We have prospective clients contact us all the time who have thought about making a career change for years and life just got in the way. It’s understandable, and I often joke that I feel like the dentist. People wait to contact the dentist until they need a root canal, as opposed to a cleaning. Things will happen in our lives, some more dramatic than others. Sometimes making a career change is just not a good idea. If you have kids, a mortgage to pay and other obligations, you absolutely need to be cautious about making a transition. On the other hand, you don’t want to let life get in the way forever, or allow excuses to prevent you from working on finding a career you enjoy. A career coaching client of one of our associate coaches, Stacy Smyk-Santiago, sent this to us recently and it reminded me of the need to push yourself out of your comfort zone to achieve your goals and not let the noise of life get in the way…
Life has a way of crowding out what can be best for you or what you are meant to do… if you let it. My biggest reasons for hiring a coach were to assess my strengths and try to take the noise out of my life in order to achieve my goals. I felt I had a lot of ideas and no clear way of getting to any of them. I was unfulfilled and overwhelmed with ‘risk’ of trying something new.
Ask yourself, what are the top 3 things that prevent you from finding a career that you enjoy? Write them down so you can see them in black and white, then analyze each one. Which one is just a fear you can overcome? Which one is a practical reality you need to take into consideration but can work around? And which one is a distraction you need to minimize in order to move forward? Remember, to say yes to a career you love, you usually need to say no to something else. Say no in order to say yes, and take a stand for enjoying your work!
Hallie Crawford
Career Coach
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