Mindful in 5 Podcast

Phoenix Career Chronicles - Engineer Your Optimism

• Spiwe Jefferson • Season 5 • Episode 168

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Ever noticed how your brain seems hardwired to remember the negative? That client meeting gone wrong, the feedback that knocked you sideways, the unexpected layoff that pulled the rug from under you? This neurological tendency – our negativity bias – can feel like an obstacle, particularly during professional transitions. But what if this same neuroplasticity could become your greatest asset?

Join me as we explore how mindful optimism creates the foundation for professional transformation through the powerful story of Jillian Rosalie Adams, a Chief Marketing Officer who faced unexpected downsizing. Her journey reveals that true professional optimism isn't about personality or forced positivity – it's an intentional practice built on strategic planning and consistent action.

Whether you're navigating job transition, seeking advancement, or simply building professional resilience, this episode offers a practical framework you can use. 

Transform career setbacks into powerful comebacks with mindful strategies and AI tools that helped me land executive roles as shared in my upcoming book, 'Phoenix Rising - Ignite Your Job Search.' Secure your spot in our exclusive Early Bird community for pre-launch access and an intimate launch event by pre-ordering through the Phoenix Career Chronicles podcast show notes or at spiwejefferson.com today.



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MIF E168 Phoenix Career Chronicles: Engineer Your Optimism

Spiwe Jefferson: [00:00:00] Welcome to Mindful in 5, where busy professionals find your peaceful oasis to thrive in complex work environments. I am Spiwe Jefferson, attorney certified mindfulness practitioner and author of the Mindful in five book series here to guide you to a clearer, softer, and more supported life. Join me and your fellow mind ninjas as we explore science-backed mindfulness strategies for successful leaders that you can implement, starting with just five minutes a day.

Elevate your work, empower your life. Work higher, live stronger. Let's go.

[00:01:00] Have you ever noticed how your brain seems wired to fixate on the negative? That client meeting that didn't center you? The presentation where you lost your flow, the feedback email that disrupted your piece? Peace. Our minds are literally designed to hold onto these moments - a phenomenon neuroscientists call negativity bias. 

....But what if I told you that this same neuroplasticity, your brain's ability to rewire itself, could illuminate your path to professional transformation? 

Welcome to the Phoenix Career Chronicles, where we unpack job search strategies to help you rise from the ashes of career catastrophe and [00:02:00] soar into your next adventure. Today we are exploring how to transform your path through mindful optimism, and I want to share a powerful story about Jillian Rosalie Adams, chief Marketing Officer for an apparel company whose journey demonstrates how to rise through the intersection of mindful practice and professional resilience.

Despite successfully elevating her company's marketing results, Jillian found herself caught in the wave of corporate downsizing that is reshaping our professional landscape as we speak. Facing a job market flooded with talented professionals. She initially felt so overwhelmed by what seemed [00:03:00] like insurmountable odds.

She spent many, many hours, days, weeks, struggling to find her center. Experiencing grief and plotting revenge against the company that let her go. 

Here is a liberating truth that transforms how we think about optimism. You don't need to be born with clarity to harness this power. You don't need to pretend to be happy when bad things happen or when your life takes an unexpected turn that you don't like. Professional optimism is not a personality trait in the context that we are discussing it.

It is an intentional practice [00:04:00] built on forging a clear strategy and credible plan of action. When you create a thoughtful plan and take consistent steps towards your vision, optimism naturally flows from this foundation of purposeful progress. Jillian's story perfectly illuminates this principle. After taking space to process the initial shock, anger, and grief, because yes, mindful optimism means also grounding yourself in authentic emotion.  

So after she did this, Jillian finally managed to transform her intention to engaging her brain's natural capacity for positive reconstruction. Neuroscience shows that every time we shift from reactive thinking to strategic planning, [00:05:00] we are literally creating new neural pathways that empower resilience and growth.  

Jillian approached her job search with what psychologists call strategic optimism. Strategic optimism is a forward-thinking mindset that combines inner peace with actionable planning to navigate challenges and forge long-term goals. It involves believing in the potential for joyful transformation while grounding expectations in reality and strategic execution.  

So instead of seeing herself as one of thousands of laid off professionals, she elevated her perspective. She was a proven leader with a track record of transforming challenging situations. This wasn't just positive thinking. It was positive action [00:06:00] backed by evidence. Jillian's approach activated three key components of professional transformation for her. First, she created what neuroscientists call a success template, documenting specific achievements and the strategies that helped her. This wasn't just for her resume, it was rewiring her brain to focus on possibilities rather than constraints. Second, she built a credible plan of action breaking down her job search into mindful daily steps.

Each small win from updating her LinkedIn profile to scheduling informational interviews, created tiny doses of dopamine strengthening her brain's optimism circuits. Third, she maintained present [00:07:00] awareness throughout the process. Instead of getting caught in the spiral of comparing herself to other candidates or obsessing over job boards, she stayed centered on her next strategic step.

The results were remarkable. Okay. Within weeks, Jillian noticed a shift, not just in her mindset, but in how potential employers responded to her energy and clarity of purpose. Now, she wasn't desperately looking for any job. She was intentionally pursuing opportunities where her proven ability to ignite change could create real value.

This is the power of mindful transformation, creating a strategic foundation that naturally generates peace and hope. Your brain literally rebuilds itself around the actions you take and the stories you tell about [00:08:00] these actions. For navigating professional transitions, here is your practical framework.  

First, allow yourself to fully experience your emotions with presence. Rather than saying, I should be better than this. I shouldn't feel this way, what's done is done. Acknowledge that this experience has shifted your ground and create space to feel all the emotion that comes with it. You cannot transform what you do not acknowledge.  

When you are ready, start with the present state reset. Center yourself in where you are without judgment. This activates your brain's problem-solving centers rather than its threat response. So if where you are right now is I just got laid off, I [00:09:00] just lost my job, I am sitting here panicked because I don't know what I'm going to do next.

Just sit with that and. Get into that present state reset, which is, yes, this is where I am and no judgment, but it takes me next to creating your evidence bank. Document how you have helped others soar your skills and the positive impact that you had on your coworkers and on your employer. This builds a neural foundation for confident action.  

For example, did you nail some big project that was very important to your department? Did you land the plane successfully on a big corporate-wide project where [00:10:00] your part of the work was a precursor to the company's ability to do other things? Or maybe your. RO was the deal breaker that had to be successful in order for something else big to happen within the organization.

So that is an example, and even if you don't have some big things, just have an evidence bank of what you did that caused positive outcomes in your last role or in all of the roles that you have had that you can speak to with confidence. Then implement strategic visualization with action. Spend five minutes each morning in flow, mapping out specific steps that align with your larger career vision, and on days when you don't feel like that, then visualize the successes that you have had and [00:11:00] practice in your head,

talking about them in brief two minute bursts. This will really help you when it comes time to interview. Remember that optimism is believing in joyful transformation because you have a solid plan to create it.   

 As we close today's episode. I'm excited actually to share something special with our mindful ninjas.

Our upcoming fifth book, Phoenix Rising Ignite Your Job Search. Illuminates these principles of engineered optimism and career elevation. There you will learn more about Jillian and her journey. Be among the first to access these powerful strategies by signing up for your early bird notification list, [00:12:00] visit spiwejefferson.com.  

You can find the pre-order link on the homepage next to the book, or you can access it in the show notes for this podcast episode. Join the list and receive exclusive pre-launch content designed to help you, yes, you soar through your next career transition. Your professional journey is still being written, and with each mindful step, you're not just seeking a new position, you are creating a more centered, resilient version of yourself.  

Thank you for joining me today on Mindful In 5. Stay present, stay purposeful, and keep building your path forward with strategic optimism. Until next week, this is Spiwe saying, be mindful and be [00:13:00] well.   

James@DiscovertheVoice:

Thank you for listening to Mindful in 5. If you enjoyed it, share it with a friend, follow and rate it on your favorite podcast platform. Pick up your signed copy of the book and journal from https://www.spiwejefferson.com/, or unsigned copies from Amazon, Barnes & Noble or wherever you get your books. 

Visit https://www.spiwejefferson.com/ to download sample chapters of the book, watch videos and become a mindful ninja. Join us on the LinkedIn Mindful in 5 group and share your thoughts. Until next time, be mindful and be well.