Career Change Decision Making - Remember This Vital Piece

In getting ready for your career change decision making has probably played a big part in your ticking off some or all of the boxes.

You've probably even checked out the things not to do, and you're not doing those!

• - You know the direction you want to be moving in
• - You've discussed your career change decision making with lots of people
• - You're ready to get some Professional Resume advice and guidelines
• - You even feel motivated

You're ready!
And yet, somehow, you're not quite there.
How do I know? Because you're reading this!
There is something causing you to hesitate. There is something that's not quite right. You may not be quite sure what it is. You can't quite put your finger on it.

"Nothing is really work unless you would rather be doing something else."

James M. Barrie

There is always that question, "Is this the right thing for me?"
There are two things to be addressed in this question, 'the right thing' and 'me'.
What if it is a myth that there is a right thing for you to be doing? It's well-recognised that men and women who change careers may be no better off in the new job, because they bring their problems with them.
Think about it this way. People who are successful in their lives are operating in the direction of Be - Do - Have.
They set themselves up to be who they most want to be. Then they do the things that they need to do (including career change decision making!), so that they can have the things they want.
Most people are trying in vain to do it the other way around. They think that if they can find the right thing to do, then they will be... content... happy... satisfied... (you fill in the word).

Reason For A Career Change

Decision making for these folks is organised in the direction of Have - Do - Be scenarios. When they have the things they want, (and these are typically time and money), then they will do the things they really like to be doing. Then they can be fulfilled and have the life of their dreams. This leads them to change career trying to find that thing to do, so that they can be ok.
Which brings us to the second point. Do you know who the 'me' is that you are trying to find the right thing for? And I don't just mean your name, or your job description. (There are some people who confuse who they are with what they do, 'I am a doctor', 'I am a postman'). This is where the idea that "a career change will be good because I can change who I am" comes from. It's the basis for much of the career change decision
making done at the time of a mid life crisis.

The Vital Element

In any situation that you find yourself in, one thing is always true. You are there. You are the one thing that is common in all areas of your life. If you're not leveraging yourself, you're not getting the best out of the situation.
If you do not learn how to use who you are, you're not using the most powerful resource that you have.
This idea was central to my own career change decision making when it came to my changing career from Plastic Surgery to studying human functioning and communication.

Are You Using Yours?

Is your sense of yourself tied up with things around you, material things, events, people you hang out with? Or do you have a deep felt inner sense of knowing absolutely who you are, and that you are okay? And that you are moving in the right direction for you, regardless of what's happening around you?
Many people are doing things so that they can feel good about themselves. And they think that if they can find the right thing for them to be doing, THEN their life will be okay.
And there are people who are 30, 40, 50 or older, who are spending their whole lives doing just this. And because the current career is not giving them what they want, they consider that if they make a different choice and change careers, then things will be different for them. Even people who work as doctors, medical students and lawyers, which are considered highly desirable positions, are caught in this loop.
I'm not suggesting that you should not continue with your career change decision making. There are lots of things to consider. And an important one of these is that a different starting point will give you that edge that will make all the difference for you.

Adding it in...

Most people are doing things to generate that inner sense of being satisfied, fulfilled and successful. What if you start with success in place? Then you would organize your career change decision making and ideas so that you can keep it!
This, of course, is the opposite way to which most people who want to change their careers are going about it.
This is definitely not a quick fix. I'm talking about establsihing who you are first. Choosing to organize your career change in this way means that you get to have a life. A life that works... a life that's worth having...

Posted in: Career Change Decision Making,Remember This Vital Piece