I had a man ask me, “How how does one make a major transition from a job that he was doing most of his life to start a different line of work?”
Great question.
How many of us don’t pursue our dreams and desires because the hurdle to change seems too vast and too big?
Let me share a bit of my story.
I left my well paying clinical pharmacist career to become a full time life coach. I also moved from the US to South America at the same time I left my job. Big changes for sure.
Was I able to do this overnight? No. It took me almost 10 years to actually do it.
So how do you transition from one career to a completely different one? How do you change from one way of living into something different?
For me I had to get clear on my
“WHY”
.
Why did I want to leave a well paying career, start a new career from scratch, and move my family to another hemisphere?
My “WHY” was I wanted to help men escape the routines and boxes they found themselves in, when those things were preventing them living in their full potential on this planet.
I wanted to be part of a process that allows men to show up fully as our best selves, and thereby create a better world for us all to live in.
My “WHY” for moving to South America was that I wanted to have a non-US living experience, connect with people who did not share my cultural background, and become fluent in Spanish.
My “WHY” resonated deep into the core of my body. I care about these things.
What resonates so deeply in you that you can’t ignore it?
You must have clarity on your “WHY” because that is where you get the energy for the next part: “HOW.”
HOW can be a long and laborious list of steps. It can take many months or years to complete.
But like the saying goes, “When is the best time to plant a tree? 20 years ago. When is the second best time to plant a tree? Today!”
Once you know your WHY, get started on the HOW.
My list of “HOW” included all the steps involved with going to Life Coaching school, getting out of debt, getting my wife on-board with my vision and dream, committing to an end date in my pharmacy career, and figuring out the laws and requirements to live as a foreigner in another country.
Reading that list doesn’t seem like much, at least not something that would take 10 years to complete. So why did it take me 10 years to actually become a full time Life Coach and a resident in a foreign country?
It was because of the “WHAT.”
The “WHAT” is what you believe about yourself.
If those beliefs are false and misaligned they hold us back. They are the beliefs that get in our way of forward motion and sabotage our efforts.
As I worked through my list of “HOW”, I had to continually deal with the “WHAT” along the way.
What am I believing that is causing me fear right now?
What am I believing will happen when I leave certainty in my present life, and step into an uncertain future?
What am I believing will happen when it gets hard to complete my “HOW” list?
What will happen if I fail?
For me I had to do a lot of work on WHAT my own beliefs were about who I am and what I am about.
The beliefs about self that are false and misaligned will trip us up and sabotage our efforts to achieve what we are after.
I spent the better part of 10 years dealing with my own sabotaging beliefs as I made progress on my HOW list.
The great news? I did it!
Was it worth 10 years? Of course it was.
Today I am doing what I love, living a life I want, and continuing to learn and grow each day.
And, let me be honest. Some days instead of growing I am dealing with the “WHAT”. What are the beliefs getting in my way today.
The difference is I am much better at recognizing the sabotaging beliefs, and changing them so my beliefs support me living as my best self.
You can do this too!
Use your “WHY” as your fuel to get the “HOW” done, and your “WHY” as the reason to change the “WHAT” stopping you from achieving what you want in your life.
I invite you to share with me your WHY, and the WHAT beliefs you have needed to change to get the HOW accomplished.
You may also like to read, “Why Are You Sorry?”
Image Credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/arrow-shoes-beginning-start-upward-5863776
