aNewDomain — Don’t resign on Monday. First, really think about all your options. You can disrupt yourself and create the life, and the self, that feels right. And you can do it right now. After all, quitting your job and switching careers is easy. But you still have to take yourself with you. Turning your habits, choices and lifestyle in a new direction is harder. But it’s worth it, provided true change is really what you seek.
Choose fulfillment.
Before you get to the point of breaking down, consider the wise words of Roman Krznaric, a teacher at The School of Life in London. He sets out a practical and innovative guide to negotiating the labyrinth of choices and how you can overcome the fear of change that haunts so many otherwise brave and intrepid souls. Finding the career you’ll thrive in is key to this work.
Check out the excellent animation below.
Video: The School of Life
A comment on Youtube says it all:
Yet another brilliant video. I wish I had this during or before my mental break down in my senior university years. I’m lucky enough that I happen to stumble upon a career path of my liking, but the wisdom shed in this work would have saved me.”
How not to regret your job on your deathbed.
Many working age folks gave up during the recession on a chance to reconsider their options. There are new openings, now, but the scars of the recession are fear. Set that fear outside. Panic and trepidation are your enemy.
The School of Life did some intriguing research on this very subject:
Never have so many people felt so unfulfilled in their career roles … and been so unsure what to do about it. Most surveys in the West reveal that at least half the workforce are unhappy in their jobs. One cross-European study showed that 60 per cent of workers would choose a different career if they could start again. In the United States, job satisfaction is at its lowest level — 45 per cent — since record-keeping began over two decades ago.”
Reinventing yourself is a natural part of life. The courage to reinvent is a mark of resilience — and the mark of greatness. If you’re unhappy, spend some time and tackle a new way of being and thinking. Think about who you really are and who you want to be. You don’t need to quit your job on Monday. At least, not this Monday. What thrills you? What satisfies you? What adjustments do you need in your attitude and in your daily life choices to have the confidence and courage to get where you want to be?
The ultimate criteria, as the animation above reminds us, is not to become the person or stay at the job you’ll regret on your deathbed.
Sobering, but true.
For aNewDomain, I’m David Michaelis.
