Is it time for a professional change?

The pandemic has been a challenging time and affected all of us in different ways. It’s made many of you reconsider where you want to live and how you want to spend your time, and as a result, your career paths.

This quote by Holocaust survivor Dr. Edith Eger from her book The Gift is extremely pertinent today. 

“We do not change until we’re ready. Sometimes it’s a tough circumstance – perhaps a divorce, accident, illness, or death – that forces us to face up to what isn’t working and try something else. Sometimes our inner pain or unfulfilled longing gets so loud and insistent that we can’t ignore it another minute. But readiness doesn’t come from the outside, and it can’t be rushed or forced. You’re ready when you’re ready, when something inside shifts and you decide, Until now I did that. Now I’m going to do something else. Change is about interrupting the habits and patterns that no longer serve us…

As you begin your journey it’s important to reflect not only on what you’d like to be free from, but on what you want to be free to do or become.”

What do you want to be free to do or become?

For some, the answer may come easy. For others, like me, it will take more time to reflect.

Time. To help you break down that process, first think about how you want to spend your time. Many are saying they never want to spend so much time commuting ever again. Maybe you want to be able to pick up your kids from school or attend their sports games and activities. Maybe you want to train for a marathon.

Future you. Imagine that you are 70 or 80 years old. What will you tell yourself then as you think back on how you spent your time? Do you wish you’d done things differently?

Defining moment. You may have already experienced a taste of what you really want to do in terms of your career. Reflect on what has been the most defining moment of your career. Do you feel good about the direction you’re heading now?

Take a look at what’s important to you. Maybe you want to start or continue working remotely in a job that’s flexible and allows you to fit work around your life whenever possible. Perhaps you’ve realized that in order to get flexibility you need to leverage your skills into a new career path.

There’s never going to be the right time to make a change. Once you figure out what you want to do or become, hit the gas pedal and get started.