On Simon: Career concerns – Part 2
I’m glad Simon had read the Part 1 article (click here), and shared his comments…
[Simon] I identified myself with birth root number 3 (fire) wanting to have and/or do things quickly and have a quick temper. I get so indulged in work and it’s hard for me to pause and relax, and I feel I am going to burn out if I continue this way.
It is regrettable that Simon allowed the strong Fire elements to manifest and influence him, which resulted in the behaviours mentioned. Indulging in work, is just a quick getaway thinking, so he thought. But this does not help much because the strong Metal element also manifests itself, creating unnecessary anxiety, thoughts. And in some cases, a rebellious tendency creating undue fears.
What could Simon do to improve the management of the strong elements of Fire and Metal to manifest and inflict further injury?
In his book “The Triune Brain in Evolution,” neuroscientist Paul D. MacLean describes the brain in terms of three distinct structures – Neocortex, Limbic, and Reptilian. It’s also known as “The 3 Brains” in the studies of Emotional Intelligence (EQ, EI, EIQ). You can look up “3 brains” separately about how it works.
Instead of relying on the Reptilian brain to invoke the immediate reactions, it’d be good to pause for a few seconds to allow the signals to be sent over to the Limbic brain to analyse. A person with low EQ would trigger his feelings and his reactions are often regretted. Someone with high EQ would transfer that signal to Neocortex brain to formulate a response. As a result, the difference lies in how a person is able to behave in situations – either by reacting or by responding.
The strong Fire and Metal elements in Simon’s EON chart could trigger the “reaction” behaviour, which could often lead to hurried actions he might regret later. What Simon might do is consciously remind himself to listen carefully to what others have said. Take a few seconds to understand what was said and rephrase what he intends to say and then reply. Responses made ‘a few seconds later’ are often more sensitively aware and not emotionally triggered. As a result, Simon is also able to manage and reduce his “selective listening” habits, as mentioned in my Part-1 article.
Besides the positive areas mentioned, the number 3 is also about creativity which Simon has. He should focus on manifesting his creative skills (Fire) and thinking about innovative ways (Metal) to create more compelling Ad collateral where clients really need it.
[Simon] While I seem to be getting good pay increases after switching to digital marketing, I no longer feel happy, instead, I feel stressed thinking about work. My job title is a digital marketing executive, where I write an ad and website copies for client’s product and run ads on advertising platforms. I don’t liaise with the client directly, instead the task is handled by Sales and the Client Servicing manager, whereas my scope of work is backend operations.
Working without passion is like driving fast and furiously, and stepping on the accelerator like a Formula 1 driver. It would be great if Simon could begin working on ways to relax, have an open mind, and accept comments, including criticism of his work. And maybe, to clear up the undesirable fears and worries occupying his mind at work. A shift in perspective could lead to better EQ and growth mindset, and a happier, more focused person. Simon can do that; he just needs to focus and set goals, and act on achievable plans on what he wants to accomplish.
As mentioned in the Part-1 article, it is good to know and understand what clients want directly, not through another colleague who may be misinterpreting or meeting needs. Discuss with his manager, and request for a “Gemba Walk” to get involved on the front line, and not creating Ad collateral based on what his sales colleague suggests, which might be wrong. Volunteer to sit down and discuss directly with the client, and work with them to understand current needs and perhaps, offer alternative views as well. Simon can do it due to his strong Fire (focused, creative thinking and passion) and Metal (innovative thinking and system/design).
[Simon] Perhaps I was focused on getting that next bigger pay-check from my digital marketing job (materialistic pursuit), but I feel I am missing out on the holistic wellness aspect in life. Going forward, I hope to have more joy and a feeling of accomplishment outside of work, as well as time to do more exercise. My current workplace is far. Have to wake up early to depart the house at 6am, and only leave work around 8pm to avoid the jam.
I’ve mentioned about the 1-2-3 pattern manifesting the wealth pursuits when a person is being controlled by money. The desire to have holistic well-being is possible – just set goals to do workouts or healthy exercises, etc. Assuming if Simon finished work at 6pm, he could utilise that 2 hours (6pm-8pm) to exercise. It is up to him to maximise his time. Anyway, the stress and mental anxiety traits are also a negative manifestation of the strong Fire (physical health) interacting with the strong Metal (mental health). It is entirely up to Simon to decide how he wants to own and manage his wealth and wellness. If not well-managed, it could lead to having mental depression and heart-related symptoms.
In my earlier EON Profiling class, I emphasised to students on the need to ensure the energies of the Five Elements must be flowing constantly, to ensure a more holistic manifestation. The Earth element in Simon’s Elemental Cycle chart is weak, due to low Earth strengths reflected in his Birth Chart. This implies Simon is not optimising his skills (Fire produces Earth). In a way, he shows his abilities, but does not maximise them at all.
As mentioned earlier, discuss with the clients directly to know their needs and understand their values and importance, and their vision in the long term. He needs to go the extra mile, to do beyond the limits of his abilities, to suggest and deliver the work he is able to do.
Simon may partly be distracted from work because of family issues, especially for his daughter’s health. He could talk to his boss on possible hybrid work arrangement as well, if he currently isn’t on the WFH/ WFO (work from home/office) schedule.
Simon must know that he is not alone in suffering; everyone suffers at times, in their own ways. But they rise quickly from a fall, life should go on. And with a change in views and directions, behaviours and habits would change as they happen. Simon, forget about your beliefs and fears; put your trust in yourself. Reflect past achievements and what/how/why you did to make them successful. Just remember that failure is in fact practised for better success.
[Simon] Also, I get bored handling the same clients. Is it advisable to change jobs in the year 2023? I’m thinking to do something unrelated to digital marketing (somehow grown fatigued with digital marketing). Like, accounting, or facial/beauty service. Let me know your thoughts.
The issue may not be the clients; it may be the way his sales colleague serves them. His colleague may have had to listen and misunderstand what the clients want, and picked at random what they thought was correct, and passed the message on to Simon. These could have resulted in frequent ding-dong, to-and-fro revisions, and this could have indirectly frustrated Simon, who assumed the client is very fussy and “does not know what they really want.” Therefore, Simon… the “Gemba Walk” technique is necessary and important for you, to get to know and understand your clients personally, and not through your lens of your colleagues. Talk to your boss on you trying it out for some months.
About career… Given that many businesses and industries now provide cross-sectoral products, it is difficult and impractical to rely on an outdated reference of the Five Elements and the matrix for suitable industry and businesses. The strong Fire and Metal elements in Simon’s Birth Chart might suggest that he has an outgoing nature (like meeting customers) and meticulous (conscientious, attentive to details) behaviour. Could sitting in an office doing accounting or office work be good? The beauty care industry might also be one career alternative as long as Simon is able to take good care of his own holistic health first, to manifest the positive vibes within and around him.
From EON/FEN perspective, any career would be good as long as Simon is able to have direct communication with his customers. Even in his current job, if he could create the opportunity to meet with his clients directly and know what they need, he would find his job even more interesting. And maybe be proud of his work, and who knows, get positive feedback from them on how attentive and passionate he is in delivering what they need.
The Career element is strong and this may have inadvertently triggered the desire to see if he can change jobs. Anyone can change jobs, but would the new job be just as happy or bad as the current one? Would Simon be capable of getting closer to the values of the new company, and would there be office politics and toxic bosses around? It’s hard to say unless Simon changes his job, then he will know the truth.
With current VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, Ambiguity) situations around, and with Simon feeling happy with his supportive boss, good salary and cohesive work environment, Simon might want to focus on making a little adjustment. And this small adjustment in his attitude and behaviour could result in a major positive result. In other words, shifting from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset. Talk to his boss to give him the opportunity to meet with clients directly and try it out for a while before they can evaluate if the changes work. Use his creativity, design and systems thinking to help his clients, and they, in turn, will increase his credibility and accomplishments.
Furthermore, the 6-5-2 pattern [Innovative – Humility – Collaborative] in his 9-Year Cycle chart, suggest the need for him to showcase his skills (the human side) by communicating with others though innovative ideas. Switching jobs or not, it’s up to Simon. While the energies may vary, the effects might be the same if Simon adopts the same work habits and mindset behaviours in his current job. And if that’s the case, why not change his perspectives first, see if he can change his life as well.
Profiling has no bearing on the accuracy of identifying a person’s character. Things have changed, people have changed. So do their behaviours, their actions and their life journey. It does not matter whether a trainer is capable of describing a person’s personality traits. To me, it’s more like translating the numbers and the patterns of the charts into words.
More importantly, the trainer should take a forward-thinking and future-pace approach to look beyond the signs to suggest how a person might improve their current situation. Not through LifeCode symbolical products which do not help much. Instead, it is necessary for the profiling trainers and professionals to suggest ways that the individual could consciously take action, set goals, track activities and milestones, and committed to make it happen.
And where people can change and become a better version of themselves, it’s not entirely through profiling observations made. This happened because the person has taken steps to make this transformational change.
Finally, in situations like this where there is mental clutter and chatter around, the person can have many ideas about what they want to do. However, they could not decide and concentrate on what task or direction they should prioritise and take action first. And yes, that’s where Coaching really comes in. Nothing to do with profiling, just asking transactional questions to evoke Simon to self-discover or explore what’s on his mind. And let him prioritise and decide what transformational actions he could take and act upon.
My coaching session complies with the International Coaching Federation (ICF) framework and ethics. It differs from the “life coaching” courses promoted elsewhere by numerology trainers, which are only an extended training in many ways.
Until then, happy learning and profiling…
Regards, Ron WZ Sun
