Mindfulness and Chaos Theory of Careers

By Justin Pritchard

Life and careers are subject to non-linear and continual change, which inevitability results in unpredictability – practicing mindfulness can provide us with the tools necessary to live a more clear-minded and balanced life

Recently, I attended a meditation retreat led by mindfulness teacher Steve Armstrong. The retreat included two full days of meditation (sitting and walking) along with mindfulness-related teachings. One recurring concept in the teachings was the importance of understanding skillful (positive) and unskillful (negative) attitudes of the mind. Naturally, as a career coach, I began to create connections between mindfulness and career development theories. Mindfulness is about attending to the present moment in order to experience life for what it is.

We can practice mindfulness through formal and informal practices. A formal mindfulness practice could be done by scheduling in a daily sitting meditation, where we watch the breath or other body sensations. Informal meditation practices could be done by simply paying close attention to the sensations of a daily task, such as doing the dishes, brushing our teeth, having a shower, or going for a walk. When we are mindful, we are able to monitor attitudes of the mind in order to free us from being lost in thought and reacting to feelings. Mindfulness can act as a process of un-layering the mind in order to clear out its holding powers.

At the retreat, Armstrong talked about core skillful attitudes of the mind including our ability to remain open, receptive, willing, interested, clear-minded, patient, non-expecting, equanimous (even-minded) and non-reactive. It should be mentioned that in the context of mindfulness practice, reactive and responsive are two different concepts. When we are reactive to a situation or circumstance, we may take action quickly without taking the time needed to be mindful or reflect. When we are responsive, we understand there is space for us to make wise decisions.

The aforementioned skillful attitudes mirror attributes that we, as career practitioners, advise clients about at the career centre. These are important attitudes because they aid us in navigating throughout life, which is full of uncertainty and unpredictability. The only certainty we have in life is uncertainty (Bright, 2013). Jim Bright, who researches and teaches concepts related to chaos theory as it relates to careers, suggests that careers are like weather patterns, stating, “Like the weather, we might be able to predict what’s going to happen tomorrow, or the day after but as the time horizon moves out on to weeks, months or years…it becomes almost next to impossible to make predictions” (Bright, 2013).

If we examine the Chaos Theory of Careers closely, we begin to understand that life, specifically our career, is subject to non-linear and continual change, which inevitability results in unpredictability. This is due to the complexity of influences that affect us such as our parents, friends, health, culture, financial status, location, etc. Bright suggests that these influences are changing at all times and at different rates (Bright, 2013). Many of us struggle to accept that life is uncertain and subject to continual change and as a result we find ourselves grasping for control. When we are in control mode, it is very difficult to experience and even savour what is happening in the present moment.

Our habitual and pervasive desire to control many, if not all, aspects of our life also prevents us from living with clear-mindedness and equanimity because our mind and body are full of tension. Armstrong suggests that these tendencies link to unskillful attitudes of the mind such as our tendency to strive for something mindlessly, attach to expectations, not accept circumstances for what they are, act reactively and hyper-vigilantly, and/or remain strident. It should be mentioned that having expectations is not necessary wrong or bad; however, we tend to feel tension in our lives when we cling to expectations, which sets us up for disappointment and disrupts the fluidity of life. Most of us have experienced these attitudes in different areas of life and even within our own career exploration and work search.

I remember a time when I wanted a summer internship as a research assistant (RA) more than anything else because it aligned perfectly with my interests and future aspirations. I believed that I was the ideal fit for the position because I had an array of relevant work experience and research interests that matched the position perfectly. At one point, I remember thinking, “How could they not want me? I am the perfect candidate!” This expectation led to crushing disappointment when I wasn’t offered the position. Afterwards, I spent a lot of energy fixating and ruminating on the fact that I wasn’t hired.

As I watched my mind throughout the experience, I caught myself attaching and clinging to unskillful attitudes and especially the attitude of non-acceptance. It should be mentioned that one shouldn’t remain inactive in life and neglect to put in an effort to work towards career objectives. The problem arises when we attach and cling to expectations and stories we create in our mind, which makes it difficult for us to respond to life challenges appropriately. Instead, we may find ourselves responding with ego-driven reactivity. “Why wasn’t I hired? Am I not good enough? I will never find another position that is as perfect as this one. They definitely made the wrong decision.”

This type of dissatisfaction is known as aversion. The nature of aversion is that we can only see the unpleasant aspects in a situation, which creates a sense of delusion in the mind. We get so caught up in our stories that we begin to feel suffocated by them and even believe them as facts. Fortunately, with a background in mindfulness practice, I could recognize these unskillful attitudes and use them as an opportunity to learn and grow.

An important aspect to mindfulness is non-judgmental awareness, which means we are not critiquing or resisting our experience. Instead, we are simply noticing it – whether it is pleasant, neutral or unpleasant. After not being offered the RA position, I knew it was important for me to practice mindfulness meditation. The first step in the practice is to recognize a sensation, such as the breath, or notice thoughts and feelings. What I quickly noticed was that my mind drifted off and began to replay the unpleasant circumstance that I was experiencing. The dialogue in my ego-driven mind rambled on by saying, “Why didn’t I get this job? I deserved it and I was such a perfect candidate!” Then, I gently but firmly brought my attention back to the breath by noticing the sensations of inhalation and exhalation, which acts as a point-of-focus for the mind to concentrate on.

Within no time at all, I began to notice my mind drift off again. “Maybe the CV I sent through email wasn’t attached properly and they didn’t get it.” At this point, I could feel myself getting anxious and frustrated so I decided to label the feelings, “Anxiety…Frustration.” Labeling feelings helps us identify and observe them. When we investigate a thought, feeling or sensation in the body, we are noticing its qualities and characteristics. What I sensed in my body was tension in my chest and a slight shortness of breath. I also noticed a warm temperature all over my body and an urge to get up and stop the practice. According to Armstrong, investigating a thought, feeling and sensation is like collecting data, and the more data we have, the more opportunity for insight.

As I continued to practice, I noticed the feelings of anxiety and frustration would come and go, meaning they were not permanent. When they feel permanent and vivid, we may want to react to them mindlessly and impetuously. This impermanence connects to chaos theory and the idea that everything in life is in flux because of continual change, even thoughts and feelings. Therefore, it can be said that we are not our thoughts and instead, thoughts are a part of the experiences of who we are.

Mindfulness practice is simple in theory but not necessarily easy to practice. It is difficult because we spend so much of our life lost in thought; we are either resenting and ruminating on the past or fantasizing and planning for the future. This makes it difficult, if not impossible, to accept situations and circumstances for what they are in the present moment. When we accept things for what they are, we are able to experience other skillful attitudes of the mind such as openness, patience and non-reactivity. In a world of unpredictability, we should try our best to exercise these skillful attitudes and not get swept away by negative thoughts, feelings as well as ego-driven reactivity. With practice, mindfulness can help us live a life with more clear-mindedness and equanimity.

Justin Pritchard

works as Career Coach for a newly developed program at the University of Alberta’s Career Centre called Transition to Career (T2C). His experience as a career practitioner intersects with his past role as the Past-President of a mindfulness group at the U of A and, in turn, he is researching the relationship between career development and mindfulness at the career centre. Recently, Justin completed a Master’s degree that investigated the influence of mindfulness practice, in relation to creativity, on education.

Reference

Bright. J. (2013). Chaos theory of careers explained: Interview with Dr. Jim Bright at Vanderbilt University. Retrieved: www.youtube.com/watch?v=BL2wTkgBEyk