Career well set up, great family and kids, you seem to have all to be happy. But you are not, though. Surviving, not thriving at work. Don’t feel the same energy to move up, but it’s too scary to quit a job. What is wrong? Many midlife career changers are faced with doubts and uncertainty.
Find below the 5 thinking that helps you find back your energy and power for a meaningful move in your midlife career change.
1. Midlife career change – ‘Sometimes the one thing you need for growth is the one thing you are afraid to do’
A midlife career move is pretty scary. You agreed with me! This is because, unlike starting a new career when we are young, in midlife, we seem to have all we need. This comfort makes us afraid of the unknown. Will I be better? Will it be a good decision to leave behind what I have?
But yes, life always moves us forward. Don’t be afraid of change. Because it is the expansion of the universe. It’s eternal growth of all things. Take a moment to write down the things that excite you and make you super happy when you imagine doing something new, without fear.
2. Midlife career change – ‘I’ve learned that making a ‘living’ is not the same thing as ‘making a life’
How many of us do our job for the pure pleasure of doing it? If you were a millionaire, would you continue doing the job you are doing? If yes, good for you, and you are one in a million. A 2019 survey by Deloitte stated that 49% among millennials (people born between 1980 and 2000) will quit their jobs in the next two years. And that is due to job dissatisfaction.
Change career midlife is a moment to think about what you truly want to accomplish. Would you spend the rest of your life to “make a living”? Or would you “make a life”? Take 5 minutes to think about it before going to bed today.
3. Midlife career change – ‘Only those who decline to scramble up the career ladder are interesting as human beings. Nothing is more boring than a man with a career’
Yes, climbing down a corporate ladder is more difficult than up. Am I saying the contrary to common sense? Everybody seems to aspire for moving up on the corporate ladder. Who wants to get down?
She might be one who suddenly realizes that life is more than climbing a ladder. It might happen in her mind, something called “purpose”. Something probably bigger and deeper than a car, or power, or the expectation of others…
Sometimes, an adventure might be a good fix for your mid-career woes. Do consider this.
4. Midlife career change – ‘Only in discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for truer answers’
Burned out, no passion, not feeling who we are… Don’t feel the same energy to move up, but it’s too scary to quit a job? This is a situation of discomfort “surviving-not-thriving” at work that many discovered with surprise in midlife.
But “only in discomfort that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for truer answers” (M. Scott Peck). Do you remember the hierarchy of needs? For most of us, when the basic physiological, safety, love and esteem needs are met, we yearn for something higher. It is called the “self-realization”. And it’s a great thing! Cheer up today and observe how your life can change positively by the “unease” situation of today.
5. Midlife career change -‘It is not as much about who you used to be, as it is about who you choose to be’
Do you think we can choose to be the person we want? Not everybody believes in that. We all have our excuses to say that things are impossible. I can’t change my career because there is no offer. I can’t do what I love because I cannot earn my life… Try just a moment today to liberate yourself from these self-limiting beliefs. What we choose to be now matters. Not what we were, nor what the world wants us to be.
Will you join me practicing these 5 thinking? It will help you find back your energy and power for a meaningful move in a midlife career change. Know that sometimes what you are afraid to do is what makes you grow. Think about “making life” than “making a living”. See values in your discomfort today that will bring you to have a truer answer. Liberate yourself from the ‘corporate ladder’ success spirit. And finally, dare to ‘choose’ to be the person you want. How about starting today?
Read more
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How to be successful by being yourself – 4 ways to start today