The coronavirus has many people thinking hard about their current careers. Some are figuring out ways to go forward with a more virtual model. Others have shuttered their businesses and are wondering if they will even be able to reopen. I’m sure many people are considering changing careers to be more resilient in situations like our current physical isolation. Perhaps it’s time to evaluate all your career options.
An article by Julie Winkle Giolioni published on Business2Community called “Sunk Time. Sunk Costs. Sunk Talents?” includes research she did on the most frequently occurring limiting beliefs women have about their careers. The top two were no surprise to me—I have seen these often in my clients: it’s not okay to brag, and you need to be nice. But the third surprised me: regardless of age, the women in the survey felt they were too far along in their careers to change.
When are you “too old” to change careers?
This last point had me reflecting on my career journey. I graduated with a major in statistics (I know—I can hear the groans!) My first full-time job was with a power company, where during the ten years I worked there, I had three different careers. I started in the electrical engineering department, moved into the rates department for three years, where I finally used my degree before I ended up becoming a programmer analyst in the information technology (IT) department. When I was thirty-two years old, I changed companies but stayed with my IT career. Eventually, I ended up in management positions, but I stayed at that company in IT for twenty-eight years until I was “surprise retired” as I affectionately call it. Even though I appreciated what that job had provided for me, I knew I didn’t want another job in IT or management or a corporation.
My then-husband was a realtor, and we had often talked about how I could help him out when I left the IT job, so I got my realtor license and worked in real estate for five years. After the novelty of learning all the aspects of this new business wore off, I realized this was not the best career for me. It might have been better if I’d had more face time with clients, but my role was mostly back-office, and it quickly became tedious. By the time I left that business, I was sixty-five.
In 2011, in the middle of my real estate career, I attended my first PSYCH-K® workshop with the intent of using what I learned for myself, friends, and family. I found PSYCH-K captivating! I couldn’t learn enough about the topic, and I took all the training that was available. The more I immersed myself in the tools, the more I realized this was something that brought joy into my life and made me feel truly valuable. I started my business in 2014 and haven’t regretted that decision for a moment.
Being in alignment
I’m sharing my story because I want you to know that it’s never too late to re-evaluate and to make changes that are aligned with who you are. And if you find yourself feeling stuck in a career that doesn’t fulfill you now or if you’re feeling scared because you don’t know how you will move forward, I can help you get those inner voices to change their messages to be supportive of whatever you consciously want to do. That might mean re-envisioning your current business model or making a more significant change. The important thing to know is that you do have a choice. You always have choices.
Struggle no more!
If you want to talk more about how I can help you, book a 30-minute free consultation here. If you are a coach and have clients struggling with this, schedule a virtual coffee date here. I would love to talk with you about how I can be of service.
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