Do You Have the Guts to Leave a Job You no Longer Enjoy?

My son, having studied and trained to become a solicitor and who qualifies this month, has made the decision to utilise his creativity, his skills and his strengths and pursue the entrepreneurial route instead.

This got me thinking of how so many of us go through life playing it safe.  Afraid to rock the status quo and stay in jobs we no longer enjoy because we are too fearful to do anything else.  Fear to take a risk, step out of the norm and pursue the things that we really want in life.

When I stop and think about it, I think that it is sad that there are so many of us who are doing jobs that we don't enjoy or that no longer fulfil us.

Considering we spend such a significant proportion of our lives at work, I think it is very important that we utilise our skills and strengths and do work that we love. I believe it is so important that we don't wish our lives away by waking up on a Monday morning longing for 5pm on Friday, thinking it can't come quick enough.

Why do we allow ourselves to stay stuck?

There are many reasons why we stay stuck in jobs we no longer enjoy but I tend to find that there is one major factor keeping women stuck and that is FEAR.

Underneath that fear is  a myriad of reasons.  Fear of failure, fear of rejection, fear it will be a mistake, fear of success, fear of stepping out of the comfort zone, a lack of confidence... the list goes on.

We seem to be rooted in fear and fear is ok, sometimes.  But it's not ok if it is keeping you from living a joyful life, doing work that you enjoy and achieving your full potential.

Many of us start out in our careers going down a particular path and then further down the line we realise that we no longer enjoy it.  But because we now have commitments, because we have responsibilities, we believe that our hands are tied.  We believe that we can't make a change because we've become so reliant (and comfortable with) on the income that we're getting.

Another scenario is, we fell in to our career.  We saw an opportunity, went for it and years later, we're still there.  But if we'd had the confidence and the know how back then, we wouldn't have necessarily chosen to do the work that we're doing now.

How can you overcome your fear?

It is likely that you are fearful because doing something else seems so unknown. We like to be in control of our lives. We like to know what's around the corner and when we don't, we panic.

What if I fail? What if I'm making a mistake? What if I can't do anything else? What if I don't like it?  What if...? What if...?  What if..?

If you are to overcome the fear, demystify the unknown so that it seems less fearful.

If you stay as you are, how will you feel in a year... 2 years... 5 years... 10 years from now?  Chances are, if you're unhappy now, you'll be even more unhappy as the years go by.  Is that what you really want? To be unhappy and feel unfulfilled?  What impact do you think it will have on your personal life?  The effects of discontentment in one area invariably spills over in to the other.

Do you want to wait until the pain becomes too unbearable or would you rather make that career change whilst you're still able to give some rational thought to the change process?  Or has the pain already become too unbearable for you?

Are you imagining that the worst is going to happen?

When we want to make big changes in our lives, have you noticed that we generally tend to imagine the worst possible outcome?  A lot of us do this rather than imagining it will be  a success.  Sometimes we let our imagination run wild in the worst possible way.  We think we'll fail and then we'll end up with no job, no money and we won't survive.

But how do you know that?  How do you know that you won't succeed and excel at what you do?

You are actually an incredibly resourceful person and when you're back is against the wall, you have it within you to find ways to survive.  So, if the worst was to happen, what could you do?

There are opportunities out there

There are opportunities out there but you've got to be open to taking action to finding them.  If you don't go out of your way to find them, they're highly unlikely to come knocking at your door, unless you make some sort of effort.

I don't believe in luck. I believe it is our efforts that position us for the opportunities that come our way.

What opportunities can you create?  Who do you know that knows someone who knows someone who could make an introduction for you?

List all the possible opportunities that you can think of, even if they seem a bit farfetched.  Then go through your list narrowing it down to the ones you can realistically take forward.

Are you unhappy in your current role?  Are you going to spend the next 5, 10, 15 years doing work that you no longer enjoy, or do you have the guts to take control of your career and take action to finding work that you love?  Let me know what you are going to do.

ABOUT ME:

I am The Coach for High Achieving Introverted Women, a Writer, Speaker, UK top 50 Business Adviser and the founder of Abounding Solutions. I help introverted women to be authentic, bold, confident leaders  and excel in their careers and businesses. I also help organisations develop the talent pipeline of female employees so that more women make it to senior management roles.

I write here on LinkedIn, on my website and on Huffington Post on subjects to help women achieve optimal potential in their careers and businesses.

Are you a high achieving introverted woman? A woman striving to be the best that you can be.  A woman who wants to be a sphere of influence and be an authentic, bold, confident leader, excelling in your career or business.  Do you want to make a difference and a positive impact in your respective field or community? Do you want to do this AND be true to who you are, whilst living a meaningful, purposeful, balanced life?  If this is you and you're not part of the community, come on over and join the conversation here.

Download a free copy of '5 Steps to Pursuing Your Passion at Mid Life: A Guide to Designing a Career You Love'. This book is suitable for anyone who wants to pursue a career or business they are passionate about, regardless of age.