You CAN Do This
If you have been working in a certain field for many, many years now, the idea of shifting gears professionally can seem quite daunting. Much of your identity may be wrapped up in your current professional endeavor, and breaking out of that mold may seem uncomfortable. You may be less than happy with your current situation, but worry the ‘pain’ of changing will be even worse, so perhaps it is best to just stay put.
Regardless of whatever fears are holding you back, know you can do this. It is never too late to start doing something you love. While it is easy to focus on all the people you know who have been happily, or perhaps, unhappily chugging along in their career for a long time now, remember there are lots of people out there who have done what you are considering. In fact, many people change careers several times throughout their working life.
It might be challenging, but if you are feeling that urge to move on, that is what you are meant to do. Honor that intuitive nudge.
Have You Figured Out What You Want, or Just What You Don’t?
This is a really important question that needs to be answered before you do anything. It is very easy to figure out what we don’t want and what we don’t like in our lives, whether we are talking about our relationships, jobs, or any other aspect of our experience.
When it comes to changing careers, you need to figure out if you have actually figured out what you want, and not just what you don’t. You want to move towards a new path with great clarity about what you envision for this next phase of your working life. You want to be sure you are going towards something better, and not just running away from something ‘bad.’
Just Take Things One Step at a Time
When you look at where you are now, and where you hope to end up, there might be a lot of steps in-between. Perhaps you need to go back to school or receive some sort of special training. Maybe you have to enter into a lower-level job and then work your way up eventually to your ultimate position. Whatever the case, try not to focus on the whole journey before you have even taken the first step.
Just try and focus on one thing at a time. If you are thinking about doing a distance learning program, for now, just focus your efforts at choosing an online school. If you are not quite sure what it is you want to do yet, for now, just focus on gathering information, and engaging in the inner reflection you will need to do to make a good decision. If you are torn between different paths, focus on what you can do to help clarify things, such as reaching out to people in those fields who may be able to share your experience, or taking an aptitude test to gain some insights.
We spend a lot of time working, and it is a good idea to do something we really like, not just merely tolerate. If you are feeling the pull to change directions, that in and of itself is a pretty good sign that is what you should be doing. Let that bolster your confidence.
