Are You Selling Yourself the Story of It's Not that Bad?
Author: Nicky J. Davies |
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Categories: Career Reset
I've just got off the phone with a talented woman in her 40s who had been enjoying her fabulous two-week family holiday in the Mediterranean only to be in a panic three days before heading back to work.
"This is not like me, Nicky. I've never felt physically sick thinking about going back to work before."
But here she was. Feeling sick to her stomach, in a blind panic at the thought of being back 'there'.
This feeling had been building up over a number of months, probably a year or so.
She is a bright, intelligent, and talented manager. Her team love her. But... she has outgrown the role that she is in, grown weary of the politics she has to deal with, and her patience is now paper thin.
"I've been telling myself it's not that bad. Look at the money and the benefits I'm getting."
Many people delude themselves that they can ride out a bad job for another year or maybe longer. But it soon catches up with them, hurting their health, confidence, and those around them.
Right now she is worried she might just snap and walk out on her job without a plan in place.
Please don't let yourself get to this point.
Life is too short to settle.
Here are the five worst reasons I've heard people use when staying in a job or a career that is not right for them:
- Because the money and benefits are good.
- Because it's too hard to find a new job.
- Because I'm too old to change jobs now.
- Because of my kids (being in school, crucial year / exams, paying for University).
- Because I don't know what I would do instead of this job.
Do you really want to spend your life doing something you don't like just because you were afraid to step away from what feels comfortable and take a risk?
Challenge your idea of what you think is true. Is it really too hard to find a new job for everyone? What about somebody with your talents and skills? I don't think so.
Anybody who is more than a year or two away from retirement is not too old to change jobs. What if you could make it into a business instead? With the expertise and years of experience you have you could easily transfer these into consultancy.
Having kids doesn't mean giving up on your own potential. After all, you are the role model for those awesome kids of yours!
Your kids want you to be happy. They need a healthy parent more than they need almost anything else. If the timing isn't great, keep your current job but explore other options and come up with an escape plan.
You deserve to be happy in your professional life, but when our mojo is depleted, everything we need to do to change the situation feels like a chore.
Thinking about a big project like working out the next iteration of 'what do you want to be when you grow up' can be exhausting. But imagine how much better your life would be in a more fulfilling job or career.
Use the future sense of you moving into a role where you feel happy and fulfilled along with the current sense of frustration, as rocket fuel. Let this fuel you to take a first step on your new path. Explore and have some fun with it.
Stop selling yourself the story of "it's not that bad".
Start writing about the things you love to do and let your imagination run free! You have to envision your brilliant future first before you can begin to step into it.
You deserve to feel fulfilled in your professional life. I believe it - do you?