Do you wonder what it would be like to have a job that was actually fun?
To go to bed on Sunday night without that feeling of dread in the pit of your stomach?
To look forward to the projects you get to do?
To really feel like what you do matters?
I’m guessing that from where you’re standing it’s going to take a major career shift to make that happen. But no matter where you are now, it doesn’t make you dream of it any less.
The problem is, there seems to be a gaping hole a mile wide between where you are and that job that is fun, interesting, and fulfilling.
And that hole is murky. You can’t see what’s in there at all – you really can’t navigate it, and that fills you with these crushing fears.
You wonder: Are you ever going to figure out how to make a career change or will you be stuck doing something you hate forever? And the enormity of what that means washes over you. . .
You can’t spend your whole life doing this. You’re meant for more. You need to do more, no matter what fears you have to face.
But most people struggle through life. Doing what you love is a fairy tale, right?
Let me tell you a little story. . .
Everything in my life was great. Perfect even. I had zero to complain about.
Except with a brand new baby, and the fact that I couldn’t afford to go back to work, my career was basically ripped away from me.
It left me reeling.
I’d been fairly career focused up to that point, completing my Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees, and then working in a fast paced psychiatric hospital environment.
But there I was, alone with a baby, and I didn’t know which end was up or what to do with myself. I felt extremely confused and even empty (though everyone around me thought I should have been feeling over-the-moon).
I just wasn’t built to bake cookies and play with dollies all day. Bless the mommies that are. But I’m just not one of them.
But it didn’t change the fact that I had this new “job” of being a mom that in some ways I was totally the wrong person for.
Talk about being afraid!
I’ve faced all of these fears (and then some).
Like worries about finances,
worries about making the wrong career choice,
fear about disappointing my family and friends,
fear about wasting my education and experience and having to start all over.
Fear about making a bad business move when I started my first company.
But my biggest fear?
In the end the whole process sent me on a journey and I was forced to ask myself this question:
I never have to work again. So what am I going to DO with my life?
Believe it or not, when I uncovered that question, it was probably one of the scariest moments of my life.
Truly not knowing what direction to go in was really frightening. So I needed to do something about it. I needed answers. I was determined to find some. So I started soul-searching and asking myself that question again and again. . .
And then I spent the better part of two years answering it.
The result, of course, is my business today.
I tell you this story because I want to convince you of one thing: No matter how terrified you are of making a career shift, you can do it – and you can end up happy.
Do you want a career that you feel excited about on Monday morning?
Do you want to feel like what you’re doing matters?
Do you want to be excited about what you get to do everyday instead of feeling bored?
You can!
I know because I feel that way about my work now.
And the truth is you and I are no different.
There’s no reason that I can figure this out and you can’t. There’s no reason I should have work I love and you shouldn’t. There’s no reason that I should feel like my work matters and helps people and you don’t.
You and I are the same.
Making a career shift is a process, but the hardest part is conquering the fears. Fears come up in many ways, and you’ll have to stay on your toes to watch for them, but you can face your fears and work your way through them by understanding them better.
It’s not easy, but you can do it. And it’s worth it.
I believe in you.
Much love.
Jess xo.