Is Changing Careers Hard?

Does your daily routine look like this?

• Wake up

• Check your phone and panic over a client/ boss email that’s going to consume your whole day

• Clean up and quickly grab breakfast (without being bothered about what you’re eating)

• Rush for work

• Work work work (ignoring all calls from family and friends)

• Put some food in your belly before you start the long commute back home

• Head back home

• Have dinner

• Mindlessly scroll through your social media

• Reply to 1/2 lucky people whose messages/ calls you missed during the day

• Sleep fearing that you’ll receive another work email in the morning that will ruin your whole day

Now tell me, are you also experiencing the following while living the above routine?

• The Sunday night dread

• Feeling drained all the time

• No amount of time out is making you feel better

• You find no meaning in your work and couldn’t care less about it

• You’ve become very moody/ snappy, and this is affecting all your relationships

• Less work, more work and even no work, nothing seems to make you feel good about your work

If you haven’t already noticed, let me break it to you.

You are unhappy in your current career/ job and you know that something needs to be changed because, clearly, the status quo is not working out too well for you.

Shouldn’t you have already done something about this by now? But you haven’t.

That brings us to our moot question - Is changing careers hard?

Understanding what’s holding you back

For the longest time, you have associated yourself with a particular career but feel that you can no longer continue because you are just not happy.

So why do you still choose to stay miserable?

Let’s shed light on some of the things that are making this decision difficult for you:

• If not this, you have no idea what else you will do next

• Giving up the comfortable lifestyle you are currently enjoying is a very unsettling thought for you

• The financial security aspect worries you – you are unhappy, but at least you are being compensated

• Society identifies you with your current job title/ career, so you fear letting go of this identity

• You are thinking, maybe you are too old or too young to be making a change

• You are surrounded by naysayers who’ve convinced you that the current way is the only way

The above are some of the many self-inflicted roadblocks that one manages to create for themselves while envisioning a career change.

These also contribute to shaping your limiting beliefs:

• I can’t do this

• I will be judged

• I am not ready for this

• I don’t have enough experience

• I don’t have the money to make this happen

Voila! You have officially convinced yourself to resist change.

What I’m trying to tell you here is that it’s YOU who is making changing careers hard for yourself.

The truth is that you are letting your fear of leaving your comfort zone get the best of you.

If you choose to deal with what may be getting in your way, the first and foremost check would be to figure out if you are self-sabotaging.

How can we deal with change?

Dealing with change of any kind is as it is hard, but you indulging in negative self-talk will make it even harder.

So, start being mindful of what you are telling yourself, how you are feeling, what thoughts are occupying your mind, and what beliefs may be standing between you and your goals and then learn to challenge everything.

You can change your life simply by changing what you tell yourself. Really, it’s that simple!

Start believing that every change brings opportunity with it. Life is too short to remain stuck and unhappy.

Dealing with change isn’t easy, but you don’t have to do it alone. Talk to somebody you trust, family, or a friend; it could be anybody.

If you need somebody impartial to your circumstances and help from a place of non-judgement, you could work with a coach who can help you see through these limiting beliefs.

But remember, nobody has a magic wand; action will only happen when you are ready to make a change. And for change to take place, you need to take action.

So, stop being all cosy in your comfort zone and start doing something about how you can move towards a happy life.

Bringing it all together

Consider this your master plan for moving through any change in life, not just your career.

• Listen to yourself

• Reflect

• Ask for help

• Re-frame your thinking

• Plan for action

• Do the work

• Discover Happiness

The good news is that the more you open your eyes to what holds you back, the more quickly you can move towards your dream life.