Are You Ready For a Change?
“Change is inevitable. Growth is optional”. – John C. Maxwell.
Many of us will have observed this. When I was younger, I used to take many trips into London with my father. I remember one trip where we were driving past a dilapidated building, and my father said, “It is natural that a building will eventually be torn down for a new one to shoot up”. In other words, things do not remain the same; the old is knocked down to make way for the new. This is not to say that the old was not good.
Times change: why the need for change?
Change can occur in the different areas of our lives. One common area is at work. A company may decide to upgrade to a new centralized software system; or they may decide that they need less staff. You may be facing a redundancy; after working years in an industry it may be time to consider a change of career. Yes, change may be something thrust upon you where you will need to react. It can be a good thing, as you may have become too comfortable with where you are and not know what inner resources or hidden talent that you had.
A teacher’s tale: How I got in teaching
I had this in my life too – it was the peak of the credit crisis and for the first time ever I was out of work for a long period of time. My mother made the suggestion that I embark on a teaching training course. On her side of the family there were teachers and head teachers, so it was a vocation that was in my blood. I admit I was a bit hesitant to begin with as 1) there can be some resistance when a parent makes a suggestion and 2) I thought about that expression, “Those who can, do; those who can't, teach”.
So yes, I had some limiting beliefs about how it may not be the best path for me. However, being the go-getter that I am inherently, I decided, based on my previous experience of training people in the workplace, why not give this teaching training a go. So I enrolled in the intense course and got started. Some amazing stuff happened. I got offered an interim contract job whilst training so I returned to the workplace. Upon completing the course, I was offered my first part-time law lecturing position.
10 tips on how to embark on your work breakthrough
- Don’t panic. If your work life is about to change, take a breath.
- Go to the green room. Imagine a green room as a place where you go to take a break, like the ones that are on film and TV sets. In this room you are able to download your thoughts. There is a no judgment there. I advise you bring a piece of paper and pen to write down your thoughts.
- Do something nice for yourself. Treat yourself. As a starting point, it is always good to look after your emotional state first, that way you much stronger to work through any challenge.
- Refocus. Back to focusing on your work or career, were you happy where you were? Do you want to remain doing the same type of work? Is it time for you to move on and do something different?
- Make a list. If you are looking to change but not too sure about where to begin, how about writing a list of the qualities of what you are looking for in a new career. Do you want to be working on projects on your own? Do you want to have more creative control? Sometimes it is easier to start with what people come to you for help with. This is your natural talent that you have, that you may not be utilizing.
- Plan your change. Change of lifestyle may be scary at first, if you are thinking of retraining or changing careers. Think of a white room, where you go to put your visions and goals in there. In this room, you will be in tune with all of your sensors. You can imagine how having what you want would be like, from being able to feel it, touch it and taste it. So much so you have it already. So go to this room when you are feeling any doubt, or having a challenge along your transformation to your destiny.
- Start looking for solutions. It is natural not to have all the answers to your at first to the ‘how’. Sit down and get very clear on what you need to do. Maybe take a visit to the green room.
- Do not be afraid to ask questions. If you want to find out more about a new career or new lifestyle, why not reach out to people who are already doing that career. You can even engage with people on LinkedIn, there are many communities there.
- Have a bridging strategy. On your way to your ideal career, you may have to do things to support this. You may have to take up part-time work, or do work that is non-related. See the bridge job, as a means to an end. At the same time you can be picking up new skills from the bridge job. I briefly did promotion work; with this I enjoyed interacting and engaging with people. Having good people’s skills come in useful. I also had the opportunity to develop my pitching skills.
- Do not give up. Have fun whilst in the transformation phase.
Question: Have you been through a career change?