Are you living on autopilot? Do you go to work or wake up knowing exactly what your life is going to look like day-to-day, month-to-month, year-to-year? Are you bored, feeling unhappy, day-dreaming of something ‘more’, living vicariously through the lives of others, or thinking to yourself ‘Is this really it? Is this all I am meant to do?’ If so, perhaps it’s time to make a career change, whether big or small.
Everyone has the ability to make an incredible impact on the world, but to make an impact you have to be willing to change and adapt as life happens. With those changes comes a mixture of emotions: happiness, excitement, fear, sadness and anxiety. Do not let the fear of failing or working-hard stand in the way of your decision. Instead, chose to embrace those ‘negative’ emotions and view them as opportunity for growth and learning. Think about and continually remind yourself of all the reasons why change may be good for you, such as:
1) You Will Be Challenged
By stepping outside your comfort zone you are challenging yourself and leaving what you ‘use to know’. It is okay to close some doors along the way. Not because of pride, incapacity or arrogance, but simply if they no longer lead somewhere. If you are feeling like you need a challenge, and need to be pushed, a career change or even just a change of scenery may be your answer. Whether it be going back to school, enrolling in a new course, or perhaps taking a leap of faith and doing something that doesn’t even require that degree you worked 4 long years to obtain.
By placing yourself in a new environment, around new people, with new rules or guidelines you are opening yourself up to a whole new world of opportunity. Your opinions and thoughts will be challenged, through conversation and further learning. You won’t know your full capability until you are placed in situations that continuously challenge you. Ideas could be sparked and it could lead you somewhere you never thought possible, simply because you chose to challenge yourself!
‘If it doesn’t challenge you, it doesn’t change you’
2) You Will Learn New Things
If you are graduated (or almost there) you will be thinking about starting your ‘career’ — having a job doesn’t mean we need to stop learning. Learning is a life long process. We are all born curious. Our mind craves new information and understanding. It is important that we never stop asking questions, reading, researching and seeking out new ways of doing things.
Choose a career you love, and if you don’t love it then change. Doing what you love will open up doors and opportunities to experience new environments and learn about the people and the world around us (all while learning about yourself as well. What are my true passions? What is my purpose? What are my strengths and talents? What drives me to want to do better? What makes me want to jump out of bed in the morning? Once you begin to answer these questions, you can then better gauge what career is best fit for you, and what will make you ‘truly’ happy. It may take a few different jobs/career changes to find your ‘niche’, but trust me its well worth it.
‘If you are not willing to learn, no one can help you. If you are determined to learn, no one can stop you’
3) You Will Meet New People
Wherever you go you will meet new people. Healthy, sick, happy, miserable, political, careless, fit, energetic, lazy, motivated, negative, opinionated, short-tempered, educated, clueless, introverted, selfish, humble, inspiring… the list goes on. Not to mention all from various cultures, religions and educational backgrounds. The diversity of people in this world is astounding. Too often we get caught up in our own little ‘social bubble’ and can become narrow minded. By expanding that bubble we are widening our network, challenging our thoughts, and opening ourselves up to further learning.
You never know what can come from any particular interaction, conversation or relationship. They could be your new best-friend, future husband or wife, employer, the spark to a bright idea or the connection to a new opportunity, etc. Expand that network!
4) You Will Experience True Happiness
If you are doing what you love, you will be happier. Not saying there won’t be some difficult days and difficult moments along the way, but even then if you find yourself struggling you will be able to work through a lot easier because it is something you are passionate about. It is a lot easier to wake up and go to work when it is somewhere you ‘want’ to go. If you are doing what you love, it most often won’t even feel like ‘work’. You will be more focused and capable of living in the present moment, because your mind won’t be wandering off dreaming of something ‘better’. Your smile and conversation will be more genuine and in-turn you will attract other happy people.
‘It is a beautiful thing when a career and a passion come together’.
5) You Will Inspire Others to Change
It is a domino effect. Many people wake up everyday and go about their regular routine because it is what everyone else is doing around them. Go to work, come home, eat, sleep, go to work, come home, eat, sleep and then do it all over again. They have perhaps come to believe that this is the norm and that one must just continue to go about their life in a certain manner. People often discuss their dreams, or about making a change, though a very small percentage actually takes the next step in planning for that change, and even fewer commit to making it. Due to multiple reasons discussed earlier on (ex. fear, judgment, hard-work, etc.) Though if one person sees one person make a change, take a leap of faith, and succeed, then another may be more prone to do so, and so on and so on. People need to feel inspired, and we can do that for each other.
‘If you don’t go after what you want you’ll never have it. If you don’t ask the answer is always no. If you don’t step forward, you’re always in the same place’
Change can be scary, but what is even scarier is looking back and regretting having not made those changes. It is important to live a life you are proud of. Ask yourself ‘Is what I am doing making my happy? Is it enhancing my life? Do I look forward to waking up in the morning? If you are unable to answer yes to these questions I hope you are able to find the strength to make a change and begin something new.
For me personally, my entire life can be described in one sentence: ‘It didn’t go as planned, and that’s ok’. We can do our best to plan our path in life though we all know that sometimes ‘things happen’ and we are re-routed. I can answer yes to all of the questions in the very first paragraph. Instead of fighting the feelings, continuing to live in wonder and day dreaming of something ‘more’, I have decided to purpose my passions, chase my dreams and change careers. Follow me on Instagram (@brookewillson) to see what I get up to as I make my own transition.
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