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Welcome to The Making of You. I’m Alexandria, founder of The Mastery Project and Your Transformation Hub. And this podcast is dedicated to the whys and ways to transform the mundane into the magical, doable into enjoyable, successful, and purposeful, all while having fun becoming the architect of your own life.

Okay, so let’s dive in. Today’s episode is 5 Ways to transform ‘job hugging’ into career expansion.

Now, ‘job hugging’ is a relatively new term, but it is definitely a buzzword for a lot of people. And it is resonant in the current job market, where this year 2026, there’s a lot of change and there is also a lot of opportunity to expand. But equally, the fear of that expansion can cause people to hold on to their existing job and their existing position, basically having a little bit of denial or having the notion that actually if you hold on tighter that you’re going to be able to keep your job longer.

So my number one is to understand our working lives, we need to look at them in the context of creativity very simply. So whatever your job is, and you might say, well, I’m not very creative, or I don’t consider my job to be very creative, that actually is not point. The point is that you’re utilizing your great gifts, your infinite potentiality in a way that you’ve chosen. And so just because you might consider your work more left brain than right brain, it’s actually simply your creative process. And that’s what the universe looks at. It looks at your capacity to create what you truly want. And the universe is neutral. It doesn’t sit there on a cloud judging us in our careers. It says all I’m hearing your messaging. If that messaging is clear, then perhaps the person’s getting more and more of what they truly want. And if the messagings a bit muddy, a bit unclear, a bit misleading, then the universe isn’t able to co create through you as effectively.

So job hugging comes from our capacity to believe in our own creativity. So. So if you think that your creativity isn’t very good, then you’re probably going to be holding that job even tighter because you fear losing it. You fear the loss of being out and about, having to create an alternative.

But the universe, being neutral, doesn’t judge you all right, for having fears around that. We all have insecurities, we all have comfort zones. And it can be hard to keep going in our creative cycle in an alignment and a natural balance. But the universe is saying, your creativity flows and expands. It’s endless. And that connection comes from your ability to Connect in with your infinite potentiality. Now, if you listen to any of my other episodes, you’ll know that I talk about that connection as being fundamentally in your heart. So when you are dreaming, you are thinking literally about the intentions and contemplating your life. You’re in that heart space of, how do I to feel when I get my dream job? How do I feel about what my dream job entails and what is my perception of my creativity, my capacity to be able to experience that chosen reality?

So with job hugging, please don’t hold your job tighter, all right? Please exchange that concept of job hugging into being balanced, being calm and being neutral about any fears that you’ve got about that job. The reason is the universe is going to energize what you are contemplating and what you think the most about each day. And we have about, on average, 75,000 thoughts a day, some very coherent, very focused, and others perhaps a little bit more random or a little bit more out there in general or part of the distractions or entertainments of the passing world, whatever the case may be. When we focus consistently, of course we are going to create that reality to a certain degree.

So my number one with job hugging is, please don’t do it, because you’re reinforcing what you fear losing. And I recommend to transform that, that you step back. And even if you do dislike your job intently and just are doing it for the money, I’d like you to step back from it and just say, hey, how can I appreciate this? What does this job actually do for me? Even if you say, well, the only pro is that I get to be paid at the end of the week or I get a very nice bonus, then just appreciate that, all right? Because then you’re messaging to the universe that there are elements in your life that you can appreciate and there are elements of your career you can appreciate.

So the more you energize the fear of losing your job, the more you’re going to be in a situation where the universe goes, oh, do you want to lose your job?

And of course you don’t. So basically focus on what you can appreciate, even if you’re in a transition period in your working life.

Okay, Number two.

Well, as we’ve said, creativity is about alignment. So it’s a combination. You know me, I talk extensively about heart and mind alignment.

So ,I’m not saying that your heart is a place where it’s all, like, dreamy and lovely and perfect and everything you like comes to pass. But your heart is that connection to your infinite capability and that infinite energy is immaterial. So your mind will come in in the collaboration with your heart, and you’ll be able to start focusing all of that beautiful, unlimited, unending energy into alternatives.

So if your job hugging, one of the best ways to deal with that sensation and that feeling of sort of a bit of doom, if you will, or things falling apart is to actually say, hey, what alternative would I like to embrace? What dreams, what way moving forward can I see in my working life?

And to start putting the energy and alignment of your heart and mind into, hey, what if you had all the money in the world? What kind of job would you do? Or the what if you had all the time to go and explore other forms of work or creativity, what would you choose to do? So when you start posing that question, you’re not shutting down your heart, you’re not going into fear, and you’re not letting your ego or your limited self that really likes to be inside the box and likes to perpetuate things rather than go with the flow and go with the natural cycles of development.

Ego wants to keep control, so it is very much interested in what you fear.

So when you go into fear, you’re going to be much more likely to be in your head trying to defend or trying to find a way to cooperate with your ego rather than with your infinite potential.

So my number two is get your alignment correct, all right? And the first one is of course, that of your heart and mind together.

Secondly, to say that you are always open to alternatives and that just because perhaps your working life isn’t going the way you want it, it doesn’t mean that you’re automatically going to shut yourself down or go into your head and sort of energize a bit of panic or a bit of discomfort on a daily basis.

So choose to be open to alternatives. Choose to give yourself that opportunity to be open, even if you don’t know what that openness could create in your life. So don’t shut yourself down, don’t disconnect. And some people even sabotage themselves when they’re job hugging because they’re holding on so tightly. They actually end up dissolving the circumstance because they’ve got no heart connection, they’ve got no energy coming in a new flow, no endless creative connection because they’ve run off into their heads and into the arms of ego. That is fearful and limited.

So number two, check out your alignment, check out the reasons that you’re feeling uncomfortable, and perhaps pose yourself the honest question, if all else were equal, everything were happy would I stay in this job and would I be holding it so tightly? And what do I need to do?

What do I need to choose from this moment onward to have a balanced and open hearted and open minded relationship with my working life.

So it doesn’t mean you have to stay in the job that perhaps isn’t for you or isn’t in alignment with where you’re headed. But the more often we are needy or concerned or worried or insecure, the less energy we’re going to have to create alternatives and innovations and to maintain our heart mind alignment.

Okay, so number three. Well to me the best way to handle the fear of loss is definitely to look at some new in our lives or look at the qualities within our heart that we can turn to. If life is looking a little bit rocky, what’s our inner mast that we can align with that we feel is giving us strength? We feel is supporting and is mutually beneficial and balancing for us. So what qualities while you’re working, irrespective of your job description or the state of your job, what qualities do you love in your working life daily and what do you feel in appreciating your own capacities and your own abilities? What do you think you are perhaps good at? What do you think you are very capable at helping other people with and to start in my number three, daring to embrace just a general degree of neutrality, a degree of balance that is about being self loving, being in self belief and just generally being able to trust your creative process.

So my number three is just unfold or I appreciate the skills that you do have have in this job and also the old adage of you know, if you want to find a job, it’s always better to be in one. All right? Now I don’t mean that means you’ve got to stay in a lack of alignment or stagnancy or being unhappy or unfulfilled. But to be in work is still something to appreciate and the fact that you’ve got that flow means you can transform that relationship.

And you are in a position where other people will see you as willing and working and you are in the flow of that and having a job. So that can help you find exactly what you do want and less of what you don’t want.

Alrighty. So my number four is if you want to stop job hugging as well, then I do recommend to people, can you go out please look at the qualities as I’ve said in number three that really you believe are are in alignment with yourself. You might sound very Understanding. I’m very patient, I’m very diligent, I’m quite devoted when I love what I’m doing or I’m really good on my feet. I’m good at responding in situations of crisis. All of these particular self awareness qualities and understandings of yourself, apply them into finding a little bit of a hobby or of, if you want to, to volunteer in, into a new career or a new space that you find rewarding. Now, it’s also important to understand that when we do that, it might be something that’s quite off the wall because we’ve actually stopped being frightened of losing our job or of not being that creative about alternatives. And we’ve suddenly kind of taken the lid off all the possibilities that we could become.

So what happens is people can say, I’d really like to, you know, I work in, let’s say digital marketing and I’d actually like to work with animals.

So you people often go in unusual directions. So don’t fear the illogical response, all right? You’re letting your heart flow, you’re letting other alternatives come along.

And also you can just ask yourself, all right, no one’s listening, no one’s judging. So to find out that if you were to do a job and you’re volunteering or you’re doing a hobby job at the weekends or something, that you would like to put your toes in this new flow of opportunity, what would that be?

And to start putting your energy towards that rather than fueling the fear of loss or stagnancy or dissatisfaction.

Okay, my final point today, number five, is if you are going to move on and you are going to successfully move into a job that you love, but you don’t fear losing and that you feel more aligned with, then you’re going to need to really check into your self perception now. Now, a lot of people get stagnant in their workplace and stick with same old, same old simply because they have had a upbringing or conditioning in their life where stability at all costs is so much more important than necessarily transformation or evolution. Now, any major change of course, takes work.

So my number five is to ask yourself, do you really believe you’re worthy of different?

And are you putting your heart into your life and do you truly want better or different or a deeper relationship with your career rather than hugging what you know is the known quantity?

Okay, well, I hope you found this useful today. And if you want more of this content, please don’t hesitate to like and subscribe on your chosen platform or of course you can go direct to source at Yourtransformationhub.com and there’s lots different episodes there, interviews, bonus episodes that you won’t see on your existing platform. And I really hope that these particular podcasts can help you feel confident, energized and balanced to create the life that you’re truly meant to have. I’m Alexandria. Thank you for joining me.