Are you feeling overwhelmed by work anxiety and struggling to build confidence in your career? 

 

Today, I'll dive into the world of Acceptance and Commitment Coaching (ACC) and how it can help you tackle these challenges and achieve success in your career. 

 

Join me as I explore the six key principles of this Acceptance and Commitment approach, how it can help you clarify your career vision, deal with worries at work, and much more. 

 

So, if you're ready to take control of your work and career, keep listening!

 

Hello and a very warm welcome to Episode No 63 of ‘Your Bravo Career’

My name is Mark Crossfield, I’m a Professional Career Coach / helping you to love your job and build a great career.  

 

How you can enjoy what you are doing day each day at work

and how to build a great career along the way.

Introduction

 

Welcome everybody to Episode no 63

 

Today, I’m going to be talking about a new approach you might not have heard of that can help you to deal with work anxiety, build confidence, and achieve success in your career.

 

This powerful approach is called Acceptance and Commitment Coaching (ACC) and it is based on the principles of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, or ACT.

 

ACT itself is a form of cognitive-behavioural therapy that was first developed by Steven C. Hayes, a psychologist at the University of Nevada, in the late 1970s and early 80s. 

 

It's an empirically-based psychological intervention that uses acceptance and mindfulness strategies, together with commitment and behaviour-change, to increase psychological flexibility.

 

Bit of a mouthful …

 

But, the main goal of ACT is to help individuals develop a greater sense of self-awareness, learn to accept difficult thoughts and feelings without judgment, and develop a greater sense of purpose and direction in their lives. 

 

As a career coach, I use Acceptance and Commitment Coaching in various ways to help clients achieve their career goals. And the good news is that you can use it as well in your career – I will explain how in this podcast.

 

I’m going to cover 4 key areas where you can use this approach in your career.

 

But first, let me explain the six key principles of this approach.

 

 

1.    Learning to see your thoughts with some distance, not being overwhelmed by your thinking and choosing what to do regardless of what’s happening with your automatic thinking.

2.    Noticing the ‘story’ we have created for ourselves, about ourselves, and understanding we can transcend this story.

3.    Allowing ourselves to feel, even when those feelings are uncomfortable or even painful. This is because when we avoid such feelings, this causes us more problems than if we had not pushed them away.

4.    Directing attention internally, being present.

5.    Choosing what we want to move towards based on a value-based assessment. You can see why I like this approach …and

6.    Creating habits that support these choices

 

When I first learned about ACT, I knew immediately that these principles would work perfectly in the workplace and in career management, and they would be a good fit for my coaching.

 

And, using these principles, you'll be on your way to a more fulfilling and meaningful career as well.

 

As I mentioned, Acceptance and Commitment Coaching can be particularly helpful in the workplace as it can help you deal with worries and build confidence. 

 

So, if you're looking for a new approach to help you achieve your career goals or just to enjoy work more, you might want to consider listening in and giving Acceptance and Commitment Coaching a try. 

 

It can help you build confidence and achieve success in your career. You'll learn to be more present in the moment, to accept difficult thoughts and feelings without judgment, and to take action towards your values. 

 

So, I’m now going to show you how Acceptance and Commitment Coaching can help you in 4 aspects of your work and career management.

 

For simplicity, I’m going to use the acronym ACT from now. It’s simpler, it’s an Action word and it relates to the roots of Acceptance and Commitment Coaching. It’s also more widely known.

 

All that said, let’s start with …

 

 

As I often discuss on this podcast, career clarity is something we often struggle with. Should I stay at my current organisation and seek a promotion, or should I look for another job elsewhere? Or should I change careers altogether?

 

Often people get stuck in their thinking about their careers. So how can ACT help with this?

 

Well, ACT helps you to identify what’s most important to you in your life and career. This process often involves exploring your values and getting clear on which are the most important. 

 

Value-based visioning is encouraged by being mindful and present in the moment, to observe your thoughts and feelings without judgment, so you can gain clarity on what you want from your career.

 

Next, ACT encourages you to take committed action: Once you have a clear understanding of your values and goals, you can move with purpose towards your career vision. Action is where the rubber meets the road of course, and where your vision begins to take shape.

 

In addition, ACT helps you to accept and embrace the challenges and difficulties that come with pursuing your career vision. 

 

Instead of avoiding or denying these challenges, ACT encourages you to face them head-on and work through them in a way that aligns with your values and your vision.

 

When working with clients, I encourage them to push on with their goals, even if they experience fear or other difficult emotions, and help them to identify and overcome barriers that may be in the way.

 

 

Let’s now see how ACT can help with a common problem at work – dealing with worries or overthinking.

 

2: How ACT can help with worries at work

 

We all have worries and concerns that can hold us back from achieving our goals and being successful at work. For example, you might worry about imposter syndrome or about not being good enough. 

 

But with ACT, we can learn to recognise and accept these thoughts and feelings without judgment, rather than trying to control or suppress them. This can help us to see them as less powerful or threatening, and allow us to focus on what's important.

A good question to ask yourself in such situations is:

 

Quite often, this question can break the spell your thinking has over you, allowing you to accept that your thinking comes unbidden and, well, just isn’t very helpful.

 

Let's look at another example.

 

Let’s say you're a project manager who constantly worries about meeting deadlines and ensuring the success of your projects. These worries are causing you a lot of stress and affecting your work performance. 

 

How would ACT help here?

 

The first way relates to acceptance. ACT can help you accept that worrying about meeting deadlines and ensuring project success is a normal part of your experience. 

 

Rather than trying to suppress or ignore these worries, you learn to acknowledge them and understand that they're not a reflection of your worth as a person.

 

Mindful techniques, a big part of ACT, can also help you stay present and focused on the task at hand. This can help you avoid getting caught up in worries and reduce stress levels.

 

You can also focus on your values, in particular, what’s important to you about the project. Therefore you can shift your attention away from worries and towards taking meaningful action that aligns with these values.

 

This ultimately helps you step back from your worries and see them for what they are (unhelpful ruminations), rather than getting caught up in them.

 

Ok, so that’s how we use ACT to deal with worries at work.

 

Let’s move on to the third example, which is using ACT to build confidence at work.

 

 

 

Surely ACT can’t help me to build confidence as well, can it?

 

Well, yes it can.

 

But first, remember, confidence is not the absence of fear; it is the ability to take action in accordance with your values and beliefs even when fear presents itself. 

 

Fear is a natural and common emotion. True confidence lies in the ability to acknowledge and face these fears but still continue to move forward with purpose and determination. 

 

In essence, confidence is the embodiment of bravery, allowing us to make meaningful contributions to the world and live fulfilling lives.

 

So, understanding this and when we're able to accept and understand our thoughts and feelings, we're better able to focus on what's important and take action. 

 

For example, you might feel intimidated speaking in front of a group, but with ACT you can learn to acknowledge your feelings and still move forward with your speech. 

 

ACT can help you accept your feelings of self-doubt and anxiety without judgment. Rather than trying to suppress or ignore these feelings, you learn to acknowledge and understand them.

 

You can also use ACT to identify your core values, such as competence and reliability, and how they relate to your work. 

 

By focusing on these values, you can shift your attention away from self-doubt and towards taking meaningful action that aligns with what's important to you.

 

You can also learn to label negative self-talk as just "unhelpful thoughts" rather than absolute truth. This helps you step back from self-doubt and negative thoughts rather than getting caught up in them.

 

By learning to accept and manage your thoughts and feelings rather than trying to avoid them, you can become more confident and capable at work.

 

By the way, a book I often recommend about overcoming fears of speaking is Dare by Barry McDonagh. The book is rooted in the principles of ACT and is very helpful in helping you to overcome your fear of speaking.

 

Ok, so finally, let’s look at how you can use Acceptance and commitment coaching to achieve success at work.

 

 

By now, you must be seeing that this approach can help you to achieve greater success in your career. As I have shown, it can help you to get career clarity, have more confidence and deal with those pesky worries.

 

In fact, with all that dealt with, you are able to be more present in the moment, you're better able to focus on what's important and be more engaged in your work. 

 

This means you’re better able to set and achieve goals, learn and develop new skills, and build strong relationships with your colleagues. 

 

For example, you might want to take on new responsibilities or take on a new work role, but you may feel overwhelmed and unsure. 

 

With ACT, you can learn to manage these feelings and take the steps needed to take on that new role. 

 

And by taking care of our physical and mental health, you're able to perform better at work and achieve your full potential.

 

So, as you can see, ACT is a powerful tool that can help us deal with worries, build confidence, get clear on your career and achieve success in the workplace. 

 

A good place to learn more about ACT is The Little Act Workbook by Sinclair and Beadman. I will put a link to the kindle version in the show notes.

 

So

 

I hope you found this information helpful and I encourage you to explore ACT and Acceptance and Commitment Coaching further to see how it can benefit you in your own life. 

 

Remember to seek professional help if you need to and reach out to me if you think I can help you in your career. 

 

You can email at mark@bravocoaching.co.uk and we can have a conversation.

 

By the way, you can find today’s show notes at bravocoaching.co.uk/podcast.

 

 

If you are interested in working with me, you can book a free discovery call on my website.

 

If you haven’t already subscribed, why not do that now. I’ve got a special guest on the next podcast who I’m excited to talk with. I think you will enjoy the conversation as well …

  

Have a wonderful week and I will speak to you again in a couple of weeks time.

 

Bye for now.