Are you at a career crossroads? Do you feel hungry for more, and get a sense that you ought to be doing something else? If this resonates with you, it could be time to make a change. What you do for a living matters – it shapes who you are and the type of life you lead.
When we feel stuck in a job that doesn’t allow us to spread our wings and be the best version of ourselves, the negative impact upon our self-confidence is rapid. It isn’t long before the self-doubt spreads to other areas of our lives too.
It’s thought that we spend as much as one third of our lives at work – that’s a big chunk of ‘the ride’! Let’s make sure you get to spend the majority of that time loving every minute!
The Catalyst for Changing Careers
At Evolve we’ve helped countless numbers of individuals across a wide range of sectors build careers that they love. In our experience people often reach a career crossroads following one or a combination of the following:
An Event
Something happens that changes the dynamics of their working life significantly. For example, redundancy, changes to their role that are not aligned with their aspirations, or a relationship breakdown with their line manager or colleagues.
An Epiphany
They wake up one day and realise that they need to make a change – either the work they do or where they work no longer excites them and they yearn to do something else entirely.
Whatever the catalyst for changing careers may be for an individual, they have found themselves in a situation that is no longer desirable nor sustainable. Interestingly, evolution may be playing a part in all of this too…
Human Need for Dissatisfaction
No, it’s not a typo, human beings are in fact hard wired to never be truly satisfied. We are programmed to constantly evaluate where we are and how we’re doing, and then seek more.
“If our brains remained in a state of happiness, there would be no motivation to move forward, to seek what we need.”
Psychology Today, 2019
That being said, feeling unhappy at work is completely disorientating and affects all other areas of our lives. An awareness of the gap between where we are and where we want to be is the first step.
The next is taking action – but why is taking that leap so hard to do?
What’s Stopping You?
Quick Question… If changing careers was really easy, would you stay where you are or would you go after something new?
When people approach us to support them in changing their careers for the better, often they have been unhappy for anywhere between 3 – 18 months prior. But why do people stay in jobs they’re unhappy in?
There are lots of valid concerns preventing people from moving on, including:
“It’s probably too late to change direction now.”
“I’ve got too many responsibilities and bills to pay.”
“It’s too expensive and will take ages to retrain.”
“Why would they want to hire me? What do I have to offer them?”
The truth is, underlying most concerns is a lack of self-belief and self-confidence. If an individual finds themselves in a situation where they either don’t feel valued or have the opportunity to use their strengths for too long, then they stop seeing their true worth.
If this sounds familiar and is getting in the way of your career development, then don’t worry. It’s not confidence you need to begin, it’s something else.
The Power of Curiosity
Too often we hear that confidence is the starting point for all successful goal attainment, but that simply is not true.
Evolve’s ethos is this:
“Before confidence comes courage, and before courage comes curiosity.”
Evolve Co.
Start by being curious. Gain the information you need to slowly but surely put one foot in front of the other. All challenges in life, including those around our career, can be overcome by being interested in the challenge itself.
Take a look at the power of curiosity in action here:
“It’s probably too late to change direction now.”
“Okay, what information do I need to know what my options are? Who could help me?”
“I’ve got too many responsibilities and bills to pay to change jobs.”
“I wonder if there’s a way to leverage my current skill set in the field I really want to be in and retain the level of salary I need? How can I find this out?”
“It’s too expensive and will take ages to retrain.”
“Is this true or are there other ways into this field that I haven’t found yet? Where can I find out more information?”
“Why would they want to hire me? What do I have to offer them?”
“Why wouldn’t they hire me?! What skills and qualities are they looking for, and how do I demonstrate these every day?”
Keep being curious and this will lead to the courage and confidence you need to take action – then one day you’ll find your career aspirations have become your career reality.
We believe in you.
Team Evolve