New Year, New You, New Career?

January 13th, 2012

If you, like many, are unhappy in your current job, perhaps a change in your career is one of the most important objectives for this year. Then again, maybe you are not that far along in the process; maybe the word “objective”, which implies “decision”, sounds way too strong and intimidating. Wherever you are on your journey that represents a bridge from where you are to where you want to get to, I thought I might pre-empt you with the following list of excuses.

Yes, you´ve read it right. I am going to beat you to it and come with the list of excuses that you will probably produce sooner or later this year. So I thought, why wait? Why not put them all out there and save you a waste of a year? Because here is the truth. If a career change appears on your objectives’ list year, after year, after year, you must be a master of these excuses by now, only you probably call them by a different name, like “solid reasons” or “plain facts” or better still, “real truths”.

So I am going to list some of your excuses and then explain to you why they are not valid. That way you can use the time saved by not having to build your excuses for something far more effective, like hiring a coach and working out a way to your new career!

Excuse 1.) I can´t quit. Nobody will have me.

Well, how many times have you tried? What evidence do you have? Sure, there are tons of people for whom this might be true. But there are equally huge amounts of people who tried and succeeded. You can be one of them. If you believe in yourself and have a very specific idea what it is you want, your determination and clarity will help you to succeed. Your courage will make you feel proud of yourself. Plus you can try while you are still employed. I have had many clients in these situations and each and every one of them managed to get the job they wanted. Each. And. Every. One.

Excuse 2.) It is too risky financially.

OK, so what´s new? Every change is risky; financially, emotionally, even physically sometimes. But watch your words here. You are not trying to cruise for the rest of your life (even though it might be the result of your career change, you never know). You are trying to replace one income (earned by being bored and uninspired) for another income (earned by having fun and enjoying yourself). So, technically speaking, you are doing a swap, right? What is so difficult about that? You see, it is all about how you look at it. Plus you would prepare yourself ahead with some smart financial planning. If your life depended on this single career change, you would come with ideas how to make it financially manageable, wouldn´t you? Well, in a way it is a live or die situation, isn´t it? If you count how many hours a day you spend working and if all of those hours make you feel miserable, then clearly you are not living your life fully but merely surviving?

Excuse 3.) If I quit and things don´t work out, I will feel ashamed to start all over.

Well, this excuse might have flown a couple of years ago but these days, when the whole working world is more flexible and fluid, your “case” would not be exceptional. Even the most hardened HR professionals understand that people who go out and try something different add value to the company, because they have the spirit for trying new things and being innovative. Again, you can view this situation as a predicament. You can also choose to view it as an advantage and an invaluable experience. And if you present yourself from that perspective, many doors will open for you.

Excuse 4.) My ego is in my way, meaning: I am too old, I am too young, I don´t have the right education, I will have to leave my title behind, etc.

If ego is in your way, there is only one solution. Put it aside for a while and explore how it would feel to have that new job/business. How it would feel to wake up every morning and be excited about what work you have ahead of you, what fun people you are going to meet and what a cool project you are going to work on. If you can do that and as a result understand that ego has no room in your decision making, you are on the right track. If, on the other hand, those feelings, as pleasant as they are, still don´t remove your ego reasons, then you are not ready. You need to struggle through your current work situation until such time when no ego in the world would stop you. Only you will know when the time is right.

I am fully aware that I have not exhausted all the excuses that are out there. I know we humans are a creative lot. We can find reasons for “not doing something” even if we have to steal it from a TV show. Therefore, for now, these 4 main reasons will do. In the future, watch out for my new product that can help you to overcome this initial status of confusion, indecisiveness and procrastination.