3 Highly Effective Tips to Maintain Momentum (Originally created for Red Table Talk Community)

1. 0:00 – 0:30

   Why mindset matters during career uncertainty

   1. SZDr. Shadé Zahrai0:00

      Saying things like these out loud makes it far more likely to win that battle against your pesky negative inner voice. [upbeat music] Hey, Red Table Talk family. Shadé Zahrai here, ready to give you some science-backed hacks on how to shift your mindset to help you stay on point with your career, even if you're job-hunting. We're all living through a crazy chapter, so it's normal to feel overwhelmed, to feel anxious, and even unmotivated with work. So here goes. Hack number one: How to Maintain the right mindset. Let's face

2. 0:30 – 1:00

   Hack #1: Spot the brain’s negativity magnifier

   1. SZDr. Shadé Zahrai0:30

      it, when you're in the right head space, not only will you feel better, but you'll also have more resilience, more courage, and creativity to deal with any career challenges coming your way. Now, your brain is wired to act like a magnifying glass on things that you focus on, especially when they're attached to a strong emotion. Now, unfortunately, that inner voice that we all have can easily pay attention to negative stuff way more than the positive. And when that happens, that eventually leads your brain to magnify those negative thoughts way out of proportion.

3. 1:00 – 1:31

   Catastrophizing: how worst-case thinking derails job searches

   1. SZDr. Shadé Zahrai1:00

      This is called catastrophizing, when your mind gets fixated on the worst-case scenario. For example, if you're looking for work, that inner voice might be saying, "You'll never get another job. The market is impossible right now. You don't meet all the criteria, so don't even bother applying." And if you keep listening, you will feel paralyzed and you'll self-sabotage. Now, what I'm not going to say next is, "Just think positive." According to recent research, negative thoughts are four to seven times more powerful than positive thoughts. So just

4. 1:31 – 2:01

   Why “just think positive” doesn’t work—and what does

   1. SZDr. Shadé Zahrai1:31

      thinking positive is likely to be a losing battle, especially when the going gets tough. By that same research, self-affirming statements, when said out loud, are 10 times more powerful than silent positive thoughts when they stay in your head. Things like, "I know my unique professional strengths. What's going on right now is temporary. I've always overcome any work challenge thrown at me." My next tip is why it's so important to reframe how you see things from being a problem or a crisis to being an opportunity.

5. 2:01 – 2:16

   Reframe challenges: from crisis to opportunity via cognitive appraisal

   1. SZDr. Shadé Zahrai2:01

      And it comes down to something called Cognitive Appraisal, which is that mental process that you go through to make sense of the world around you. When you view something as a crisis or a threat, it increases your fear of failure, and it fills you with self-doubt. And there's actually a neurophysiological reason for why this

6. 2:16 – 2:31

   The physiology of threat vs. opportunity thinking

   1. SZDr. Shadé Zahrai2:16

      happens. You get a shot of noradrenaline and cortisol that puts you in a stressed state, and it reduces the blood flow to your brain, which makes it difficult for you to think clearly, and you actually feel paralyzed. But when you view something as an opportunity, your body gets a positive shot of adrenaline. This

7. 2:31 – 2:46

   Practical reframing questions for work problems

   1. SZDr. Shadé Zahrai2:31

      boosts your oxygen levels, helping you to think more clearly and creatively, priming you to better achieve your goals. So then how do you actually do this? Whenever you face a work-related challenge, you can reframe it into an opportunity by asking yourself things like, "What's a better way of doing this?

8. 2:46 – 3:02

   Reframing prompts specifically for job-hunting

   1. SZDr. Shadé Zahrai2:47

      How could I make this work? What resources can I tap into to support me?" And if you're job-hunting, you could ask yourself, "What did I learn from my last interview to do even better next time?" Or, "How do I show that I genuinely have the will and talent for this role, even

9. 3:02 – 3:32

   Motivation myth: action comes first

   1. SZDr. Shadé Zahrai3:02

      when I'm a little low on experience?" And the final piece of advice is around motivation. Now, most people hope that they'll wake up each day magically feeling motivated to get into action and achieve their goals. But we know that this is not always the case. It's not motivation that leads to action. Science actually tells us that it's the other way around. It's action that leads to motivation, and it's because of dopamine. When you take action and achieve a small goal, you get a shot of dopamine, which feels great. But more importantly, it activates the reward

10. 3:32 – 4:01

    Use dopamine: set small goals to build momentum

    1. SZDr. Shadé Zahrai3:32

       pathways in your brain, making you wanna do it again. And boom, you're motivated. So what's one small achievable goal that you can set for yourself? Is it speaking to your manager about opportunities? Maybe advocating for yourself by being more vocal in meetings? Maybe even just leveling up your resume so it's more compelling. Small and achievable is the key here. Now, I have a question for you to share with us in the comments below so that we can all learn from each other. How are you maintaining momentum at work or with your job-hunting? [upbeat music]

Episode duration: 4:02