Letting go of a stable but wrong job to pursue your career destiny. Making sure your parachute is packed.

Can you remember how you felt when you started at your current workplace?  Were you excited?  Motivated?  Enthusiastic?  Full of great plans and ideas, hopes and dreams for career progression?  What has happened over the years?  Have you become stale?  Has the organisation changed?  Are there people around you who are negative and a bit toxic?  Did the job turn out to be different than you expected?  Did you get all the promotions you wanted and still something is missing?  Maybe you are feeling a little like you are strapped into a plane just sitting on the tarmac, looking out of the window.  You are wanting to fly, to go somewhere, anywhere but you are on the ground and there’s no pilot in sight.

 

So let’s get to the heart of the matter.

You are reading this because you want permission to ditch your job – you feel stuck in a role that gives you security and stability, maybe some status but you are miserable.  If that’s you, read on!

Firstly, for some reassurance, you are not alone!  In fact more than half of Australia’s workforce are in the same boat.

 

So why do you stay and what does it take to move on?

You will not move out of your current situation for one key reason – fear.  What kind of fear might you ask?

  • Fear of change (better the devil you know than the devil you don’t know)
  • Fear of unemployment
  • Fear of what others might say
  • Fear of dropping seniority or salary
  • Fear of not having enough to offer a more desirable role
  • Fear of not having the skills and experience for what you’d rather be doing
  • Fear of the cost of extra demands a new role might have, of moving out of your comfort zone

These fears are totally valid.  And if you give them power over you, they will enslave you for the rest of your life and you will never move on.  However, if the pain of not pursuing your dreams is getting stronger then you will have to do something about those fears, won’t you?  So, get out a pen and paper and start a list.  I want all of your best reasons for staying where you are on the paper asap!

The coolest thing about having a Fear List, or a What Stops Me Moving On List is that you can look at them objectively and create strategies to overcome them one step at a time.  There is nothing logical about staying in a job where you are unhappy.  You choose to stay because it is meeting certain needs.  So do some analysis of the list and ask yourself, ‘What need is it meeting and what else could meet that need?’  Once you have done that – start dreaming!

“SUCCESS COMES FROM HAVING DREAMS BIGGER THAN YOUR FEARS”

But the foundation for dreaming is more self-awareness.  Ask yourself:

  • Which bits of my job do I like? WHY?
  • What aspect of my role is most congruent with my personality and interests? WHY?
  • Who at my workplace do I enjoy working with? WHY?
  • What values in my organization do I align with? WHY?

The most important thing to identify is:

  • What do I really love doing and being? WHY?

If you can focus more on what you like and love you will create new opportunities to pursue those things in your current workplace or outside of work because you will be motivated.  Use your clever brain like a radar to identify those interests, relationships and activities that are life giving for you.  You may not even be paid to do this, like starting up a work social club or fundraiser for example.  It’s up to you to create the life you love even if you are currently disgruntled, burnt out and miserable.  Find a spark somewhere.

Why?  Because if you have not identified what is important and life giving for you, the next job will end up being the same as this one.  And the next, and the next.  The common denominator in all of this is YOU and only you can control the situation.  So, every day, open your eyes and ask yourself – “Where can I apply the talents I love to use in new, better ways?”

 

Ensuring your parachute is packed

As you grow towards your new life-giving life, you will find the old life has less of a hold on you.  Us humans find letting go difficult at the best of times, and often need a catalyst to push us to jump.  If that’s you, make sure your parachute is packed!

But what do you put in the parachute?

  • Courage
  • Determination
  • Passion
  • Vision and Values
  • Belief in the value you bring to the world of work
  • Strengths
  • Strategies
  • Research
  • Professional Networks
  • Personal support
  • And a great resume!

What else could you add do this list?

But what if you didn’t need to jump after all?  Back to the plane analogy.  If the plane sitting on the tarmac is your life or work life, why are you not in the pilot’s seat?  What would it take for you to change seats and take off?

Harvest Careers have helped many people like you to fly.  They are now living the life they love and its life giving.  We would love to help YOU fly too!

Let’s chat about how our services can support you in your journey towards your career destiny.

Maree Herath

With over twenty five years working in recruitment, Maree has significant global experience recruiting for some of APACs leading brands across Melbourne, Perth and Hong Kong.

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