3 Best Investments to Make During a Transition in Your Career.

Everyone is seeking what to do while the country is coming back from being on “hold.”  

To sit around waiting for things to beckon you back into the human race is not a viable or productive option.  Many things happen in the quiet space of time.   You can become quite creative in that space.  Albert Einstein, one of the world's most recognized and revered physicists, has often been quoted as saying, “The monotony and solitude of a quiet life stimulates the creative mind.”  Below I’ve prepared three (3) investments that I feel will further your own person as we manage to regroup and initiate our "second coming."  

1. Health – Without your health, everything becomes futile.  Ninety percent of optimal fitness is diet.  If you workout 5-7 times a week and your diet is unhealthy, you’re actually defeating the purpose.  Your wonderful parents always insisted that you eat your vegetables.  We didn’t understand that command, because we saw it as just that…a command.  As we age, we begin to feel the effects of not adhering to such.  Especially re-entering the workforce after the pandemic, people should make it a priority.  

According to the Surgeon General, diet has always had a vital influence on health.  Consumption of foods high in complex carbohydrates and water-soluble fiber (water soluble fiber draws water to your gut which supports regular bowel movement; in with the good, out with the bad), are associated with lower rates of diseases (foods like oat bran, beans, and fruits; such as pears, figs and apples are excellent healthy provisions).  Eat foods that are low in calories, fat (especially saturated fat), cholesterol, and sodium.  READ THE LABELS!  A diet rich in vegetables (especially green leafy vegetables), complex carbohydrates and fiber (fresh fruit and whole grains), and low in calories – I'm a devout VEGAN, however if you are a fish or meat eater, I wholly recommend that your chicken or turkey is labeled "Humanely Raised," enjoys the outdoor fresh grazing, and fed an organic diet. FYI - the darker meat is the fattiest portion - lean meats (chicken and turkey – when buying ground, make sure the label say either “low fat” or breast). As for fish, I'd say to make sure that it's sustainably "line caught" from the fresh ocean; it's natural habitat. And lastly, low fat dairy products.  The key to all of this is "low fat." 

Did you know that apples are a number 1 super-fruit?  Yes, they are!  Apples are known to reduce cholesterol, boost brain power, protect bones, promote healthy teeth and gums, and are loaded with vitamin C.  So, you see the significance in the old saying, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.”

A really cool investment is a juicer or blender.  With these kitchen gadgets you can make delicious, nutritious smoothies.  Juicing extracts the juice from fresh fruits and vegetables.  The liquid contains the most vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients found in plants (phytonutrients have anti-oxidants which protect your cells from free radicals that play a role in heart disease, cancer, and other diseases) and anti-inflammatory benefits (defends against injury and infection).  Where to buy?  I love the Farmer’s Markets.  Simply wonderful.  You get the chance to freely pick your fruits or vegetables.  Most of the merchants there come from their own farm to sell goods.  The market has fresh free-range eggs, tons of apples, berries, corn, peppers, oven baked bread, milk, organic meats, etc.  The good news is that many of the markets accept EBT.  That’s puts the cherry on the cake!

There are specific vitamins that have a significant impact on strengthening our immune system.  The immune system defends the body against infection. Vitamin C is the most well-known immune boosting supplement.  The best way to load up on this source is through nature – get it straight from foods (all citrus fruits, strawberries, pineapple, kiwi, mango, bell peppers, spinach, kale and broccoli).  Other key nutrients that support a healthy immune system include: Vitamin B6 – green vegetables, salmon, and tuna.  Hey, do you like hummus?  Chick peas are loaded with B6 which is the main ingredient in hummus.  Let’s continue, Vitamin E – nuts, seeds (pumpkin seeds), and spinach.  I like to make a fresh spinach salad with chick peas.  Last but so not least, water, water, and more water!  Why?  Don’t get me started - (1) flushes out waste, (2) regulates body temperature, (3) helps your brain function (perhaps Dorothy should’ve offered the Scarecrow a nice refreshing glass - those of you who watched "The Wizard of Oz"), (4) protects your tissues, spinal cord, and joints, and (5) it helps maximize physical performance.

Which brings me to exercise.  I know, I know, that’s a challenge.  However, if you can just walk, yes, I said walk, up to 30 minutes a day, five days a week you put in a powerful aerobic activity that will be beneficial for your heart health and blood circulation.  If your schedule is too tight, a 10-minute power walk will be sufficient to get the job done.  On that account, get your awesome sneakers out and get going!

2.  Body, Soul and Spirit (Peaceful Engraftment and Self-Reflection) – Today’s health crisis has put an enormous amount of stress on people.  The unforeseen and inability to make concrete decisions can be, for most, a strain on our very existence.  The good news is that to live one day at a time can be somewhat “liberating.”  You don’t have to be weighed down with trying to figure out tomorrow.  “So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.  Sufficient to the day is its own trouble.”  Matt 6:34. “Worrying does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow.  It empties today of its strength.”  Corren Ten Boom.   Besides, once you harness today’s revelation, it will manifest an awakening that will prepare you for tomorrow without hindrance.  

Try to create a place in your home where you can have some rejuvenating, spiritual growth time. In that place, read inspiring literature or listen to enlivening music that's designed to feed your inner beauty.  You can also choose to immerse yourself in prayer, meditation, yoga, whatever gives you that “peace”; a silence that speaks.  “There’s a nice place that doesn’t have words, listen.” Rumi.  Many people are discovering their creativity in isolation.  Ester Buchholz, a psychologist and psychoanalyst and the author of The Call of Solitude, says, “Solitude is required for the unconscious to process and unravel problems.  Others inspire us, information feeds us, practice improves our performance, but we need quiet time to figure things out, to emerge with new discoveries, to unearth original answers.”  That quiet time helps to refuel your mind, body, and soul.  You will emerge well anchored to go out and rule the day and tackle what comes.

3.  Invest in growing your career interests – your purpose.  We all have one.  “Let the beauty of what you love be what you do.”  Rumi.  Use this time to either propel your chosen career to higher heights or, for those of you who are still trying to figure it out, go on a journey to conquest what you have always wanted to do.  There are myriads of career tests that can help guide you towards an occupational choice that suits your character.  The top seven (7) FREE Career Aptitude Tests that you can take online are: (1) 123 Career Test, (2) Princeton Review Career Quiz, (3) My Next Move O*Net Interests Profiler, (4) My Plan.com, (5) MAPP Career Test, (6) Career Strengths Test, and (7) PathSource.

Heads-up, Harvard University, in response to the COVID-19 crisis, is offering FREE (yes, I said free – did I mention free?) online courses; and last I checked - it's still going on! You can visit “learning.harvard.edu/catalog/free” for more information.  To add, there are many online colleges that have affordable degree programs – onlineu.org/most-affordable-colleges.  

As a career educator, I believe that a person should explore their inner strengths and talent to do what comes most easy – second nature – and build a satisfying career out of that persona.  The world is vast and there’s a special place just for you.  “What you are seeking, is seeking you.” Rumi.  The Dictionary of Occupational Titles (now called O*NET), a worthy resource that matches jobs and workers, has identified 13,000 different types of work a person can do in the workforce.  Yes, 13,000!  Now is the time to refresh, replenish, and regroup.  I am your biggest fan!

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