2018 has the potential to be a great year.
Two statements must be addressed to allow 2018 to be as great as possible. They are statements that Inspo encountered frequently in 2017.
- “I’d love to do something different. But I’m too long doing what I’m doing”.
- “Work has me exhausted and my sense of work/life balance is way off where I need it to be”.
You may not have uttered words to the effect of either statement in 2017. If so, it’s a super starting point to work off in 2018. You may, on the other hand, have said a version of one or both statements at some point in 2017. If so, Inspo would like to offer some advice for managing both in 2018.
Let’s focus on the first statement in this post:
“I’d love to do something different. But I’m too long doing what I’m doing”.
The key is to ground your view of your ability to do something different in as much fact as possible. This will increase the chances of making the right decision. To do this:
- Talk to someone who is doing what you’d like to do. Find out everything about the practicalities and realities of being in this line of work.
- Find someone you know and trust. Or a person recommended to you by someone you know and trust. Get their honest and objective view on whether they believe the change would work for you.
- Take stock of where you are currently in your personal life, as well as the responsibilities and dependencies you have, and evaluate how well a career change fits in to this picture.
Leveraging these steps introduces significant levels of fact into your decision-making equation. There are no guarantees with any career decision. A national referendum is never won, a 100% YES to 0% NO. Neither is a career decision going to be made with 100% certainty. What you are doing here is maximising the chances of making the right call.
Remember. Changing is only one option. You might find that staying where you are is the right decision for you. You may realise that a gradual change over time will work best. Or you might find that accessing your area of interest in a personal capacity makes most sense for you.
Critically, you are tending to and satisfying your curiosity. You’re taking ‘what ifs’ off the table and replacing it with ‘I know what I want now’. If we can individually and collectively live 2018 where ‘I know what I want now’s outweigh the ‘what if’s, think about how great the year can be.
Tune in next week for advice on staying on top of your work/life balance.
If this topic is something you would like to work on in 2018 and would like to chat about getting started, please contact john@inspo.ie.
Inspo’s song for the week: Strong by London Grammar