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You’ve been doing what you do for a long time and you are great at it. You’ve experienced success and things are going well. However, you’ve had this feeling for a while that something is off. Maybe you feel like what you are doing isn’t right anymore, like you’ve outgrown it. Is it time for a career change?
You just keep wondering if there’s something more meaningful and fulfilling that you could be doing. Something that could give you a better work-life balance or make you more money.
Then, you start having doubts and set those ideas for a career change aside. After all, you’ve come so far. What you have going on is good. If it’s not broken, why fix it?
But you can only ignore that gut feeling for so long. And a few days later, that feeling returns.
If you are anything like my clients (or me before I switched careers in my 30s and became a coach) you may be wondering why someone as driven as you feels paralyzed and stuck.
In this post, I’ll share what I’ve learned about changing careers as a business coach who has worked with dozens of people who were once in your shoes.
You’ll learn exactly why you haven’t taken any action YET. You’ll learn what the common experiences, fears and limiting beliefs other people go through. And by seeing that your challenges are extremely common, you’ll feel less stuck and more motivated to find the right solutions for you.
As a bonus, I’ll share some thought-provoking questions to help you move one step closer to clarity on what you’d like out of your career and what your next steps should be.
After reading this post, you’ll be able to either put your career change ideas to rest or start taking steps in the right direction.
You’re great at what you’re currently doing.
Most people who hire me to help them with a career change are absolutely fantastic at what they’ve been doing for a living. Their company and co-workers appreciate them and acknowledge them as the experts in their role. Others are owners of 7-figure businesses. Their title is part of their personality and who the world knows them to be.
Therefore, a career change would be really shocking to anyone around them. You may have a hard time even imagining yourself having to explain to everyone you know that you are no longer a product manager but a business consultant for environmental non-profits.
It’s very challenging and counterintuitive to leave something behind that’s already great.
When people know you as a great accountant, lawyer, IT, marketing director or etc., it’s hard to justify a huge life-change.
One of the solutions is to start detaching who you are from what you do. Your profession or your title is a big part of your journey and life experience but it doesn’t define you. You may have to spend some time grieving this part of your life and celebrating all the great things that have come from it.
When I was deciding to step away from my role as a Fitness Manager, I had a hard time thinking about leaving something I’ve worked so hard for. I busted my butt for years to be in that role. Also, I was used to being someone who had a team of people who relied on me for help and support. I really enjoyed being able to save the day and help people out.
I realized that I was relying on this role to feel more powerful and in more control. At the time, starting a small business felt like a step down and a less glorious title.
But I just knew with every cell in my body that I couldn’t be a Fitness Manager for much longer. I felt that it was great while it lasted. My coach at the time pointed out that leaving didn’t mean that it wasn’t the right thing or that I was wrong for having pursued this career. It just meant that I’ve learned what I needed and it was time for something different.
You are making good (or great) money..
Yep. Most people seeking a career change are mostly satisfied with their income. Therefore, they are finding it harder to justify their desire to be doing something else. I recently spoke to a gentleman who has hit his financial goals for 20 years in a row. He thought that would have been enough but deep down he knew something was still missing.
You may be afraid of taking a pay cut, whether it’s small or massive. Often, we assume that if we love what we do or if we start over with something else that would immediately mean we’d make less money.
Instead of fearing that we’d make less money, we can just set a standard for our future role. That standard is a certain financial requirements. And if an opportunity presents itself but it doesn’t meet that criteria, then, it’s not the right opportunity.
You don’t know what your next career or business will be yet.
That’s another very common challenge I see with people who reach out for career change coaching. They are curious about their options and are longing for something different but they don’t know what it is YET.
Because you don’t know what you will be doing next, you assume then you must be wrong to have the desire for a career change.
During one of our first sessions, I ask my clients to make a list of all the things that they know for sure they won’t do. It’s a great first step that helps them start seeing a little more light in the dark.
Not knowing what you’ll do next is not a problem. Figuring it out is just a step in the process.
It’s like a puzzle and you just have to put a few more pieces down before it becomes obvious to you what the next piece is.
You feel guilty to want more than what you already have.
It’s very common for my clients to battle with feelings of guilt. You too may feel like you are being ungrateful for wanting more out of life. Do you feel like there are millions of people who would do anything to be in your shoes?
Those feelings are very normal and speak greatly of your character, not poorly.
Is there something inside you that’s nudging you? It maybe pointing you to grow and stretch differently. Maybe it’s trying to say that there might be a great opportunity to live more fully. Or it might be saying that there is a way to serve even better.
Maybe you have a deep feeling that there has to be more out there than this, then why not pursue that dream? If life is truly about the journey and not the destination, then keep going on the journey.
Question to ponder: Could there be an even better use of my talents that would make a bigger difference not only for me but for others?
Bonus: Could my work make a bigger difference because I am paid better, more fulfilled, or just happier?
I’m too young or too old to switch careers or start a business.
I’ve worked with both cases—people who graduated only two years ago. They got a great job right out the gate but hate what they’re doing. And I’ve worked with people who had the same job for 20+ years and they wonder if it’s too late.
I think we’ve all seen the infographics with the ages of different millionaires. They started their business or career at an unorthodox age. We’ve also heard the stories of people getting a “no” dozens of times. Or stories of people being told to give up on their dream but they finally made it—Michael Jordan with basketball and J.K Rowling with Harry Potter.
Therefore, we know that it’s been done. There are people around the world already doing what you want to do. And they are probably doing it with less knowledge or talent or doing something braver at a younger or older age you think it’s normal.
A big part of the journey of a career change is accepting that you’ll have to do something unconventional or big that you didn’t plan to do.
One of the biggest challenges that you’ll have to overcome is your own ideas of what you thought your life was going to be versus what your life is unfolding to be.
You can kick, scream and resist or go with the natural flow.
Sometimes great things come to an end. That end doesn’t mean the great thing wasn’t the right thing at the time. Athletes are great examples. Usually they reach an age at which they have to retire and do something different. That doesn’t mean that their sport’s career wasn’t awesome. It just means that it runs its natural course.
In conclusion, we change, we grow and we evolve. Part of our life journey is to accept the things we didn’t expect. Having a lot of emotions around a career change is normal.
Also, be patient with yourself. Momentum takes time to build up. Everyone has a different threshold that they need to reach before they are ready to take action.
If you have a hard time getting to your threshold—the good news is that you don’t have to do this alone. Reach out to schedule a complimentary consultation and see if coaching is the right tool for you.
“Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.” -Maya Angelou
Tags: career change, career change coaching, career change tipsWhen you need to persevere and put in consistent effort to reach your dreams, where do you look for motivation? What drives you? Do you seek out validation? Are you fired up by proving people wrong? Including yourself?
To me, proving to others that we are capable of achieving something has always felt like a useless pursuit. Why bother trying to show people who didn’t believe in you in the first place how amazing you are? What makes their their opinions matter? Why would anyone want to organize their life around showing the “haters” that they were wrong?
But for some reason—up until recently—proving myself wrong has always been a valid motivator.
You may have seen this motivation play out on talent shows like America’s Got Talent. A performer gets on stage and shares that they’ve had a terrible experience with bullying, which inspired their act. Then, the judges say something like: “Show those bullies how great you are.”
In my opinion, this is the exact opposite of what anyone would want to do. Bullies, haters and non-supporters of our vision shouldn’t be given the spotlight—they should be ignored.
By showing them anything, you’re making their opinion of you more important than your opinion of you.
Moreover, you don’t need any crazy talent or 7 figures in the bank to show the world that you’re great. If that was true, then we’re basically saying that people who don’t have great talent or find success deserve to be bullied.
I’d imagine that there is a short boost of satisfaction to show somebody that they were wrong about you, but that’s all coming from our ego and a place of lack and insecurity. Any time we’re looking for confirmation from the outside world regarding anything, we can use it as an indicator to show us where we need to love ourselves more. Those are the parts of you that need more love and compassion from you—not the outside world.
Which leads me to peeling back another layer of the onion.
I hadn’t pondered this question much until I had a conversation with a client a couple of weeks ago. We’ve been working on creating a more joyful and purposeful life. We’ve had several conversations around her values, her goals and her current beliefs about herself.
One big theme was achievement. She craved achieving big things and it was one of her strongest drivers. I asked several questions to try to understand the root of the motivation for achievement. It’s important as her coach to know what is driving her behaviour and how her values became what they are today. Was it a family value? Something she intrinsically felt drawn to? Or did achievement become a value to compensate for something?
After a very thought-provoking and insightful conversation, my client concluded that it was important for her to prove to herself that she is capable of achieving her goals. She assumed that after achieving these goals, she’d feel more confident in herself and be more fulfilled.
There was a significant amount of silence after this question. My client was really considering how much easier her life would be if she did what she wanted to do because she wanted to do it; because it was bringing her joy to do it; or because the driving motivations was the love for that particular interest. Not the collection of evidence she needed first so she can give herself permission to be fulfilled.
So it made me think about the ways I’ve been trying to prove to myself that I’m capable of achieving my hefty goals. I often think about what is that that I want and what is making me want it. Somehow proving to myself that I am able to do something big and significant was a good kind of motivation.
Spend a moment thinking about your biggest accomplishments. What were the driving motivators for you at the time?
My motivation has always been a mix of fulfilling my potential, using my gifts to make a difference and a dose of showing myself that I can do big things.
But when I remembered my conversation with my client, it really reminded me that a lot of my drive for achievement comes from wanting to make myself proud as well.
The first thoughts that pop into my head are the words of Seth Godin from This Is Marketing: “making things better.” Also, Sadghuro’s words from his recent interview with Lewis Howes for the School of Greatness Podcast who talked about the difference between chasing happiness and being an expression of joy instead. And lastly, one of my favorite thinkers- Edghkart Tolle who suggests in his book A New Earth to use joy and enthusiasm as clues that guide you on your journey.
So I’m leaving you here with these questions to ponder:
As usual, I’m available for your questions and comments. Shoot me your thoughts at info@coachkalina.com. I love hearing from you!
And if you want to explore those questions and how you can bring more meaning and purpose in your life and work, schedule your free coaching consultation at www.coachkalina.com/get-in-touch.
Tags: motivation, what are your drivers, what drives you, what motivates you