us gain a better understanding of who we are and how we want to be in the world. But just because we change the circumstances of our work doesn’t mean our circumstances will change. Wherever we go, we take ourselves with us. It’s up to us what we bring.

Before you move to a new work “town”, you might want to declutter some of your old junk. Especially those old patterns and stories that are no longer serving you. Ideally, you want to pack along the aspects that allow you to thrive and send the rest to the dump.

The aspects you want to bring along are:

• The wisdom, skills, and expertise you’ve gained
• The elements of your work that really allow you to shine
• Your willingness to grow and evolve
• Your desire to make a valuable contribution
• An expectation that things will go well for you

The aspects you want to leave behind are:

• Any inner dialogue that perpetuates self-diminishment
• Patterns of disempowerment and other power games
• Beliefs in your lack and limitation
• Stories and grievances about “who did you wrong”
• Compromises and sacrifices you made to your own detriment

What do we do with that old crap? We honour it, accept it, allow it, love it, integrate it, and simply stop telling its story. Then we haul it off to the energy dump. Alternatively, we can pack it into boxes and drag it with us to the next work “town” just to unpack it again and have it take up space at the new place. But why do that?

Book the “Mover”

Many people I work with are visiting the transient town of “Neither Here nor There”. They are explorers dedicated to discovering their inspired work and they don’t usually leave until they have clarity about who they are and what they have to offer the world.

Even when you know it’s time to relocate, you may have a very good reason to stay where you are. Everything has its right timing, including moving to a new work “town”.

However, if you are long overdue for a change, and you’re not sure where to go next and you can’t find the wherewithal to do it all on your own, then allow me to help. My specialty is getting rid of all that old, unwanted stuff that has been taking up precious space and holding you back from making the move.