Email Me
hello@thisisohyeah.comOh Yeah Manifesto
Oh Yeah Tool Kit
Throughout this seasonal guide, whatever season you’re in, I’ll be threading through the Oh Yeah approach for two main areas: knowing when to move on from where you are; and how to build the skills, behaviours and confidence to take your journey forward.
Complimenting all seasons, I’ll be weaving in nuggets of wisdom from The Oh Yeah Crew and other thought-starter resources, so you can follow any curiosity points and broaden your perspective. There are many links to the sources of information too (often bolded), there for further exploration and knowledge if you're inclined to dig deeper into a particular area.
The guide is loosely based on the four seasons to reflect the inevitable curve of emotions you’ll go through over the next 12 months or so, leading up to your own ‘Oh Yeah’ moment.
It’s all presented in an easy-to-follow framework taking you from the feelings in Season 1 (bored, annoyed, ‘meh’), and a gradual build-up of tools, confidence and clarity in Season 4 so that you can switch, change and move forward. And I honestly believe you can do that whilst being yourself, rather than falling into any previous expectations of yourself, or what others have defined success looks like. This guide and the Oh Yeah community can support you to shift at your own pace, and what’s available to you, depending on the season you’re at.
This guide should be treated as a companion; a reference guide which has been created to work for you at any point in your life/career journey. It is not, in any way, linear homework, adding on to a weighty ‘to do’ list. Oh Yeah just isn’t that sort of vibe. My aim is to give clarity, with flexibility in how you gain those pieces of wisdom to support your own life-career decisions, and full knowledge that other life demands are just that – demanding. No one needs another thing hassling them, but what you will learn is how to prioritise your energy to find new ways forward.
It’s also important to stress that this is not career coaching where there is goal setting, accountability and building professional skills towards your new plans. This guide is your very first step in exploring career change, privately, as you give yourself permission and space to think before having a coach, if that is at all available to you. For many, due to cost and time, it's not. Or it's because you don't have the headspace to commit to one. The focus of this guide is to support you in having a better understanding of what a holistic approach is, why it's beneficial and how you can apply that in your life-career explorations.
So my recommendation is to approach this guide and resources like a knowledge tool kit, that you can tap into as and when you need it. It’s an approach which has served me well over the years, avoiding the unnecessary pile-on of tasks and expectations. Every time I hear some great advice, I’d add it to my knowledge tool kit. Not to be used all the time, or even immediately, but when I really need it.
So in that spirit, consider this seasonal guide as part of your own tool kit for life. Take what you need, at the times that serve you well. These are exercises which you can return to time and time again to cut through ambiguity, doubt or procrastination. Remember, none of this is a test. I hope you come to think of it as a guiding light that’s based on lived experiences and the realities of life.
It’s important to address that one of the main blockers to career exploration and change is money and financial security. Uncertainty in this climate and fear of the unknown are real.
That’s why this seasonal approach is so important, as it is led by the emotional curve of what is experienced first when initially thinking about life/career change, i.e feelings of separation from where you want to be. Something’s not right, I don’t feel aligned or connected. This is how it really starts. This step-by-step framework deliberately begins with this emotion, to notice your mood first. It then invites you, with practical tips, to pause, take time and reflect before being led or defined by fear or uncertainty, which will always stop you in your tracks.
Courage and change will never be built this way.
Assumptions are, if you’ve signed up for Oh Yeah, you’re currently employed and have a sense of financial and routine security. Take advantage of this stability to control your time and energy, and permit yourself to gently explore life and career changes on your timeline.
And it works because it’s exactly what I did and why this seasonal approach works.
Before I knew what would become of Oh Yeah, I started to write on Substack, as a form of release and self-expression. It helped me gain some sense of control over my creativity, building something for myself, under no pressure or expectations, compared to the day job.
It was the very first step I took which served as a simple act for myself. No one else. I consciously decided to create space for my thoughts, my own tone of voice and reflections. Essentially, I used Substack as a way to figure things out by journalling, albeit publicly.
Looking back over that twelve-month period and what I posted, I spotted the timings of my mood and energy. Reading back, so much of it signalled a need for something new. When I started, autumn was soon coming through and the onset of that season was conjuring a feeling of trepidation.
It was actually mid-December when I plucked up the courage to publish the first post, which had been languishing in my drafts. It’s obvious now, reading back, that I felt unchallenged, restless and a bit ‘meh’ during that season.
I wrote to capture my mood and energy, be it uplifting bursts or moments of malaise. I also, unwittingly, recorded the periodic silences where I couldn’t bring myself to write. And I remember feeling annoyed and not ‘productive enough’ – a classic reaction from a serial high-achiever. But having practised and adapted a few holistic methods gained from amazing teachers over the years, I was able to re-anchor, quickly realising that it was rest, not productivity, that was needed. A break from the to-do list and all the other demands of life. I had to really remind my brain that human nature was supposed to be in restorative mode during deep winter; that we are meant to slow down, pause and rest and not demand instant, life-changing answers. I had to trust that, just like nature, it would all unfold in good time. No pathway could be forced, no matter how driven or experienced I was.
And so, a year on, what emerged from my writing was a clear timeline of emotions, mood and energy whilst navigating my new life/career path. It mirrored it all back to me; the entire journey from ‘meh’ to ‘Oh Yeah. ’
And so here we are, leaning into this seasonal approach, letting it guide you back, in practical ways and step-by-step, to build up to your very own Oh Yeah way.
