The Silent Fear of Changing Careers: Let's Talk About It.

Choose the wrong career and you will be a failure.

Talk about pressure!

But this is how I felt when deciding what career path to choose.

I was constantly asking myself, "What am I really passionate about? What is my purpose in life?"?

I really believed if I could find my "one true purpose and calling in life" then I’d finally be happy.?

This quote excerpt from Sylvia Paths’ ‘The Bell Jar’ perfectly describes how I felt.

“I saw my life branching out before me like the green fig tree in the story. From the tip of every branch, like a fat purple fig, a wonderful future beckoned and winked. One fig was a husband and a happy home and children, and another fig was a famous poet and another fig was a brilliant professor, and another fig was Ee Gee, the amazing editor, and another fig was Europe and Africa and South America, and another fig was Constantin and Socrates and Attila and a pack of other lovers with queer names and offbeat professions, and another fig was an Olympic lady crew champion, and beyond and above these figs were many more figs I couldn't quite make out. I saw myself sitting in the crotch of this fig tree, starving to death, just because I couldn't make up my mind which of the figs I would choose. I wanted each and every one of them, but choosing one meant losing all the rest, and, as I sat there, unable to decide, the figs began to wrinkle and go black, and, one by one, they plopped to the ground at my feet.”

I was convinced once I made a decision I would have to stick with it forever. Because changing careers would mean I had failed and would have to start all over again.

And how many people do you know who still feel this way?

Unhappy in their careers, but unable to face the idea of being seen as a ‘failure’ and of having to start all over again.?

And yet we don't talk about it. We make up excuses as to why we can't change careers.

But it's the fear of failure that keeps so many people stuck.

This is the first thing I tackle with my clients: this belief that we will be seen as a failure and we are throwing away all our hard work if we change careers.

For a long time this is how I also felt.

However over time I came to realise that life is not a linear path with a singular destination.?

It can’t be rigidly planned.

Let’s face it, you can’t know what you want tomorrow until you’ve lived today.? Because living today is what makes you the person you will be tomorrow.?

Instead, I now view life as something to play with where every experience shapes who we become.?

Changing careers doesn't mean you're wasting your past experience. It means you have to learn how to utilise that experience and leverage it so you can do something new.

I've changed careers multiple times and have helped my clients do the same, because life is too short to stay stuck doing something you don't enjoy.

So, if you're feeling trapped in a particular career or life situation I offer this advice:

• Embrace change
• Don't let the expectations of others limit your choices
• Follow your interests, explore new possibilities
• And don't fear starting something new

Remember, life is not about adhering to a rigid plan; it's about living, experiencing and having fun!

And if you're ready to start embracing change, grab a copy of my FREE Career Transition Workbook.

In it you'll get clear on what you want and create a blueprint for the next step of your career.

Click here to grab your copy.

?

.?