If you wake up one day wondering what you want to do for a living, you’re not alone.
As a career coach, I meet people every day that are what I call “accidental” employees. They didn’t make a choice, they took a job out of convenience or because of a connection or because someone told them what to do and before they knew it 20 years had passed. And then they got a wake up call. Maybe it was a lay off or they got fired. It could be – and often is – the approach of their 30th or 40th or 50th birthday. Or seeing retirement on the horizon and thinking, is this it? Is this my legacy? Or seeing co-workers move on to great jobs?
What woke you up?
Perhaps you got reminded that you always had an interest in journalism or art but everyone told you that you couldn’t make a living doing what you love. Or maybe a parent died and the loss gave you breathing room to question what’s next in this one, precious life.
Or maybe you just got tired of mediocrity. Or not knowing what you want to do when you grow up.
Since May, I’ve been getting an average of one inquiry a day from people who want to make a career change! What that tells me is there are a likely to be plenty of less-than-satisfied employees out there – and that summer may be the perfect time to change it up!
The question of what we do for work is important, very, very important. After all, we spend most of our waking hours working.
Waking up to the reality that work can be part of our wild and precious life can change the stakes in how you work and how you choose your next career move.
You are never too old to do something new. You can learn how to be intentional. You can claim your value. You can go for something that matters to you.
When you stop being an accidental employee, then you’ve got to commit to developing a mindset that says “yes, I can, yes I will.”
Here are ten steps to help you get out of the accidental rut and into the active-intentional path.
- Affirm that you are committing to yourself (yes, it is all about YOU)
- Notice what gives you satisfaction – when do you sigh? When do you smile without meaning to? When you have free time, what do you want to do?
- Make a list of everything you have done that you enjoyed, down to minute details and keep adding to it, remembering stuff from childhood to today. Add to it things that you find interesting.
- Make a list of all the things that you’re tired of. These are your no’s.
- Get out a fresh piece of paper , put “I say yes to” at the top of the page and write down your yes’s (and this means anything and everything you want in a new job, coworkers, salary).
- Remember that your no’s and yes’s will provide clues to more yes’s and no’s.
- Think about what you have to gain by pursuing something new; and meditate on that.
- Notice what the doubting/fearing voices say. Make room to write down their objections so you can address them.
- Write a declaration saying that you affirm yourself by taking steps to do work that satisfies you. Say it every single day.
- Then commit to talking to other people about what they do for work and ask them, what gives you satisfaction? what makes what you’re doing sustainable? What’s helped you find fulfillment in your work life?
Wake up and enjoy the coffee! And peruse my blog for tips about looking for work, interviewing, and more.
