One of the things I do as a coach is help men push into their growing edge, the place that is unfamiliar, maybe scary, but has the potential for so much more than they are experiencing now.
Living in the growing edge often shows up in the process of going through a career change or transition.
Changing careers is a straightforward process, so you might think many men would do it. It is a journey of understanding your strengths and being able to communicate them in a way that shows value to the employer and the position you are after.
It is a process of narrowing down different industries, careers, and possibilities to arrive at your best fit. Then it is a numbers game of making applications and networking with specific people to get the job you want.
Seems easy enough, yet many men never start that process even when they know, deep down, they should.
I suspect that is because it usually requires a willingness to step into the fear and uncertainty of leaving what is familiar, that which they know, and pushing themselves to their growing edge.
So many men in the world have so much more to offer, to contribute, and to do, but they become frozen in their fear, and never attempt something better for themselves.
Have you ever found yourself camping in this place?
They listen to the internal critic that tells them they are already an impostor, so how in the world are they good enough to even think of going after something better?
Maybe that voice tells them they are too old to change careers and can’t compete with younger candidates in the job market. Often the voice just says, it will take too long to really do what you want, so just settle with what you’ve got.
“He just settled.” Is that what you written on your tombstone?
The first step in transitioning or changing careers is calling these voices out for what they are…exaggerations, imaginations, and lies.
Sometimes men buy into the lie of having security in their current job, and they don’t want to risk losing it. Yes, when working for someone else there is security…until the employer downsizes, merges, cuts programs and staff, or a myriad of other things that you, as an employee, have absolutely no control over. In my mind that is false security.
Is it worth trading your potential for a better future for this perceived security?
What might your costs be for this choice?
Maybe it’s staying in a job that drains you mentally and emotionally, with nothing left to give your family or yourself. Worse yet, are you missing the opportunity to be alive in what you are doing for the next 10, 20, or 30 years, and be engaged with life?
Transitioning careers requires a healthy set of beliefs about who you are in the world.
Keeping your mindset healthy and your thoughts anchored in what is true, and not swimming in the pond of disastrous imaginations, is key to having the confidence and energy to pursue your path when changing careers.
Time will pass no matter what you are doing.
Is it worth another year, another 5 years of your life, to continue doing what isn’t working for you? Or, could your time be better spent taking action and moving forward in pursuit of that new career…or in pursuit of any one of your goals that would create a better future?
This is the point, and it applies to more areas than just a career change: If you choose to be the man who pushes into his growing edge, then you will not be the man with the tombstone that says, “He just settled.”
