I recently went on a journey to change careers. Quitting a corporate job that had become all consuming, placing me in a perpetual state of unhappiness was easy to do. What came next wasn’t. A daily combination of an internal dialogue on my craziness and worry over what to do next ensued. After 6 months of relief to be done with my previous work life, I was faced with a reality of my own making.
This isn’t how I thought things would go.
Thankfully, I’ve recently landed on my feet, truly finding myself and what is most important to me in the process. If you’re also miserable in your career and thinking of making a change, use these 3 tactics to help you face your fears and pursue your dreams.
Be True to Yourself
This was by far the hardest one to get past. Putting aside societal norms such as: salary expectations, the judgement of others and corporate titles is extremely difficult. Once you’ve been in the corporate world, you become conditioned to a certain way of life. Your days become a rhythmic pattern of conference calls, bathroom breaks and wishing it was Friday. Life is nothing more than an unfulfilled wish for more time outside of the office, a wish that rarely comes true outside of weeklong vacations and extended holiday time.
This was my truth, although it took me quite a while to realize it. Once I did, everything else fell into place.
Have a Plan
Similar to a budget, you need to have a plan on where you see yourself in 3, 5, and 10 years. Let’s say you’ve always wanted to be a pilot but had to put your dream on hold. Dreams die hard and this one just isn’t going away. You decide to jump in with both feet and enter flight school. That’s the easy part. What about the rest?
There’s nothing simpler than pursuing your dream. As long as you can close out the noise around you, you’re living your best life. This is what you’ve always wanted. The harder part is understanding where you’re going once that euphoric feeling goes away.
Wear Earmuffs
No matter what you do, there’s always going to be a group of people who think you’re nuts. You’re seen as what you’ve always been, no matter what that is. If you’ve flipped burgers for twenty years, that’s what you are to your inner circle. You’re a burger flipper, destined to stand by the grill for eternity.
The thing is, you don’t see yourself that way. You’re ready to try something new. Your desire to break free isn’t lessened by the jeers from the peanut gallery. That’s good. Keep that attitude, you’re going to need it. Have confidence that you can do whatever it is you want and go for it, just don’t go into massive debt doing it.
That last sentence is key. There are countless examples of people who had a dream to own a restaurant yet had zero experience doing so. Although there are success stories, failure is more likely the result. The additional result is a mountain of debt, regret and irreparable marriages. Debt should never be part of your plan.
Now, slowly put down the spatula.
It’s time for a change.
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