Insights on Navigating Career Uncertainty and Transition

Common themes and questions from this week's conversation on career transition

Hi lovely ones,

I hosted a virtual event this past weekend where some of us had a chance to reflect and talk honestly about our careers. It went really well, and I’m proud of the energy and care I poured into it.

There was a desire for even more conversation and going deeper into some topics. I’m happy we were able to get the conversation started! And I could hear the desire for more space to explore and be curious about parts of our careers that we don’t often talk about or might want to avoid confronting.

Here are a few big obstacles that we revealed during our gathering:

1. Limiting beliefs and the desire for ease and joy

We carry stories like we must work hard or success comes through struggle or work can't be enjoyable. Yet everyone on the call today felt a deep longing for work that energizes us, lets us be creative, has a positive impact, and doesn't burn us out. In fact, we wanted to work fewer hours or just a couple of days a week!

2. Fears around being visible, seen, and having our ideas be put into the world

There was a lot of discussion around the resistance to continuous self-promotion or selling. Even though we believe in the value of what we do, there’s still more to explore around what holds us back from consistently putting ourselves out there, or from being specific and direct about what we offer.

3. One foot in, one foot out

There's a feeling of wanting to move forward and saying we want it, yet we hesitate, want to make sure we have everything together, overthink, and want to account for all the "what if" scenarios. Sometimes we’re still creating doubt and not fully committing to what we want. Doubts and "what ifs" hold us back from saying a full yes to our vision. And we could unconsciously be preventing ourselves from doing stretchy or challenging things. Perhaps some of us are even subconsciously sabotaging or procrastinating…we are kinda in it and put energy into certain things that give the optics of feeling productive yet the actions don’t truly serve our goal…sneaky one!

4. Perfectionism

We discussed how perfectionism can keep us spinning or stuck. We can wonder if we are truly the best person to be putting out something. Or wondering if it could be better and good enough. We talked about how there is no such thing as perfect. And that a career/business is a continuous avenue for growth, creativity, and reinvention. And most of the time, we just have to do it and go for it!

5. Fear of failure...and fear of success

What if we fail? AND maybe even scarier...what if we succeed? Or maybe who am I to succeed? Am I really the one to do this? It would mean we would really have to own it, lead it, be it! That can also feel scary for different reasons and would be something to be curious about.

We identified these obstacles and identified ways we could shift our relationship to them! We also looked at small and stretchy next steps to move forward. Transitions aren’t always easy. It’s best to make simple, small consistent shifts that are achievable yet also help you build confidence. And you don’t have to do it alone.

If you resonate with any of these and want deeper support, I offer 1:1 coaching to help you work through what’s holding you back and build the confidence and clarity to move forward in a way that feels deeply aligned with you.

You can fill out my pre-coaching questionnaire to get started or book a complimentary 15-minute discovery call.

To learn more about my services, go to my website.

If you would like to get access to the reflection questions that we used during this event, upgrade to be a Paid Subscriber! A link to the questions will be provided at the end of this post!

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