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How to Feel Less Lonely in Your Career – Audio Transcript

Hi there – Belma from Work Bigger here helping you do work you love that makes a difference in the world without burning out. 

Today I’m going to talk about loneliness. Stay until the end because I’m sharing a downloadable PDF that will help you address the issue of loneliness. 

So – it’s been a long time since I’ve felt lonely in my career. 

And most days I work alone in my apartment. 

Four years ago, however, I couldn’t say this. In fact, as a founder, I felt really alone. 

My family didn’t always understand my obsession with fixing the career dilemma we’re in and building a business to solve this challenge. 

And many of my friends weren’t founders so I couldn’t lean on them for all the business questions I had swimming around in my mind. 

Add to that, I was also a new mom, which is a big transition that comes with its own challenges.

I’d try to share my thoughts and fears and goals with the people I loved, but it wasn’t enough. 

They weren’t able to give me what I needed. And it wasn’t their fault. They were in a different place and although they loved me and wanted to help, they couldn’t directly relate or tell me what I needed to hear. 

Fast forward to today, and I’ve never felt more supported with my career goals. 

• I no longer need to put expectations on my family and friends to be there for me in a way that they can’t.
• And I no longer need to navigate my career in the dark.

This has been incredibly freeing but it’s also allowed me to improve my relationship with my family and friends and allowed me to build my business. 

So HOW did this shift happen? 

One of the biggest reasons I’m less lonely today is community… 

Community has gifted me with: 

• Friends who are working toward similar goals so I can reach out to them with a business dilemma or when I need someone to reflect back to me if I’m making a mistake.
  • I can get really detailed about my struggles so they can give me such great support
• Resources to answer my biggest, burning questions like my leadership coach, lawyers, accountants, my executive assistant and so much more.
• A safe space to share struggles – from navigating motherhood and building a business, to making a pivot in my business, and whatever roadblock I’m dealing with at the time. 

There are a lot of communities out there today, and if you’re working on big goals with your career, I highly recommend you find one that speaks to you b/c It’s a game changer in terms of support.

In today’s video, I share how to find the right community. I’ve also put together a new and updated list of communities I love so download this document when you’re done. 

Now, Here’s how to find the right community for you

• Start with your values. Ask yourself – What’s important to me when connecting with a group? What are my belief systems and does this group meet those? **this is really important for finding like-minded people** 

For example, if you really value social impact you’ll want to look for a community that focuses on this because it will help expand your network and your learnings in this space 

If you really value growth and professional development, you’ll want to join a community that helps to foster that. 

Ask yourself – what are my values? What are the voices that I most connect with? 

• What are you biggest gaps right now? What’s your need? You want to identify your pain points because many communities offer specific services and tools that can help you address those NEEDS specifically. 

For example, if you’re a new business owner and you’re struggling with getting your business off the ground b/c you don’t have a lot of prior experience in business, you’ll want to join a community of other founders b/c you’ll need access to resources, business coaching, tools, etc.

If you’re struggling with navigating your organization, you’ll want to join a group that can

offer you leadership development and coaching. You’ll also want to be among others 

Who are navigating an organization because you can learn from others who have had similar experiences. 

And if you’re struggling with mindset and confidence, you want to join a group that specifically addresses this.  

Now, I’m going to re-share a list here of powerful communities that I’m personally a fan of I highly recommend you check them all out. (We’ve shared this on the blog before but I’ve made some changes) 

At the least, get on the newsletters so if you’re thinking of joining and you’re just not sure yet, joining the newsletter will allow you to get more familiar with the values and the resources they offer. 

I also want to encourage you to check out the Work Bigger Community

• We’re your coach and community to help you do work you love that makes a difference in the world without burning out. 
• Our core values are challenging the status quo, diversity, creativity, impact, and empathy = we’re here to support you with reaching your full potential b/c we believe the best version of you makes a direct impact on the world at large 
• You’ll want to consider applying if your goal is to reach your full potential but your biggest struggles are things like overcoming burnout and imposter syndrome and you’re specifically looking for more coaching and leadership development support.
  • We also have a mix of mostly women who are in organizations about 25% of early stage founders. 
• We’re opening membership early next year so stay tuned!

If you have any questions go to workbigger.co/join-us 

And now I’d love to hear from you: 

• How does loneliness show up for you? 
• What do you rely on as a source of support.

Share in the comments because your answer may directly support someone else.

That’s it for this week work bigger. Don’t forget to download the PDF – A LIST OF LIFE CHANGING COMMUNITIES – , and as always if you know someone who can benefit from this newsletter, please forward it to them. We’d love for more people to have access to these resources. 

See you next week! Bye!