Photo by Jaclyn Du Chateau Photography
Lynn Mull
Holistic Career Coach | lynnmull.com | Instagram
When you’re really stuck it can be hard to see where to go, even what direction to move in. Holistic career coach Lynn Mull uses her action-oriented knack for conjuring clarity to help clients swiftly discover their purpose and escape stagnation. This is her advice for breaking free.
Mid-Career
Mull works with clients who are in the high summer of their careers. This is a season of incredible strengths: wisdom and confidence gleaned from years of experience, a network of colleagues and contacts—but also, potentially, the fog of having spent those years veering gradually out of alignment.
With families and other obligations evolving, our lives get so busy personally and professionally that we forget how to pause and get clear. “The reality is that we do know what we want,” Mull says. It may be clouded by social media comparison and narrow expectations by habits drawn into deep ruts.
But don’t think you need an intimidating plunge to break free.
“There’s a science behind change,” Mull says. “Our neurons create set tracks, and it’s hard to move them. You have to take little steps at a time. Habit stacking and small steps are physically, anatomically the way forward.”
Are You Stuck?
“We all have parts of our lives we don’t love,” Mull says, “whether it’s at home or in an entrepreneurial or corporate career. But I noticed people around me getting sick, getting major back surgery, cancers. Stress from the chronic frustration and choices that move you out of alignment will fester physically, mentally and emotionally, causing a multitude of symptoms, some very severe.”
Milestones can kickoff a realization of how stuck you are.
So take note: if each day is feeling gray and foggy, if you get sick a lot for seemingly no reason, if you find yourself angry on every phone call, resigned to a lifetime of drudgery, it may be time for a shift.
“Milestones can kick off a realization of how stuck you are,” Mull notes. “The birth of a child or grandchild, a relocation, a big birthday or a major illness can shake things up.” Take advantage of that realization of stuckness and use the momentum to get a foot in the door of change.
Tools and Techniques
Mull advises a few practices that are easy to dabble in if you want to suss out your situation and get conversant with clarity.
“Just like a nutritionist would have you journal your food intake, I use energy up and energy down journaling,” she says. Throughout at least a full week, including weekends, take note of what you’re doing, who you’re with and what your energy is like throughout the days. Just the fact that you’re tapping into attention can shake you from autopilot and bring to light what time of day, people and activities charge you up.
Take advantage of opportunities to do nothing. This is not wasted time. Drive with no music on, let your eyes focus on the road and your mind clear. “Focus on your exhales,” Mull suggests, “releasing toxins. First thing in the morning, when you’re waiting for your coffee to brew, or folding laundry.” Let your mind process and find clarity.
“If you’re really overwhelmed, I recommend washing your hands for a lot longer than usual,” Mull says. “Water is clearing energetically.” With your back to the room, the sound of running water and its soothing touch, it’s a moment to reset.
Mull’s coloring book, “Clarity in Color,” a portable three-inch by three-inch of cleanly illustrated crystals, watchwords and shapes, is one example of a way to allow yourself to play a little bit more. “Have a moment without a device where you’re making eye contact and laughing, telling a joke,” she says. “Allowing more space is what you’re looking for.”
Calling on a Coach
“We have trainers, doctors, teachers for our kids,” Mull says. “We have people help us with things we’re not expert in, or because we’re overwhelmed, overbooked.” Mull’s action-oriented, concise coaching package displays an immunity to the analysis paralysis that can make self-study a non-starter. Combining West Coast mentality with East Coast action, she has clients realigned and looking at their next few months’ actionable goals with clarity and the confidence to reach into their networks in a way that’s deliberate and detailed.
A lot of us can’t (nor would we want to) hare off on a six-month road trip à la Eat Pray Love, even if we know something needs to give. But with tools like Mull’s The 24 Oracle Deck, practical pauses and weekly alignment practice, we can, in a way, microdose the interruption of routine and make space for change.
Readers are invited to use code 10LV24 for 10 percent off The 24 Oracle Deck.
Published as “Ask the Expert” in the April 2024 edition of Lehigh Valley Style magazine.
