Do you ever sit at your desk, or lie in bed at night, and wonder if you’re in the right job? Or living the right life for you? If so, you’re not alone but nonetheless fielding doubt about your chosen career can be scary.
For a start it can be hard to ascertain whether it’s fleeting or fixed. Is it just a passing response when what you really need is a break? Or is it something more permanent? If it is permanent, you are likely to have asked yourself these questions: What can you do about it? What else do you want to do? How could you afford to retrain? Are you just being fussy?
When I was unhappily working in commercial law I described my internal angst as cognitive dissonance of sorts. Like I had spent years saving up for a very expensive purchase, only to get it home and realise it wasn’t what I wanted.
It felt like I was having an affair and the worse part was I felt like I was cheating myself and my colleagues. Not enjoying my job felt disloyal. I spent quite a bit of time assuming it would get better and that my frustration would resolve itself. As I have written before, in the end, my decision to leave law was forced.
One thing that struck me about that experience was that even in the aftermath of what was a torrid few months, making the call to resign was still difficult. It was crystal clear to me that I needed to resign but, even still, actually doing it felt scary. It’s why I empathise with anyone who feels trapped in a job they dislike; the pull of the devil we know is strong and often seems less scary than the unknown.
That empathy notwithstanding, I also really believe it’s worthwhile running the risk and seeking out change if you’re genuinely dissatisfied. And, I think, most of us know, deep down, when we’re properly dissatisfied as opposed to just having a bad week.
If you fall into the former camp and think you really do need a change – whether that’s a new role, a new industry or a completely different career – I’d like to invite you to the My Agenda webinar we are hosting on Wednesday 3rd of April at 12.30pm with Megan Dalla-Camina. The topic is picking the time for change (and making it happen). Megan Dalla-Camina will help you figure out what is driving you to consider change, identify what you want to achieve with any change and how to take the first steps.
At the end of the session, the goal is for you to feel more confident about your situation and have some tools for dealing with it.
To join the webinar you’ll need to be a member of the My Agenda community. As a Women’s Agenda supporter, your introductory month is only $25 then $35 for subsequent months.
Join today to see what change can do for you.
If you are unable to attend this webinar for whatever reason, as a My Agenda member you can catch up later as all webinars are saved and recorded for you to listen in to when you have the time.