I talk to a lot of people who share with me that they want to change careers, but they don't know what they want to do next.
They might have some ideas, but for the most part, they feel stuck.
If you are feeling stuck, I want to share with you the story of my old law school friend Ted. Ted was a corporate lawyer at a big law firm in New York City. Things were fine for a few years, the work was interesting, and he got paid well. But at a certain point, he began to get bored and started thinking about what he could do next. His options ranged from the safe to the risky. He thought of exploring another area of law, going in-house, or moving to another law firm, and even leaving the law completely and pursuing something he was more passionate about, like soccer.
Ted was a soccer fanatic. He grew up playing soccer, played in college, and played on a local men's club team in the city. He watched every game he could and knew who all the teams and players were in the U.S. and Europe.
His true dream was to work in soccer as a commentator or sportscaster. He wanted to tell the behind-the-scenes stories of his favorite clubs and players. But he knew it was next to impossible to land that kind of job, so he never did anything about it.
The Cycle Of Stuck
When people first consider a career change, I see them go through what I call the "cycle of stuck." This is a pattern where first they feel dissatisfied in their current job, so they daydream about doing something else they might enjoy more. Then they come up with all kinds of reasons why they couldn't leave their current job for the more enjoyable one, and end up not doing anything at all and stay right where they are.
Drop Your Assumptions
If you are in the cycle of stuck, consider that you are operating under a limiting set of assumptions. The most common assumptions I hear from accomplished professionals are that they can't just start over, or, they can't make significantly less money. And because of these assumptions, they limit their choices to ones that feel safe but are not necessarily what they really want to do. The danger here is that they will soon find themselves unhappy in the new job. And they know this, so they end up doing nothing.
Like a windshield covered in rain, your limiting assumptions are blocking your ability to see your next move clearly and objectively. Your assumptions need to be wiped away in order for you to clearly see the road ahead. To do this, you must first become aware of your limiting assumptions. Recognize that they are theory rather than truth. And start investigating them rather than letting them stop you before you get started.
See The Road Ahead More Clearly
Believe it or not, Ted is now a sports content producer for a major TV network.
How did he do it?
He finally got tired of being too scared to pursue his dream of working in sports. Rather than be held back by his assumptions that it would be too hard, he started to take small actions towards his goal. While he continued to work as a lawyer, he began to dabble in online media production and created a show geared toward soccer fans. He leveraged this experience to network his way into opportunities to be a freelance content producer and sports commentator.
As he built his resume in this new profession, he proved to himself that this could be a viable career option rather than a risky dream. Because of his ability to drop his assumptions, he was able to eventually quit his job as a lawyer and pursue a full-time career doing something he loves.
I love sharing Ted's story because it shows that despite our initial pessimistic outlook toward pursuing a more fulfilling career, we can take practical steps toward our goal that mitigate risk and give us proof that we are on the right path.
