Know Your Baseline and How it Relates to Career

Your baseline is your set point. It's where you most often find yourself resting energetically and emotionally. Things and events can cause your energy and mood to go up or dip below - a fight with a partner may cause a dip, a yoga class brings you above baseline.

The best part... YOU can decide what brings you below your baseline.

It may take practice, but you can absolutely be in control of that. When it comes to your work and career, here's what I want you to think about. Do not let anything work related bring you below baseline. You can make the decision that a deal that doesn't go through or a salty interaction with a client or an event that didn't go as planned doesn't bring you way down. Some may confuse this as not caring. It's not that at all. You can still care and be deeply connected to your work without allowing it to impact your core.

Eventually you'll get to a place where work and career doesn't change your baseline at all.

But what about celebrating the wins or having work take you above your baseline? Totally. Do that. Let work related things have you feel good above and beyond your baseline. The trick is to ride the ups and downs of career above your baseline, without it getting you down.

So what about the things that truly lower your baseline? That's for you to decide. It can simply be a decision you make that you then continue to reinforce. Let me give you an example. I have two healthy, happy little kids and a husband I adore. I decided that really the only thing that I want to allow my baseline to lower is if their well-being shifts. It's a solid reference point for me to turn to when other life things start to creep on my baseline (I'm human after all.) Career not doing what I'd like? Phew, we're all healthy and happy. We're all okay. I am okay.

Once you've mastered this baseline trick as it relates to your career, you can apply it to anything! That one relationship in your life that always feels tricky? It doesn't have to impact your baseline. The crazy neighbor, doesn't have to impact your baseline.

The outcome of being in control of your baseline as often as you can: more peace, pleasure, good moods, career risk-taking, and freedom.