Are There Other Issues You Need to Clean Up?
Curt Skene’s In2Win! Career Coaching Supplement.
If issues are bothering you, clean them up. Otherwise they will resurface and bring additional stress at a time when you just don’t need it. Aside from finances common issues are health, family, relationships, previous work and legal problems.
When in transition these will be magnified making them appear insurmountable. Always be proactive and keep your eyes open for any signs of trouble. While it may seem like a lousy time to bring on the extra stress of cleaning your slate there are many benefits. In particular there have been countless executives who have spoken about the weight that was lifted when they hit their issues head on.
Most of them never realized how much it weighed on them or affected their judgment. The good news is you will likely find that the issues you avoided weren’t as daunting as you imagined. Consider getting a physical and recognize this is also a perfect time to improve your health. Know your relationships, especially in the household, will be tested as finances dwindle and your self-worth is placed into question.
Set aside some time to bring joy and happiness to those who mean the most to you. As career stress increases your tolerance for frustration decreases, which can lead to domestic disputes. Talk openly with your partner and where appropriate make joint decisions on “next steps.” Remind yourself daily that you are a capable person and that being in transition is a natural progression that happens to almost everyone.
Address anything that could concern an employer before it surfaces in a reference or background check.
Why I Wrote This Page
Because unresolved problems don’t stay quietly in the background the way you’d expect. They take up real mental space even when you’re not actively thinking about them.
Psychologists call this the Zeigarnik effect: unfinished business stays active in your mind, quietly draining focus, until it’s actually resolved. A health issue you’ve been putting off, a strained relationship, an old conflict you’ve never addressed, none of it disappears just because you’re busy job hunting. It sits there, pulling at your attention in the background, and that’s energy you need for your search.
This is why professionals who deal with their loose ends early almost always say the same thing afterward: they had no idea how much weight it was quietly carrying.
Action Steps
- Make a real list of every unresolved issue you’ve been avoiding, health, financial, relational, legal, even if it feels unrelated to your job search.
- Pick the one causing you the most background stress and take one concrete step on it this week, not the whole thing, just one step.
- Get a physical. It’s one of the most commonly delayed items, and it’s also one of the fastest to knock off the list.
In2Win! Afterthought
Curt’s current observations and updated guidance will be added here.
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