What if I change jobs, take a paycut and find that the grass isn’t greener on the other side?

This question has probably kept you in jobs didn't enjoy longer than you wanted...?it's time to answer it!

Let’s break it down and deal with it each aspect of it.?

1. Pay?
2. Uncertainty?
3. Grass?

1. Pay

Most people in The Aha! Moment Academy are breadwinners in their homes or contribute towards the bills. Taking a huge paycut just because you’re not fulfilled may not make sense for your family. You have a good, well-paying job and you should be happy with it. Full stop.

The subject of money is one that creates a mix of emotions…

“I may look like an irresponsible parent for taking the bread off my family table.”

“Who would pay for my mortgage, vacations, summer camps, and car if I change my jobs and take a pay cut?”

“My partner/kids/friends/parents will never understand this and may judge me.”

“My parents NEVER [have always] provided me with financial stability and I don’t want to be like them [want to do the same for my family].”

These internal chats are happening every day for our clients. Most of us are unaware that we carry such a heavy emotional bag.?

Although when coaching we suggest tackling this topic as part of the planning (not discovery) stage to avoid limiting yourself, here’s a high-level overview of how to tackle it:???

a. Understand the real impact of staying in a job you don’t enjoy.?

The hidden long-term costs and missed opportunities are usually well over $100k/year (see article in the comments)

b. Work out how you can maximise happiness on a smaller budget.?

It’s not the money that makes you feel relaxed, fulfilled, and happy but the experiences. Learn how to spend the money to maximise fulfilment and joy for yourself and your family.?

c. Increase your value on the market by learning to position yourself.?

Research shows that men, over their careers, leave on the table $1M because they don’t know to present and ask for their worth. This figure is 30% higher for women.

d. Plan ahead to minimize the impact.?

By planning ahead and knowing you’ll take a 10% paycut you can decide if you want to take a second job, lower your expenses, or learn to better sell your skills etc.?

When I transitioned I refused a 100% increase in my salary so I can start The Aha! Moment Academy. I coach not because of money but because it’s my way of contributing and building a legacy. As a result, after 2 years I got really good at what I do and I started to earn 4x more than that increased salary.?

Money always follows purpose.

2. Uncertainty?

You’ve been doing a similar type of work for at least 10-20 years. Even though you’re not excited by your work anymore you kinda know the ins and outs of your job.?

Since we were kids we’ve been told/conditioned:?

“A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush” or “better the devil you know”.

Transitioning requires some degree of uncertainty. There are a few unknowns.?

Dealing with this uncertainty is simply a matter of:

• increasing your awareness so that you understand the intertwined beliefs and rules you have
• use that awareness to increase cope-ability (ability to cope with uncertainty) and change those rigidities consciously

The good news is that you don’t need to meditate on top of the mountain or sit on a therapist's sofa for 7 years to deal with all these.

I found that each person has 2 or 3 big areas/rigidities where they’re stuck…

But it's not rigidities you know about that are keeping you stuck - those are the symptoms - but the rigidities you're not aware of!

A few symptoms: people-pleasing, overthinking, overexplaining, perfectionism, impostor syndrome and self-sabotaging

But once you a) understand (with empathy), b) examine (without judgement) and c) tackle those rigidities (through practical personal development action plans), then you can increase your awareness and cope-ability enough that uncertainty isn’t a problem anymore.?

So far we covered the pay and uncertainty. Next, it's the grass!

3. Grass

By grass, I mean both the work itself and the conditions/environment that the work is creating.

Both are important.?

Why??

Fulfilment at work comes from primary and secondary sources:?

a. Primary sources: the relationship you have with the work itself and why you do it – your work purpose.?

If you’re happy in a relationship, it’s not the person that makes you happy. But the relationship you have with that person. If don’t hate a person but the relationship you have with that person.?

Same with work. It’s the relationship you developed with work that’s contributing to your fulfilment.

Is work something you were taught to avoid? Something you have to do to pay the bills? Or something to do so the time goes by quicker? A way to pay for your travel and holidays? Or is it a way to contribute?

You will have different levels of fulfilment when you look at your work as:?

• A job: “I cannot wait for the weekend to come sooner so I can be happy.”?
• VS a career: “I cannot wait to get to the top so I can be happy.”
• VS a purpose: “There’s nothing I’d rather do than THIS, it’s challenging but I can feel my work is needed and appreciated, I earn enough and do what I’m best at while looking after my family.”

The key is knowing what THAT work purpose is for you and having a plan to develop it into a career (check out the comments to find an article on how to create yours)???

b. Secondary sources: how aligned the job is with your real self and is able to meet important needs (e.g. growth, flexibility, salary, balance, etc.), plus the quality of relationships you're able to create at work

Once you join a company there’s usually a honeymoon period where everything’s great, everyone's nice and you don't notice the politics and tensions at work. That period, like any drug, creates a high that people start to chase.??

Once you fulfil your other needs (you get familiar with the higher salary and the greater flexibility at work) or the high from the new job honeymoon is over, then the fulfilment gradually decreases.

If you're not 'plugged' into the primary sources of fulfilment at that point you may start to lose the buzz.?

I hear this often ...

“I’m in a toxic environment… I feel unappreciated, undervalued, invisible, empty, incapable, and not trusted at work."

All these feelings come from the relationship you have with people at work.

• If you don’t feel included you may start to feel: invisible, unappreciated, or undervalued.?If you’re included too much you may feel stressed or burnt out.?
• When you’re not given enough support, responsibility or credit you may feel “underappreciated/ not trusted" or feel like "you’re wasting your talents”.?When you have too much control and everything is thrown on your plate you may feel “overwhelmed, maxed out”.?

(for more, check out Dr. Will Schultz's Human Element body of work)

When asking “what if the grass isn’t greener on the other side” most people refer to secondary sources:?

“Will I be included to the level I’m comfortable so that I feel appreciated? Will I have enough control and autonomy in my job so that I feel like I’m growing and maximizing my potential? Will I be offered the opportunity to speak up so that I feel like others like me?”?

But the key isn’t to find this magical environment where everything's great but to be able to create it.

The key is having the tools and frameworks to create effective relationships at work so you can ask and get what you want without damaging those relationships. That's another way of increasing your cope-ability.

To summarise:

1. Increase your awareness and cope-ability?

2. Learn to create effective relationships and ask for what you want?

3. Understand who you are and what matters so you get to fit work into life, not the other way around

4. . Improve the relationship you have with work and remember your work purpose?

5. Create a strategic long-term plan that maximises your potential and feeds your family or lifestyle?

________

If the message resonated:

1. Connect with me

2. Get inspired by the tips I share

3. Work with me 1-1 to help you step into a meaningful career - message me now.?

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P.S.: That’s the recipe we use to help clients create a Purpose-Driven Career Plan.?

When people create a Purpose-Driven Career Plan they start to enjoy the work they do even if it’s not radically different from what they used to be doing. They also start to improve their relationships with the people around them and have more confidence when they speak about their skills and the reason they’re in that job/career.

Gradually people with a purpose and a well-defined career plan start to wake up excited to go to work because their relationships are great, they have more control over their work and use the job as an opportunity to make the world better, learn, earn and meet new people, instead of letting the employer use them.?

That’s why this method has been researched and proven to be 300% more efficient than traditional approaches to career planning.

If this method made sense and want to have the rest of 98% while being coached by guides who spent 3 decades doing this with thousands of people, reach out, and book an initial consultation.