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Reflectin. Badass career
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Week 1+2
Industries. Problems, kind of prioritised
Type of companies
1. Using the wheel below as inspiration, give each area of your career a rating between 1 and 10 (definitions below the image).
GROWTH
To what extent are you achieving the desired level of growth and learning (training, mentoring, on the job)?
What’s working:
What’s not working:
MANAGER
How satisfied are you with your manager in terms of their empowerment of you, leadership style and role modelling, values alignment, competence….?
What’s working:
What’s not working:
TEAM
How would you rate the overall cohesion with your team, peers, and co-workers?
What’s working:
What’s not working:
SALARY & BENEFITS
To what extent do you feel financially recognised and compensated for the value you bring? Does it feel fair? How satisfactory are the perks of the role (e.g. free products, health insurance, extra holiday days…)
What’s working:
What’s not working:
CULTURE & CONTEXT
How aligned do you feel to the company mission, culture and values? Can you show up 100% authentically? Do you rate the wider sector / industry? Would you recommend working here to a friend?
What’s working:
What’s not working:
MEANING
To what extent do you feel like you’re on a greater mission to do something meaningful? Do you feel like you are making a significant impact and contribution? Or can you connect and relate to the bigger picture?
What’s working:
What’s not working:
ROLE & TASKS
How would you rate your overall enjoyment of the day-to-day job tasks? Do you believe in and take interest in your projects/responsibilities? Do you get to do what you do best (your natural strengths) every day? Do you enjoy the variety?
What’s working:
What’s not working:
FLEXIBILITY
To what extent does your work blend with your life? Does it afford you the flexibility you need to pursue other commitments to family, friends, your hobbies and self-care? Do you have the freedom, or indeed structure, you crave and desire? How do you find the commute?
What’s working:
What’s not working:
WORKING CONDITIONS
What’s working:
What’s not working:
3. Next, use the table to put your career ratings from this exercise in the CURRENT column. Now go back through what you wrote and select your numbers for the VISION COLUMN aka where you would like to be on a scale of 1-10 in the next role you secure. You have a maximum of 50 points to use total across the 8 dimensions here to force you to prioritise.
RANKINGS:
Use the table below to put your career ratings from this exercise in the CURRENT column. Now go back through what you wrote and select your numbers for the VISION column where you would like to be on a scale of 1-10 in the next role you secure. Because there’s no such thing as a 10/10 on every single aspect role, you have a maximum of 50 points to spend across the 8 career dimensions.
Career values
AREA OF CAREER
CURRENT
VISION Office 1, role and industry
VISION Retail 1, not role but industry food
VISION Office 2, role not industry
VISION Retail 2, no role, no industry
Growth, challenge
5-8/9
6
4
7
4
Manager
5-8/9
7
6+
6
6
Team
4-8
7
6+
6
6
Salary, Benefits, Conditions
4-7/8
5
5
6
5
Culture & Processes
3-7
7
6
6
4
Meaning
4-7
7
6
6
5
Role & Tasks
6-9
7
4
7
4
Flexibility
6-9
4
6
5
5
Recognition?//Admiration, praise/feedback
Self-realization//Self-fullfillment
Industry, problem, context
There are no rows in this table
Next, go back through each aspect and highlight the three areas that you think will make the biggest difference to your career happiness.
LASTLY: Circle/highlight the three areas from your insights above that you think will make the biggest impact on your overall career happiness.
Fantastic work, Badass! You now have 3 areas of focus for your future career change.
Now, keep the momentum high - keep going or block time in your calendar to complete the next exercise
Week 3
Purpose of this exercise
So we know where we are at currently, but now we need to understand how we got here. Our definition of success and what we want out of life, as well as the choices we have made to get there, have all been influenced since childhood by our parents, friends, family, culture, education system, teachers, societal context and more.
When we truly understand the expectations and influences of our past and present, we can identify and acknowledge them for what they are and then decide to what extent they will have a say in our future. It’s not necessarily about letting them all go - some influences are very positive. But it’s being able to let the ones that no longer serve you go.
IDENTITY AND BREAKING FREE OF EXPECTATIONS
Work through the below questions in the context of your current (or most recent) job:
For each of the phases of your life below, you will journal about who you were, the dreams you had, what you were good at, what you thought you might have wanted your life to look like, as well as the influences and expectations that you faced from your parents, your friends, your school, your religion, your cultural norms, your science teacher, your first boss, and so on. If you can, try to just brain dump / stream of consciousness whatever comes to mind in a physical notebook or piece of paper as it helps the brain to get into a state of flow. You can transfer the key points into the document afterwards.
You will see A LOT of thought-provoking prompts and you don’t have to answer them all. They’re there to stimulate reflection and help you get back to the essence of you.
PHASE OF LIFE: CHILDHOOD (5 - 12 YEARS OLD)
● What kind of child was I?
● What was I good at?
● What did I love doing?
● What were my playtime activities of choice? Was it writing, doodling, telling funny stories, colouring in, dance routines… What were your elements of creativity and fun? Was I into fabrics and clothes? Did I like climbing things, more action orientated?
● Which topics was I obsessed with? What did I want to be when I grew up?
Here is your edited transcript with “Show speakers” and time markers removed, divided into Questions and Answers. For clarity, each answer is grouped directly below its corresponding question.
Q: So what kind of child was I?
A:
I think I was very active, physically active. I was running everywhere. I was quiet, social, and a happy kid—until school, at least, until seven. I was a tomboy, running everywhere and with anyone. I was curious, sexually curious as well. I played a lot of games and had girlfriends and boyfriends, friends who were boys and girls. For a certain age, I had a lot of friends who were boys and hung out with them more than girls, and then at some point I changed and thought girls are very beautiful and nice. I had a couple of friends in kindergarten and in the yard. When I got older, in elementary school, I was still pretty active physically. I wasn’t afraid of protecting myself against bullies and was physically active in the classroom. I was diligent, agreeable, and tried to do as best as I could. I didn’t complain much, was quiet but brave, and quite independent.
Middle school made me quieter. Third grade was a different school, but I stayed active and had friends. I always had friends, but I am not sure if they were true friends. As I got older, I became shyer, loved reading (especially fantasy and sci-fi), and escaped a bit from reality living with codependent parents. My mother was hyper-controlling, a “helicopter mother,” and I grew more shy. I liked a boy since fifth grade, and class dynamics changed. I ended up with a different group of girls after having been close with one girl in elementary school. There was a conflict. I fell in love with my classmate in the fifth or sixth grade and was in love with him for a long time. I was more passionate and romantically and sexually developed, and one of the first to have my period at eleven—I was scared when it happened and thought I was dying. My father wasn’t very helpful, and my mom was preoccupied. I was quick to grasp things, involved and active in classes.
Seventh grade (age 12) was full of social activities with classmates, playing yard games. That summer was among the happiest of my life with my friends. After fifth grade, I went to a summer camp for the first time and felt shy among the Slavic kids, as I was the only non-Slavic one, but still enjoyed some activities.
Q: What was I good at?
A:
When I was five, in preschool, I was good at running around and being a good pal, hanging out with groups. I was good at making relationships and being a friend. I learned to read on my own at five or six and liked tracing pictures of animals and letters. also I was introspective and enjoyed quiet hobbies. I was more active and happier than ever at that age.
In school, I was good at math, but not at drawing or Russian language. I enjoyed reading but wasn’t good at literature. I did modeling and ballet dancing for a while because my mother signed me up, but found modeling restrictive and didn’t really enjoy it. Playing, dressing up, and acting felt fun, and I embodied characters well. I was good at expressing emotions, a bit creative, and had a space/geometry-oriented mindset. I was always good at math and English, fascinated by English when I started learning it. Chemistry was easy at first but got complicated later. History was okay, but my biggest interests were math and logic. I started drawing and writing poetry and trying geometrical ornaments in fifth or sixth grade. Making friends and being my true self were strengths, as well as creativity with friends.
Q: What did I love doing?
A:
I loved solving problems and enjoyed math. I liked doing things related to English, did fine in that subject, but didn’t enjoy drawing figures or had neat handwriting. I wasn’t good at Russian and literature or summarizing texts, tending to retell everything in detail. At five, I loved hanging out with friends and playing different games in the yard, which continued through first and second grades. In fifth grade, I went swimming, though I wasn’t good at it or enjoyed it much, but still tried.
Q: What were my playtime activities of choice?
A:
When I was little, I loved drawing and tracing pictures and letters. I played a lot of yard games at age 5 through 8. At 9, we moved cities, and I did a lot of Lego and came up with my own designs. I got interested in computers through my brother, played games on computer and Sega obsessively (Sonic, Mortal Kombat). I read a lot, including Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and other adult books. I started writing poetry and prose, searching the internet for interesting facts and activities. During several months of quarantine with smallpox, I read, did photography, wrote poetry, and doodled ornaments. Acting was another interest—expressing attitudes and being like an actor.
Q: Which topics was I obsessed with?
A:
Love was an obsession, especially in fifth to seventh grade; I read many love stories. I was also obsessed with reading and writing.
Q: What did I want to be when I grew up?
A:
My mother joked I would be a cosmetologist or masseur, to help alleviate her pain. I agreed to do that for her but wasn’t sure myself.
Q: What kind of child was I?
A:
I was very kind, extremely positive, and sometimes maybe too kind.
● Who / what shaped me (good and bad)?
● Who was important to me?
● Who did I look up to?
● Which groups and communities did I belong to?
● What kind of school did I go to?
● What did I start to think about what my parents did for work?
● What was I told about what was possible for me?
● Who did I have to be in my family (e.g. the responsible older sister, the well-behaved one, the funny one, the quiet one)?
● Any heroes I looked up to?
● What’s my proudest achievement from this time of my life?
● What was the most embarrassing or negative memory from this time of my life?
● What was the conversation in my household like about career success or fulfilment? How did my parents or caretakers relate to their careers? What is my first memory of career success? What about failure as it relates to careers? What did I make that moment mean?
Q: What influenced me? Who or what shaped me good and bad?
A:
My parents, who were quite narcissistic and not willing to validate my emotions, especially anger. I would run and hide from them, choosing myself and doing things alone. When I felt better, I took up origami and still do it today. Complex origami projects (gluing pieces together, making figures) brought happiness.
Friend betrayals also shaped me. I had a quarrel with a girl I’d been close to in school, and afterward, we stopped talking as much. That affected my friendships.
Yard playtime and bonding with friends were precious and formative experiences. Parental quarrels were negative influences. My teachers shaped me positively by fostering my problem-solving abilities.
Q: Who was important to me?
A:
My parents, my brother, and my friends. In preschool, I looked up to my father and thought highly of him, continued adoring him in elementary school, but grew disillusioned as I got older.
Q: Which groups and communities did I belong to?
A:
I played a lot in the yard, went to elementary school, and before that kindergarten. No boarding schools or special institutions.
Q: What did I start to think about what my parents did for work?
A:
My mother was a library and museum specialist, which I liked. My father was a mayor or deputy mayor, which I thought was the coolest job. I admired my father's work a lot. I didn’t admired moma’s job, cause father frequently called her dumb :(
Q: What was I told about what was possible for me?
A:
I was encouraged to learn English from an early age. No strong pressure about career from my parents. My mother joked about my future, but no specific path was forced
Q: What was I told about what was possible for me?
A:
I was very brainwashed by my mom and father about being a girl—girls are not supposed to run, swear, be pushy, or do certain things. Girls are supposed to marry. I agreed with wanting a partner, but at the same time I was told, “This is not what a girl is supposed to do.” They molded me into a more submissive, subdued, quieter version of myself, supposed to be “for girls.” I think I still had attitude, but it only showed later as a teenager. Until age 10-12, I was quite a “good girl.”
Q: What was I told about what was possible for me?
A:
I think I was very brainwashed by mom, by father as well I think, on the point of me being a girl. Girls are not running, girls are not swearing, girls are not pushy girls and not, I don't know, whatever girls supposed to marry. I was agreeing with the marrying part and I knew that I wanted a partner and everything. I was interested in that point of my life if possible, but at the same time they were like... This is not what a girl supposed to do when I was doing, when I was very little. They molded me into the more submissive, kind of subdued version of me, like more subtle, more quieter, I don't know, this kind of stuff which is like supposed to be for girl. But I think I still had like a attitude, but it showed later when I was like a teenager. Till 12, I was quite good girl, I think.
Q: What did I start to think about what my parents did for work?
A:
I think for my mother, I was like, I mean, it is okay job, but I didn't specifically like thought that it is a very good job. I think I was mostly like, yeah, thinking that it isn't okay. I mean, it's not a great job and I was like, because father was constantly comparing himself, I think, and degrading my mom. And I was like, no, I mean, my mom is stupid in a way or what? And I'm smart and I need to do something more, I don't know, great, I don't know, more meaningful, whatever. But I enjoyed being in the library because I was like, yeah, among the books, I liked it a lot. So I'm not specifically like was like, I started thinking that her job was worse than his job in a way. But in general, I just like love her now. Like in the library, whatever. I was liking it in general.
Q: Who did I have to be in my family?
A:
The responsible younger sister, the well-behaved one, the funny one, the quiet one. So, ouch. So, till 12, till 12 really, when my brother was still in the family, I was the well-behaved one mostly, but I was also the smart one. And I was a victim, I think. Like I was victimizing myself a lot because brother was kind of a little bit teasing and whatever. And we fighted A lot. We did fight a lot. And I was the one who was, of course, smaller than him and less, I had less strength than him because he was older and six years than me, right? Five and a, 5 1/2, but anyways. And so I was quite, small and I, annoyed him as well. And then, I was always complaining on him to my parents. And he was perpetrator, aggressor, and I was like a victim. But I also was the one who was like, a sister who was like cleaning and everything, which is not ideal, I don't know. Like, Also, I was also the girl frugal one kind of, with money because parents gave me money and brother always like borrowed money from me when I was like younger, really. So yeah.
Q: Any heroes I looked up to?
A:
I mean, my father, of course, till 12, most certainly. My father was the best, kind of, I mean, yeah, I was thinking that he is the best. What else? Maybe Harry Potter as well. Any kind of sci-fi hero that I had. Maybe.
Q: What is my proudest achievement from this time of my life?
A:
Proudest achievement from 5 to 12. What the ****? Really? Okay, wait, so, when I was 9, I went to the 3rd grade. When I was 10, I went to the 5th grade. When I was 11, I went to the 6th grade. When I was 12, I went to the 7th grade. Okay, yeah, most probably, I think me, in my personal, like, scale of grading, I think I was proud that I did like a huge party for my classmates when I was on, I think, 7th grade or 6th grade, like at my birthday party. And I think that was like one of the first birthday parties that I had because my birthday at summer right July and I wasn't specifically like hanging out with my friends at that time and I think on 7th grade summer I decided no I will do something with my birthday when the term will start, like when the classes start. And I did my birthday celebration on September and I did pretty cool party, I think. So, yeah, I think that is my proudest achievements in my own eyes till 12. Yeah, all the other stuff is not very relevant, I think. Even though kids came mosly cause my father was a mayor and their parents idk either didn’t want to upset mayor’s girl or wanted something aka good relationships, and I am like rght now cringing, but it was sill fun
Q: What was the most embarrassing or negative memory from this time of my life?
A:
I think on top of the list, not the most, but on the top of the list, my period, when my period came and I thought that I'm dying. What else? What else? Not very embarrassing, but still, like, I think at five years old, I tried to try to had tried to smoke and then my brother was chasing me and he like revealed me from for our parents and they everyone was judging me and then they punished me I think I don't remember specifically but yeah that was not good moment as well not the top of the thing but yeah. What is the tossed top, embarrassing, a negative memory from this time of my life? Yeah, probably when I quarreled with the... Yeah, we had a conflict with my friend, and then after some time we... I mean, we kind of started... Kinda again, but at the same time, I don't know. It's not, it was not that way. And I think, that was pretty painful. And then I think at 11, they, my parents started like having conflicts. And then I think in 11 also, my grandmother died and my mother was quite, distressed. And then they also had a conflicts a lot with my father because father started having affairs outside of his marriage, outside of their marriage. And yeah, I think at the point of 12, they started really like having conflicts. And also my mother told me a lot about my father and his sex life. And I was really devastated, I think, at some point, because I adored my father. But at that point I was like, also like, ****im, ** him, let's go, let's divorce him and whatever. I mean, yeah, I was And then also I think one of the crucial points, my mother asked me whether I love her and I didn't know what is love. And I was like, no, or I don't know, as something said it like that. And she was pretty also devastated. And I'm like, what I said, I really don't know whether I love her or not. Because I also started to become like a more I don't know, more frustrated, more cynical person with all the stuff that was going on with my family. And I was not supposed to also tell to anyone that my father was drinking a lot and he was a mayor of the city. What the ****? And that was really, really ruining, I don't know, my mood. I think that is the top of the top of the top of the very embarrassing negative memories out of this time. So yeah, 6th grade, 7th grade, that was not good in terms of like my mother, father screaming at each other and everything and having conflicts and then my father drinking A lot. Yeah. Also my brother was drinking a lot at the same time, doing drunks a bit, I think even. And my mother was very stressed and he yelled at him, like screamed at him a lot. And yeah, I think he was at that point, 16, 17. Yeah, so he was like, partying heavy and coming home late. And I, mean, what was going on at home and what he did, it's like pretty aligned actually. Like you were conflicted A lot. His father was drinking. So why not to drink with your friends and buddies and do drugs a bit? Like, of course. but mother was pretty devastated. I think they even, I think he was even at some point with the police for some reason. I think they... they left him for the place, where they need to sober up. So I think they even left him there. So he ended up there and they left him for making a lesson or something. And I was like, my God. I was the one who was trying to behave more responsibly at that point (no actually I was opposing my mother a lot as well, I was like quarreling with her by not wanting to clean or do some other stuff, or when she wanted to make me cook and I was like how. she yelled at me, wtf, and then she wanted to wear me on all girly stuff and be hypercontrolling and everything and I was very pushy and didn’t want to). I was the one who was like the good, who always had the good marks. and smart and I was the smart one and my brother was the beautiful one. Yeah, right. But yeah. Also had a lot of dual messages from my family and my brother that I'm that I'm fat, but I was not specifically fat. I was maybe a bit plum and because I was like growing, but I was not fat at all in terms of like, no. I was getting plumber maybe, but I was not fat. But my parents and my family was a bit, concerned about my weight always. And the way I looked, I supposed to look pretty. And yeah, that is all was like, not very, good memories as well. I was also, I think one of the experiences that I didn't like as well, that my parents didn't help me validate my anger. And I was, when I was angry, I just ran away from them because the way they didn't validate it, it's really hurt me, I think. And I was like, yeah, not feeling it. I mean, I was kind of Very angry on them, and... I was insolidated now and I was like running away from them. Yeah. So it was not very good moment as well.
Q: What did I start to think about what my parents did for work?
A:
About my mother’s job, I thought it was okay but not great. My father degraded my mom’s work and made me think my mom is stupid and that I need to do something greater and more meaningful. I enjoyed being in the library among books, but I started thinking her job was worse than his. In general, I loved her and the library, but I was influenced to think less of her work.
Q: Who did I have to be in my family?
A:
I was the responsible younger sister, the well-behaved one, the funny one, and the quiet one. Until age 12, when my brother was still at home, I was mostly well-behaved, smart, and sometimes victimized myself because my brother teased me. We fought a lot; he was stronger and older (by five and a half years). I annoyed him sometimes and complained about him to my parents; he was the aggressor, I was the victim. I also helped with cleaning and was known for having money that my brother borrowed from me.
Q: Any heroes I looked up to?
A:
Definitely my father until age 12—I thought he was the best. Also, maybe Harry Potter and some other sci-fi heroes.
Q: What is my proudest achievement from this time of my life?
A:
From ages 5 to 12, my proudest achievement was organizing a big birthday party for my classmates in either 6th or 7th grade. My birthday is in July, so I rarely celebrated with friends, but that year I held my party in September and it was my first real birthday celebration with friends.
Q: What was the most embarrassing or negative memory from this time of my life?
A:
Top memories: When my period started and I thought I was dying; at age 5, trying to smoke and being caught by my brother, punished and judged by my family. Another hurtful memory is quarreling with my friend and losing that friendship. At age 11, my grandmother died, my parents started having major conflicts, and my father had affairs. My mother told me about my father's sex life—I was devastated because I adored my father. Later I was angry and wanted my parents to divorce. My mother asked if I loved her, and I didn't know how to answer, which hurt her. I became frustrated and cynical amid all the family issues.
I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone about my father’s drinking (he was a mayor) and this secrecy was emotionally tiring. My brother partied, drank, and did some drugs; even spent time at the police station to sober up. Family was very concerned about my weight and appearance. I felt invalidated when angry, ran away, and felt hurt.
Q: What was the conversation in my household like about career success or fulfillment?
A:
When I was 5, my father was deputy mayor and happy with his important role. He was head of the household and made money. Many adults asked me what I wanted to do in life, and I often said something like my father.
Q: How did my parents or caretakers relate to their careers?
A:
My father felt his career was important. My mother wasn’t as happy with library work, but loved working at the museum—she liked creative exhibitions, competitions for kids, project management, and organizing. She was highly social, liked her colleagues, and felt fulfilled but was also very stressed and gained weight.
Q: What is my first memory of career success? What about failure as it relates to careers? What did they make that moment mean?
A:
I saw my cousin as a “blue collar” worker, and was told intellectual work was superior to manual labor. I wanted to work (like selling newspapers as my brother did), but my father said no—it was dangerous and, as a kid from a “wealthy” family, I shouldn’t work. I learned that intellectual work is better and working for survival/money was “not allowed.” My parents would support me; my job was to learn and be meaningful, not just earn to survive. This limited my agency and entrepreneurial spirit—I envied my niece for selling crafts at school.
PHASE OF LIFE: TEENAGER (13 - 19 YEARS OLD)
● What kind of teenager was I?
● What was I good at?
● What did I love doing?
● What were my favourite hobbies and pastimes?
● Which subjects did I enjoy more than others? Why did I choose the subjects that I did?
● Where did I see my career going?
● What was I curious about?
● What did I believe was possible for me?
Q: What kind of teenager was I?
A:
At 13, we moved cities. I was active in the school’s humor competition, created scenarios, and enjoyed performing. Love life began, but moving made me sad and depressed for a while. I was curious sexually, but shy due to my parents’ attitudes. I started misbehaving at 12–13, saying “no” to my mother’s requests, as she was very controlling and my parents fought often.
Q: What subjects was I good at as a teenager?
A:
I was good at English and math, not so good at geometry, Russian literature, or art. I liked Japanese and was good at it, enjoyed organizing school events (like Halloween), applied for American Exchange program, did TV show projects, and had creative ideas for TV sketches.
Q: What else about teenage years?
A:
I was still shy but less so, and a teacher held an exhibition of my work. I wasn’t great at physical education but was diligent and had good marks. I watched TV shows like House and Heroes, organized parties for a teen club, and had my first job gluing posters (which I didn’t do well, but it was fun!). I was braver, asked guys out, and enjoyed socializing. I graduated at 17 and started university, feeling brave and energetic.
Q: What was I good at?
A:
Good at English, math, social studies, organizing events, coming up with creative ideas, energetic, active in social and academic activities. Enjoyed problem solving, ecology, and ?creating schemes.
Q: What did I love doing?
A:
Loved drawing intricate ornaments, writing poetry, socializing, and playing games (“crocodile”) with friends. Enjoyed summer and winter camps.
Q: What were my favorite hobbies and pastimes?
A:
TV shows and books; drawing, writing poetry; socializing; playing games.
Q: Which subjects did I enjoy more than others? Why did I choose them?
A:
Enjoyed Japanese elective for cultural interest. Generally liked languages more.
Q: Where did I see my career going?
A:
I think at 10th grade, I had a revelation that I want to do something with the problem of garbage and understand the behavior of the person who's not taking garbage to the garbage can, but just like tossing it next to it or whatever, like not giving the thought to it, like actually put something like in the garbage can while it's like laying around over there. So I was quite fascinated with that. Anthropological, as anthropologist, I don't know, as a behaviorist or whatever, I was quite interesting. Like why? What else? And I thought at some point that, I will create my own factory for garbage recycling. And I wanted, at the high school level, I wanted to be engineer environmentalist, but I didn't have physics and that was a problem. And I ended up at the economical degree with a little bit of environmental, the environmental side of it, which is cool, I don't know. So and also my parents, I think, pushed me for economical side, like to be accountant or whatever. And then we kind of compromised on me being environmental ecologist, environmental economist, sorry. And yeah, that was like a compromise, I don't know.
Q: What was I curious about?
A:
I wanted to do something with the problem of garbage and understand the behavior of the person who's not taking garbage to the garbage can but just tossing it next to it, not giving it much thought. I considered creating my own factory for garbage recycling. At high school level I wanted to be an engineer-environmentalist, but I didn't have physics and that was a problem. I ended up with an economics degree with an environmental focus, which was a compromise with my parents. I was also curious about international experiences and interesting facts about life, reading sites like interesting.com and books by Verber. Equation that I want to do something with the problem of garbage and understand the behavior of the person who's not taking garbage to the garbage can but just like tossing it next to it or whatever, not giving the thought to it. Actually put something like in the garbage can while it's like laying around over there. So yeah, I was quite fascinated with that. Anthropological, as anthropologist, I don't know, as a behaviorist or whatever, I was quite interesting. Like why? What else? And I thought at some point that I will create my own factory for garbage recycling. And I wanted, at the high school level, I wanted to be engineer environmentalist, but I didn't have physics and that was a problem. And I ended up at the economical degree with a little bit of environmental, the environmental side of it, which is cool, I don't know. So and also my parents, I think, pushed me for economical side, like to be accountant or whatever. And then we kind of compromised on me being environmental ecologist, environmental economist, sorry. And yeah, that was like a compromise, I don't know.
Q: What was I curious about at that point in my life as well?
A:
Yeah, I already said about the behavior of people. What I was also curious about is, yeah, I think traveling or something like that, more international experiences. Yeah, I was just liking, you know, interesting facts. I found one site, I think it's called like interesting.com or something. And I literally read like a bunch of articles from there. And there is like quite fascinating facts about like life. And also I think I really enjoyed Verber. It's a collaborative of the Verber and having a lot of different kind of small facts about the world and about life in general, like a philosophy of life. So I like those kind of stuff at that point.
Q: What did I believe was possible for me?
A:
Yeah, definitely more intellectual work was possible for me, 100%. I think my parents really pushed me toward international career and I was like, okay, it was possible. They paid for my dual degree in American University. And I was like, okay. I mean, I was, yeah, the one who was like, yeah, international is very cool. My parents pushed me for international and yeah. I definitely believe that it is possible. What my parents also said about me brought me my possibility. I don't know. Yeah, I don't remember.
● Who / what shaped me (good and bad)?
● Whose opinion did I value most?
● Who did I look up to? Who was I inspired by?
● Which groups and communities did I belong to?
● What kind of school did I go to? What did their students tend to be / become?
● What did I think about what my parents did for work? How much they earnt?
● What was I told about what was possible for me?
● What career advice was I receiving from the adults / mentors in my life?
● What were people in my friendship circle talking about doing for work? What were the trends?
● What did my career advisor tell me?
● Who were my favourite teachers and why?
● Where did I excel?
● What was I passionate about? When did I feel happiest?
● Who did I have to be in my family (e.g. the responsible older sister, the well-behaved one, the funny one, the quiet one)?
● What kind of part-time jobs or volunteer roles did I hold? What was I responsible for?
● What was my proudest achievement from this time of my life?
● What was the most embarrassing or negative memory from this time of my life?
● What did I feel “forced” to do e.g. practice piano every day?
● What did I tell myself a career “should” entail at this stage?
Q: What influenced me? What shaped me good and bad?
A:
Oh. At that point, I think my parents already was out of the pedestal. They were discharged from their top positions in my life. I was mostly hanging out with my friends. Yeah, I think my friends kind of shaped me in a way a bit. Who else? Yes, cool. A bit teachers, I think, as well. They encourage stuff and I didn't, I don't know, I liked it. I think I'll beat like my social science teacher a bit and history a bit in terms of like. I like his approach, I think. What else shaped me? Who or what shaped me? This party and stuff and maybe TV kind of stuff maybe bit Jumanji shaped me to be more assertive or I don't know, not afraid of camera and everything. So I was not that shy as well. But yeah, I don't know. Still parents shaped me in terms of like my career. You need to go to be accountant and everything. And I was like, okay. My relationship with my brother was not very existent at that point, I think. He lived with us, but I don't remember that much influence from him. Yeah.
Q: Whose opinion did I value most?
A:
Or my friends, of course. Maybe my teachers a bit, but no, my parents, not my brother, not like that.
Q: Who did I look up to? Who was I inspired by?
A:
Characters of my books, characters of my TV shows, maybe. That who did something grandiose and super important and to like help survive, help to humanity to survive and rescue everyone and whatever. So yeah, I think I kind of looked up to them. Not knowingly at least. Yeah, but I didn't have like a very, huge amount of, I don't know, some kind of stardom or celebrities that I was looking up to at that point in my life as well.
Q: Which groups and communities did I belong to?
A:
I was the geeky one. I was the one who was like with the geeks, the ones that like music, movies, nerds who was studying a lot, who was goody goodies, who was more active and proactive in school, doing some stuff. Yeah. And also hanging out with the people who was also partying. Yeah.
Q: What kind of school did I go to? What did their students tend to be become?
A:
I was in a good school, I think. It's not the... that school, but it was not that school at all as well. The students tend to be become, I think, I mean, we had some kind of experience with the humor, humor players, like the games, and they were lawyers, I think, studying in the law university at that point. I don't know. But I mean, my cousins, all my cousins were there. Almost all of my cousins were there. I mean, from my aunt, my greater aunt, all my cousins like finished this school. And it was a good school kind of. And yeah, I don't know. I don't remember who. What did the students tend to be become? I don't remember, but my class, my group was quite strong and I don't know, active and everything.
Q: What did I think about what my parents did for work? How much they earned?
A:
So my parents at that time, so my father was like the mayor of a little city or even like a village kind of stuff. And he earned, okay, yeah, I mean, not small amount as well. And I think he was less corrupted at that point, but still he did use everything like fruits and everything for our family. So he asked or get the huge discount or whatever. And I thought that it is, I didn't know about that. Specifically, I didn't realize that. I didn't self-consciously understood that this is a corruption. But yeah, I thought that he was doing quite well. He's important. His job is important and everything. And they earned a lot. I think then I think he was a mayor of that city a bit. And then his turn was not renewed, I think, or was something. And he came home. And he worked, I think, a bit. He worked a bit as a person who was selling security or insurances. I think he didn't like his job at that point. And then he was towards older, all the years in my high school, he became a mayor of his, almost his village where he grew up. So he become mayor again. And I think it started okay-ish, but then at some point, he started having conflicts within the governance of that place. And that was not very, very, very cool. And yeah. I always thought that he's quite well at career anyways. But anyways, that was quite devastating for him because he was removed from his place because someone like filed against him, like sued him basically, like a civic act that he beat someone and I'm like, my father did not beat anyone. But that was pretty devastating for him in his career. I think it was exactly first or second year of my studies, so maybe third, I don't remember specifically. But yeah, I was already at the uni when it happened and he was not happy at all. And yeah, my mother, I think, worked at that point as a HR manager. And I think she was quite well at that point. but I didn't think much of the mama's career at all because my father was the one who was earning more and the one who was having better career in terms of like meaning and whatever. So yeah, I didn't talk about my mom's job at all.
Q: What did I believe was possible for me?
A:
Intellectual work was definitely possible for me. My parents pushed me toward an international career and paid for my dual degree at an American university. I genuinely believed that an international career was within reach.
Q: What influenced me, what shaped me for good and bad?
A:
By that point my parents were no longer idols for me; their influence waned. I was mostly shaped by my friends and some teachers, especially social sciences and history teachers whose approach I admired. Parties and TV also helped me become less shy and more assertive. Still, my parents influenced my career direction, pushing me toward economics or accounting.
Q: Whose opinion did I value most?
A:
Mainly my friends, sometimes my teachers, but not my parents or my brother.
Q: Who did I look up to or who inspired me?
A:
I looked up to characters in books and TV shows, especially those who did something important for humanity. I didn't have celebrities or stardom figures that I admired.
Q: Which groups and communities did I belong to?
A:
I was one of the geeks, hanging out with the nerds who liked music, movies, and proactive studying. I was involved with both the academic and party-oriented groups.
Q: What kind of school did I go to and what did students become?
A:
It was a good school, not the top but solid, with classmates who tended to go on to law, architecture, engineering, pharmacy, and culture at university. My cousins also attended.
Q: What did I think about my parents' work and earnings?
A:
My father was a mayor, earned well, and seemed important. He got discounts and perks for our family. I didn't realize this could be corruption. My mother worked as an HR manager but my father's work overshadowed hers in my eyes.
Q: What was I told about what was possible for me, career-wise?
A:
Pushed toward an economics degree and international career—never toward menial work. I was encouraged to aim higher than my parents.
Q: What career advice did I receive from adults/mentors?
A:
My mother taught me about CVs for job search. My father gave general advice (книжку постоянно говорил), but nothing specific sticks in my memory. We did career orientation tests; I was good at many things and unsure which to pick.
Q: What professions did my friends pursue or talk about?
A:
Everyone was determined to go to university—statistics, architecture, engineering, pharmacy, culture. Intellectual jobs were valued; there was an unspoken hierarchy placing intellectual work above manual labor.
Q: Who were my favorite teachers and why?
A:
My class teacher, for passion and dedication. History teacher for creativity and organizing interesting debates. I liked my math teacher and excelled in math.
Q: Where did I excel?
A:
Math, English (didn't like the teacher, but the subject was easy), public speaking in English and Russian, environmental interests. Good at organizing, recruiting, cold contact, and public speaking when passionate.
Q: What was I passionate about and when was I happiest?
A:
Books by Bernard Werber, philosophical ideas, environmental topics, solving math problems, and playing and fooling with friends. Happiest during these playful and creative times.
Q: Who did I have to be in my family?
A:
Responsible younger sister, sometimes mediator for parents, well-behaved and smart rather than pretty. Later, I started wearing tomboyish clothes and pushing for my own style.
Q: What kind of part-time jobs or volunteering did I do? Responsibilities?
A:
Spreading flyers for school parties, volunteering in AIESEC (media coordinator, recruitment), organizing posters and design work, being part of the promo team.
Q: What were my proudest achievements?
A:
Finishing high school, organizing creative events (?which), best TV frontman in a youth show (like rising star or fresh face I think something like this was), leading recruitment and teams in AIESEC.
Q: What was the most embarrassing or negative memory from this time?
A:
Father getting sued, drinking issues; mother bribing professors; failed grant for festival; mental health crises and existential dread during final semester and before of university; organizing a project that led to someone’s hospitalization to mental health facility and losing an office for AIESEC.
Q: What did I feel forced to do?
A:
Practice ? daily, work on projects I disliked, live with parents through their conflict, make choices for stability rather than passion in career.
Q: What did I tell myself a career should entail at this stage?
A:
Didn't think about working much because my father said not working was okay. Later, realized I needed to work hard and become someone.
PHASE OF LIFE: YOUNG ADULTHOOD TO TODAY (FROM 20 YEARS OLD ONWARDS)
● What kind of adult did I become?
● What did I discover I was good at professionally?
● What do I love doing professionally?
● What are my favourite hobbies and pastimes?
Q: What kind of adult did I become?
A:
At university: active, team leader, organizer, responsible. Post-graduation: proactive at work, creative, goal-oriented, entrepreneurial, facing existential dread and burnout. Engaged in environmental volunteering and developing ambitions in sales.
Q: What did I love doing professionally?
A:
Recruitment, organizing, public speaking, learning new things, solving problems, especially in math and support/sales.
Q: Favorite hobbies and pastimes in adulthood?
A:
TV shows, reading, food as relaxation, environmental volunteering (cleanups), poetry, and reading.
Q: What did I discover I was good at professionally?
A:
Speaking, creative ideas, confidence talking to strangers, organizing, sales, analytics, and research.
Q: Describe your adult years, 4th year and beyond.
A:
So yeah. My adult years, then 4th year become more permanent, like it was 12, 2012, 2013, and I was the one who was organizing, yeah, in 2012, I was doing a project, like quite a huge one, And. Yeah. We did much a lot of EPs and then I was, my God, I was so stressed. I was so stressed. But I did it anyways. I finished it and that was cool. So I was quite responsible. I think the responsibility and this practice and whatever, that was I was like, and like some kind of decent skills of organizing stuff, that was I was doing a lot. And I was also concerned about social stuff and environmental stuff. So I was doing projects related to that. So I was not very scared to do and represent my project and like do some kind of sales and whatever. But that was pretty, pretty weak, pretty weak still things. And I think my ADHD already came about and it was really hard to study for me and my grades went down. Yeah. So yeah, I did a project, then I became a deputy of the VP at some point in the team for half a year. Then I was chosen as a VP for another half a year, I think, or three months. I don't remember specifically, I think, from January till April. And yeah, and then I basically was fired. And because I was burning out a lot and I was very critical and I didn't like authority, whatever. And then I was fired and I was like, ****. And then I went to the internship to the Philippines and that was cool. I liked it a lot. It was adventurous. I learned a lot about myself as well. And that was the thing I needed in order to restore myself, self-confidence, whatever, like my well-being. That was nice. I came, I did recruitment in ISAC, ISAC ease, helped to do it. Was quite cool and meaningful, yeah. But then I kind of lost. I didn't know what to do in my... After graduating, I was pretty scared to graduate. I didn't know what to do. At that point, I already was working at the hostel as administrator, I think. And that was also a bit challenging. Then at the fifth year of my studies, I think I did a bit like recruitment as well for the IT company. I was not afraid of doing it. I was quite good at it actually. Yeah. I earned a bit money there. And I was actually was asked to do, to work for them as a HR manager or whatever. But I think that would be, That would be so cool if I was like HR manager, but I think, I don't know why, but I like, I decided not to do it. And I was like, okay, not doing it. Yeah, I got depressed a bit. Yeah, I was also doing another stuff, so I got burned out easily again. So yeah, and then also existential crisis of graduating and not not thinking what I want to do, not understanding what I want to do after graduation. That was pretty, pretty scary. So yeah, I actually wanted to make like academic, like, I don't know, academic year off because of my health and mental health, but my parents was like, no, you need to write your thesis. And yeah, my mother came basically to get, she fly, she got a flight and she get into my dorm, whatever. And she helped me to finish it. I was quite stressed. But I was good, I think, at I was good. I was decent at organizing. I was not that bad. I was not very bad at initiating like first contact and like advertising something or like this kind of cold speech to people. I was not that bad at all at that. At that point, I think what I was also not very bad at. I'm public speaking in terms of showing my enthusiasm if I believe in something and everything.
Q: What were you good at professionally?
A:
What else? What I was good at professionally. I mean, Isaac is like a huge experience, of course, of my life. And it gave me a lot in terms of understanding what kind of soft and hard skills I'm good at. I'm really good at organizing, I think, in terms of getting people who want to do something related to when they're passionate about something. And I was the one who was like coordinating everything. And that was interesting. Yeah. You're organizing events. I was being good at it. Yeah.
Q: What did you love doing professionally in those years before graduating?
A:
What did I love doing professionally at that years before graduating? Wait, this is only to graduation, right? We need to talk about when I was, when I graduated. What did I love doing professionally at that point of my life? Yeah. Recruitment. I was good at it. Still good at it. Yeah. A little bit of public speaking. I was not at least shy and whatever. English kind of, yeah. But what did I love though, right? I'm thinking about my mother and the way they gave a bribe or whatever and they allowed me to still make a test.
Q: What were your favorite hobbies and pastimes?
A:
What was my favorite hobbies and pastimes? TV shows. Yep, I was really into them. Books kind of less because it was getting harder. But yeah, but I did read books in general in my past and right now I did read books, fictions as well.
Q: Describe life after graduation.
A:
Okay, let's then talk about my life after graduation. My life after graduation, I was still at my parents' home. I was quite still influenced by them, I think. But I was also trying to create my own adult life. I get the job pretty easily. Yeah. A bit shy. Yeah. During young adulthood, I was a bit shy still. But I was not that shy. I was still able to call the people and do stuff. What else? What else? I was hard working as **** but because I think still my ADHD was huge factor of it. I spent a lot of time since I was slow and I was not good at stuff that I was need to do, like routine stuff, like documents, paperwork and everything. And I was dragging it and dragging it and dragging it. But yeah, but I was quite active in my job as well, proactive. Full of ideas and everything. So yeah, I was I started doing some kind of my own things there, like more proactive. So yeah, what kind of adult I become know it all active. Not at all active. What else? Anous as **. Yeah. Quite determined and goal oriented, I would say. Yeah, entrepreneurial spirit, organizational control freak. I didn't delegate as much as well and I was like, ****. And I was not very happy with my life, with the choice of my career and everything. I had a quite existential dread for a year and a half. Two years after graduation. Then I moved to bigger city and then I started volunteering like ecological environmental volunteering and I like created this idea of that I will succeed in sales and get into international sales like in English in IT companies preferably so that will be the peak of my career at that point in terms of money and in terms of maybe impact because I can donate more life, more money to the environmental cause. That was my idea at that point in my life. Yeah. Quick wheat, not very responsible, my own health and everything. Yeah.
Q: What did you discover you were good at professionally?
A:
What did I discover I was good at professionally? Creative, very good at speaking. Confident in a way. Not afraid to talk to strangers. Yeah.
Q: What did you love doing professionally?
A:
What did I love doing professionally at that point of my career? Learn new something new, new something new about my product or like whatever. Then I loved using English in my job. I loved learning more phrases, changing and emulating my accent to be more American. Yeah, I liked it a lot. Then we started doing success stuff. I was pretty stoked. And basically, I like that. Is a lot of growing and changing. So I liked it a lot in that point of my life.
Q: Favorite hobbies and pastimes at that point?
A:
What are my favorite hobbies and pastimes at that point? Yeah, TV shows again. Food starting to play a major role, I think, in terms of like how we relax. More and more. But I moved a lot and my metabolical system was not that ****** **. I think I still was quite skinny. I don't know. Not very skinny, but still I was quite like not a beast at least. I love doing volunteering as environmental things and learn about that. It was really pretty slow because I was not kind of allowing myself to do it professionally because also of money or whatever. And I was like, no, I don't want to do that. But yeah. Favorite hobbies and pastimes. Yeah, cleanups. Volunteering. Favorite hobbies and pastimes. I don't remember, but something like that. Way of reading. I read a lot, I think, at that point of my life.
Q: After pandemic, what kind of adult did you become?
A:
Okay, then after pandemic, after pandemic, what kind of adult did they become? Exhausted, depressed. Losing meaning, highly anxious, extremely anxious. Existential dread, yeah, became more and more apparent.
Q: What did you discover you were good at professionally?
A:
What did I discover I was good at professionally? Analytical part of the stuff, which is cool. Yeah, research, analytical part of my life. That was I good at. Also selling myself and presenting myself and I think communications with people, like the way I understood the task and everything, that was quite impressive. I don't know.
Q: What did you love doing professionally?
A:
What did I love doing professionally? Solving problems. Still solving problems is the best one that I know that the career can give you is solving problems. I liked it when I was doing math in school and university. I liked it when I was doing like freelance orders and then when I was working in support and sales. I love solving problems.
Q: Favorite hobbies and pastimes?
A:
One of my favorite hobbies and pastimes. Yeah. Yeah, food, food, TV shows and books.
● Why did I really choose to study what I did?
● Which subjects did I enjoy more than others?
● Where did I see my career going?
● What were my “shoulds” at this time? For example, I should get married at X age, earn this much, live in that city, have this kind of lifestyle…
● Whose opinion did I value most?
● Who did I look up to? Who were my role models, mentors?
● Which groups and communities did I belong to?
● What kind of university did I go to? What did their students tend to be / become?
● What was I told about what was possible for me?
● What kind of career advice was I receiving?
● What were people in my friendship circle studying / not studying? Where did they want to live? What kind of lifestyle were they striving for?
● Where did I excel? What was I passionate about? When did I feel happiest?
● What kind of part-time jobs or volunteer roles did I hold?
● What was my proudest achievement from this time of my life? What was the most embarrassing or negative memory from this time of my life?
Q: University experience and subject choices?
A:
Chose environmental focus out of personal interest, but economics degree was parent-driven compromise. Enjoyed math and marketing, passionate professors; disliked statistics and mining subjects.
Q: Life goals, career directions, and expectations?
A:
Aimed for marriage and children by age 30; expected to return to hometown to work due to scholarship obligations; sought a stable career and lifestyle; parents were not pushy but asked about my romantic life.
Q: Whose opinion did I value after university? Role models?
A:
Peers in ISAC, especially role models in sales; public figures in effective altruism; mentors in the workplace such as my commercial director.
Q: Groups and communities after university?
A:
ISAC alumni, local community, diaspora, university alumni.
Q: Major achievements and low points from young adulthood?
A:
Leading recruitment in ISAC; major burnout and depression; stressful project leadership that led to hospitalization of a participant; existential crises.
Q: First job after graduation—why that job? Expectations?
A:
Chose an intellectual job at a tech company, excited by prestige and impact in helping with employability. Disappointed with slow pace and lack of ambition/passion in the workplace.
Q: Influences on career after graduation?
A:
Influenced by ISAC community, therapists, ambitious peers, public career images. Moved for career opportunities and community connections.
Q: Life after pandemic?
A:
Exhausted, depressed, lost meaning, faced existential dread. Discovered strengths in analytics, communication, and problem-solving. Continued enjoyment in reading and TV as hobbies.
Q: How was the experience of university/higher education? Why did you choose your field?
A:
How was the experience of university higher education for me? Why did I really chose to study what I did? Yeah, I already told that earlier, but basically I chose it because of the environmental aspect. But my parents pushed me for my economical degree and I mean, yeah, it was a compromise. I wanted like ecological engineer or something, environmental engineer, but I didn't, I lacked physics. And at some point I was not very aware that I can actually change the degrees. And I was like, okay, I can do, I can do economical degree, that's fine.
Q: Which subjects did you enjoy more than others?
A:
Which subject did I enjoy more than others? Yeah, I already told that. I liked professors that were more passionate about it. And I, for example, liked environmental assessment, impact assessment, and I liked marketing. I didn't like about, I didn't like specifically statistics, but I was not that very bad at it. I liked marketing. I liked, what else I liked? Yeah, math, all math stuff. But it was first two or three years, right? Yeah. And then marketing on the third year, I think I had it. Fourth and fifth year, I don't remember specifically. It was very natural mining stuff and I didn't like that a lot.
Q: Where did you see your career going?
A:
Where did I see my career going? Yeah, I was, I don't, I had an existential dread. I don't remember. Yeah. No.
Q: What were your “shoots” (big expectations, supposed-to’s) at this time?
A:
What were my shoots at this time? For example, should I get married at X age, earn this much, live in that city, have this kind of lifestyle? Yeah, I think pretty much I was sure that I need to get married and have kids till 30. My parents not very pushy about it, but yes, they asked me like about my... my romance life and everything. Yeah, I was... That was kind of pushed on me at some point. I didn't per se was... No, I didn't per se like was thinking that I need to earn this much, but yeah, I was I was thinking that I need to return to the city where I'm from because of the, that my part of my studies was kind of partially sponsored with the scholarships from the region that I'm from. And I was like, yeah, I need to work at the company somewhere, right? And I don't know, that was not very well. they really wanted me to eat healthier, to move more and stuff and stuff, sleep. I mean that is a normal lifestyle but they pushed me and I think also I didn't like that I gained a lot of weight I think at that point. Yeah.
Q: Whose opinion did you value most at that point?
A:
Whose opinion did I value most at that point in my life? No, parents. I think my, like some people in Isaac I think, I looked up on them. I really enjoyed Anton Gladkov pass at that point and I was like inspired by, I'm still inspired by, like, and influenced by Yeah. Having a career in sales and everything. Also, some kind of random sites that said, if you want to do something good in your career, you have 80,000 hours and like, this is called effective altruism and this is a possibility of doing good in your life. Yeah. So, Western world, in a way.
Q: Who did you look up to? Role models/mentors?
A:
Who did I look up to? Who were my role models and mentors? Yeah, I mean, Isaac people a bit. MCP, I looked up at them and MC people, some of them.
Q: Which groups and communities did you belong to?
A:
Which groups and communities did I belong to? Isaac, and I was Isaac alumni after that. What else? Yeah, I'm in local community, kind of diaspora a bit, but no, I was not active at all.
Q: What kind of university did you go to? What did the students tend to become?
A:
What kind of university did they go to? What did the students tend to become? I mean, economical university, one of the oldest in economical universities in the country. I mean, it was very good at the Saviti era, but now I don't think so. I mean, we had pretty competitive finance department and maybe accounting. I don't know.
Q: What were you told about what was possible for you career-wise?
A:
What was I told about was what was possible for me? Oh, international career, international career, English speaking career, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
Q: What career advice were you receiving?
A:
What kind of career advice was I receiving? No idea actually, I don't know.
Q: What were your friends studying and not studying? Where did they want to live? What kind of lifestyle were they striving for?
A:
What were people in my friendship circle studying and not studying? Where did they want to live? Where did they want to live? What kind of lifestyle were they striving for? **** it's almost over, right? Okay. My friendship circle was studying... I mean, my degree, the closest one, and then statistics and then pharmacy, like I told, I told that the one, that the friends that I had at that point. Where they didn't want to leave, they wanted to leave after graduation. I think they wanted to come home, actually. What kind of lifestyle were they striving for? A secure career, money, I don't know.
Q: Where did you excel? What were you passionate about? When did you feel happiest?
A:
Where did I excel? What was I passionate about? When did I feel happiest? Oh, ****. I mean, I was very quick with and I excelled, I think, at this kind of cold contact still, even in English, even in, I mean, in Russian and in a physical contact online. I still was good at it. I think I was passionate about environmental stuff still. When did I feel happiest? 2018. That is the year of my breakthrough in environmental volunteering stuff. And then I had also a boyfriend and then I was kind of stable at my work. Nothing kind of changed. I got a raise, I think, at that point. Yeah, I felt myself very valued at work, appreciated at work. And then I had a boyfriend. So yeah, I felt like very grateful at that point to life, to God and everything.
Q: What kind of part-time jobs and volunteer roles did you hold?
A:
Kind of part-time jobs or volunteer roles did I hold? Yeah, I told that.
Q: What was your proudest achievement from this time of your life? What was the most embarrassing, negative memory?
A:
What was my proudest achievement from this time of my life? The most embarrassing, negative memory from this time of my life. My proudest achievement from this time of my life, the uni life from 20 to To whatever to twenty-two, right? Or twenty-three, twenty-two, yeah. What am I the proudest achievement from this time in my life? Don't remember that I was pretty proud. I was stoked with Isaac of course, but then at that point I was also very, very exhausted and burned out by Isaac. So I don't know whether my achievements there was actually a bright stuff. Yeah. Nah. Don't remember that much. But yeah, but I really enjoyed being a recruitment and team leader of ISA case. I think that was the coolest thing that I've done in ISAC by myself and with my team, leading my team. That was cool. Yeah.
Q: What was the most embarrassing, negative memory from this time in your life?
A:
What was the most embarrassing, negative memory from this time in my life? Well, of course, when I had existential crisis and then depression a bit and I was not doing a lot as a CCVP and then I was not, I was falling behind with my studies and I wanted to take an academic year off and then my mama came and then she bribed my professors and I was like, **** that is not, that is, that is embarrassing. What else? The most negative? Oh yeah, the stress of organizing a project for people and... one of them got sick and ended up at the mental hospital. That was the lowest. And then being embarrassed that I was the one that like this case was a catalyst for us losing the office for our like Isaac organization. I was like,* that was the best, the very bad year for Isaac and me.
● Why did you take this specific job following graduation?
● What excited you about it?
● How did it meet your expectations (or not)?
● Who in your work environment did you want to be like?
Q: What was your first job after graduation and why did you take it?
A:
My first job, why did you take this specific job following graduation? It was one of the most intellectual, I think, out of everything that I kind of interviewed. The company was AT, I like that it was technological, like the guy who was the head of it, I think. But I didn't remember that much about him. I didn't know about him as much. But yeah, that was also prestigious, I think, in a way. Yeah, it was kind of big. Good job, good company, like the known company. But yeah, what excited you about it? I think that I was working about the employment. I was quite, I think it was quite meaningful for me to help find people employment. Yeah. How did it meet your expectations or not? Oh, it was so slow. People were so slow. I was quite slow. And that was slow. And I was like, where is ambitions? Where's passion? Where is like, whatever? I don't know.
Q: Who in your work environment did you want to be like?
A:
Who in your work environment did you want to be like? Yeah, my commercial director. Yeah, my commercial director. He was like a mentor for me, like a silent mentor for me. I don't know. Yeah.
● What / who has influenced the major decision points since then (the promotions you’ve taken, the jobs you’ve left, the jobs you’ve taken)?
Q: Who influenced your major career decision points since then? What affected job changes, promotions?
A:
My career since then, who was influenced the major decision points since then? The promotions you've taken, the jobs you've left, the jobs you've taken? Iceakers, I think. Because a bunch of them was in Moscow and I ended up in Moscow because of that, I think during pandemic I was quite alone and I felt that, most interesting people, Isaac people in Moscow, let's move to Moscow, wherever. A bit of my therapist, I think. Kata helped me, I think, to get my promotion. At that point, the promotion of the first job, I think also Isaac. I mean, this kind of ambitious over competitive girls and girls who wanted to rule the world and everything, they were a part of my social circle at that time. And that's why I think I was miserable and I felt isolated in my hometown. And then I chose to move to St. Petersburg. And in St. Petersburg, I felt also isolated during the pandemic. Then I moved to Moscow. So that also like a dream of be corporate, corporate, cool career where I got a lot of money. So I think, I don't know, I was influenced by that public image A lot. Stop. Leave this for at least 30 minutes, come back with fresh eyes, go over everything and answer the questions in the next section. Oh, okay. Let's End this audio.
STOP
Leave this for at least 30 minutes, come back with fresh eyes, go over everything again and answer the questions in the next section.
DEBRIEF
Have you ever found yourself not taking action (or taking unaligned action) due to outside voices and opinions?
Whose opinions do you tend to hear in the back of your mind the most when making decisions or choices? How much say are you happy with them having over the design of your life?
What societal moulds do you find yourself chasing or fitting into?
If norms no longer existed, what might you stop or start doing?
What is one thing you thought was true about yourself or careers more generally that you’re now wondering about?
What does success look like to you, really? How might it be different to what you were taught?
On a scale of 1-10, to what extent do you feel like you have been the strategic and intentional designer and decision-maker of your career to date? The one calling the shots?
Explain why you gave the rating that you did.
What has been your biggest insight or takeaway from this exercise?
Fantastic work, Badass! This is JUICY stuff.
Now, keep the momentum high - book a time in your calendar to complete the next exercise ��
Week 4
Purpose of this exercise
Our brain is designed to keep us safe, so we’ve been conditioned to listen to our first-presenting
thought which is usually rooted in fear, scarcity, doubt, an old pattern, an old imprint. To break through limiting beliefs, which drive your behaviour - first, we must uncover what they are, challenge them and then take action to create new beliefs!
The first step is becoming aware of what they are, naming them, claiming them, and working with them. We don’t hate on our limiting beliefs - they’re trying to keep us safe from rejection, humiliation, feeling judged, abandoned, etc after all! Plus, you can only believe what you do based on the age you were, the information you had, and the environment you were in at the time. That said, let’s dig deep into the exercise in this workbook so you can take ownership and start creating new beliefs for yourself.
WHY IS THIS SO IMPORTANT?
Do you ever feel like you have more potential but don't know why you don't realise it? Or like you know you’re in a situation that’s no longer the right fit for you, but you procrastinate taking any action?
99% of the time, it's the hidden subconscious beliefs and stories that are keeping you stuck.
Our BELIEFS drive our ACTIONS which in turn drives our RESULTS.
Want results? Tune in and let's deep dive and start to uncover what's REALLY holding you back.
Get ready to expand and grow!
CATCH:
SURFACE THE BELIEFS, FEARS, DOUBTS, THOUGHTS AND STORIES YOU HAVE RELATED TO CAREERS
1. Think about something you would love to have in your career, or would love to try.
○ Turn this into an affirmative sentence and write it down e.g. “I am going to start my own business.”, “I am going to be a digital nomad”, “I am going to become a Partner at the firm within 10 years”
2. Let your inner critic throw a tantrum. Why won’t it work for you?
○ Prompts: I’m stressed because… I worry because… I am stuck because...I’m not ___________
3. What could you LOSE from getting the thing that you want?
4. Now that we’re all warmed up, brain-dump any other beliefs, fears, doubts, thoughts and stories you may have about yourself as a professional and the world around you when it comes to careers (I suck at anything numbers, I’m not qualified enough, you can’t earn good money as an X…):
5. Look back on all of the beliefs that emerged. Go back and highlight or star the really mean ones (3-5 for the purposes of this exercise). The ones that feel like they might be the biggest mental roadblocks.
CHALLENGE:
FACT OR FEAR? GET CLEAR ON THE BELIEFS, WHERE THEY CAME FROM, IF THEY’RE TRUE AT ALL
For each belief, answer the following questions:
1. Where did this belief come from? Where did I learn it? When did it start?
What has the impact of this belief been? Who I am when I have that thought or I hold that belief? How do I act, operate and show up in the world when I live from that perspective? Where have I held myself back? Where have I missed out on opportunities? In which ways does it encourage self-sabotage? Try to be as objective as you can. Maybe imagine observing yourself from another person’s perspective if that’s helpful.
2. Does this belief serve me? Who would I be without that belief? How would I act, operate and show up in the world if I didn’t believe that? What would be possible without this limiting belief?
3. FACT OR FEAR? How true is this belief, really? Would it hold up in a court of law, if I had a burden of proof on my shoulders, and had to have all jurors unanimously agree and rule this belief as fact? Where’s the evidence to support that belief?
4. Why it’s not true. Make a list of all the reasons / evidence you have that might not actually be true, or as bad as you think, or is just straight-up false. How might it be an assumption, fear, doubt, or story?
BUSTING LIMITING BELIEFS: ROSIE’S EXAMPLE
Limiting belief:
Why it’s not true:
I’m too young to be a coach - to coach people you need to be around 40 years old+, wearing a blazer, with a wealth of corporate experience behind you
● Age doesn’t influence how much I’ve lived, studied, absorbed, experienced and the coach mindset I have
● My age can be my advantage, being in the same life phase and job market as fellow millennials
● I am perceptive, authentic and empathetic, which is difficult to ‘learn’ and not age dependent
● There are plenty of young people out there who claim to be a coach - and if they get results (helping their clients get from Point A to Point B) with a replicable methodology, why not?
● I started coaching for free to see if I could claim “coach” as a title and empowered people to get exceptional results and opportunities in their life. They were literally begging me to let them pay me!
● You only need to be a few steps ahead, or to have lived through something similar, to help people do the same
● I have Masters degrees and certifications all related to coaching, I’ve invested over $100,000 into my education and more recent qualifications
● You don’t have to wait until you are perfect to start - I have a coach myself and constantly learning to be a better and more effective coach.
I have “coached” hundreds of people now and the things I have in my toolkit from 10+ years in HRwork
There are no rows in this table
CHANGE:
RE-WRITE YOUR NEW BELIEFS
1. First, thank your brain for using this belief to keep you safe. Forgive today’s version of you for believing those things (it works better if you close your eyes and say it out loud).
2. Rewrite each limiting belief with what you would need to believe in order to have the career and life you want.
○ E.g. “Networking comes easily to me”, “My career decisions are mine and mine alone and I trust that I will make the right call”, “there are plenty of opportunities out there when you know where and how to look for them”....
OLD BELIEF:
NEW BELIEF:
i.e. I’m too young to be a coach
i.e. I am a coach because I have a track record of getting people results, and being young makes me more relatable
There are no rows in this table
3. Read these new positive statements to yourself—aloud. Visualise that these things have already happened, come true. Say them out loud again, this time with an innate knowing that it’s already a done deal.
ACTION:
CEMENT IT, TAKE ACTION AND KEEP ACCOUNTABLE
1. Take action (see below for ideas). In order to interrupt old patterns and embody our new beliefs, we must take action in alignment with our new beliefs. Write down any actions, even the tiniest baby steps, that you can take to support your new beliefs: How might you already show up as your next-level self?
2. Stay accountable. Share your epic insights and actions with our community of badass change-makers for accountability and to inspire others. Or at the very least with somebody close to you. Saying it out loud and sharing it with others makes a real difference to the level of commitment in your brain.
What has been your biggest takeaway from this exercise?
Fantastic work, Badass!
Now, keep the momentum high - keep going or book time in your calendar to complete the next exercise
ACTION IDEAS
Start every morning stepping into your next level self: Write the new beliefs on post-its and put them somewhere you see every day (e.g. mirror, back of the toilet door, behind your computer…), and say them out loud as affirmations on the daily
Affirmations can be awkward, I know. But unravelling years of subconscious limiting beliefs requires something close to Jedi mind tricks. When you get annoyed, remember that you’re not delusional or arrogant; you’re trying to recode your cells. I promise I wouldn’t bring up affirmations if they weren’t so damn effective.
Cancel your subscription to bullshit: Give your inner critic a ridiculous name (Gertrude, Petunia…) and call them out when they come up. Talk to yourself as you would a friend, and if you can’t manage that - speak your fears out loud to an actual friend!
Be SOLUTIONS focussed - instead of “I can’t” or “I don’t know” try “how might I…” or “how might I find out?”
If you catch yourself procrastinating or dwelling on something, give yourself a deadline and jot down a mini action plan of how you’re going to lift yourself up out of that place
Spend 5 minutes per day tapping into your future vision - what do you see, feel, taste, hear, smell?
If feeling fear or resistance, journal for 10 minutes to see which limiting beliefs are floating around. Take them through the CATCH - CHALLENGE - CHANGE framework
Practice progress gratitude: Note down 3 things per week you are grateful to have made progress on (progress > perfection)
Focus on what you CAN control: You can’t control who gets the job, but you can control showing up as your best energy and boosting your confidence in what you have to offer
Shift your physiology to shift your state: dance party, walk, 5 mins deep breathing before working on your future
Make it your mission to find people who have done what you’re wanting to do (proof it is possible)
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