So you have made the decision to change your career - and now you know you want to change, do you know what you want to do instead?
For some, it is an easy question - they have a secret passion or an overwhelming desire to do one particular profession. But for others, choosing what else they can do can be a difficult task - it feels as though there are too many options to think of or you feel restricted to a tiny few - none of which are particularly appealing. This can leave you even more confused! You may find it hard to decide on a new career more because of the limitations you are putting on yourself, rather than any practical or sensible rationale. Your self-confidence has a huge impact on what you think you can do and so it makes sense to start with this, to make absolutely sure you are choosing a career that you truly want and not one that you think you could or should want.
Step One - Think Big!
The first thing to bear in mind when choosing a new career is that there is NO career or profession that you CANNOT consider. I know that probably sounds a little far-fetched, but there really is no need for you to filter out particular choices because they seem too incredible or ridiculous for you to want. The only thing stopping you having any type of career is how much effort you want to put into it to achieve it. If you have sufficient passion and energy around your choice, you can accomplish anything.
You may feel that you have to suspend disbelief to think of all the possibilities once you allow yourself to dream of anything and everything - that's okay. No-one is going to force you to do any of them! Just let your mind drift off to those dreams and aspirations you had when you were younger. When you were little, what did you want to be? What careers do you hear of now that leave you envious of the people who do them day in, day out? How would you like to introduce yourself to others? This is your list, so make it count. Make it truthful and try to avoid rejecting options outright, just because you aren't sure of how to get there - that is the next step!
Step Two - Where are your Boundaries?
No, I'm not going to talk about how you should limit yourself - far from it! I want you to reach for the moon, if that's what you want! But, in order to make these dreams feel more real, you have to understand why you think they are only a dream right now. What is it about your choices that feel out of reach? I can tell you now, there is not one reason you could come up with that actually stops you - and I don't care how practical or logical it sounds! The reasons we give for not going after our dreams are encased in lots of practical, financial or logical decisions, but the essence of each one is that you don't feel that you can achieve them. They feel outside your capabilities, bound in by your limitations. The truth is, you have no restrictions or limitations that could stop you if you want it badly enough. You have everything you need right now to get moving on this goal. The trick is to know what you are telling yourself that is making it feel impossible.
So write down, next to each of your possible choices, what is stopping you from achieving this goal? Be as honest as you can, and write down all the reasons you can think of, from practical and financial to the more emotional ones, the ones that question your ability to be what you need to be.
Once you have this list, we are ready for step three...
Step Three - Breaking Free!
When you were completing the exercise above, I bet that the answers start having a pattern to them "I am not ... enough". These are known as limiting beliefs and they are statements that your brain currently believes to be true about what you are capable of, based on past evidence. The fact is they are only true because, as soon as you think of such a statement, your brain looks to confirm that for you. And it does a very good job! The reason - because it ONLY looks for those things that will prove it - it disregards anything that is in conflict with that belief. Think about it - two people see the same pretty girl on television. One thinks she is too skinny, one thinks she is too fat - which one is right? The answer is, both of them - when you take into account what they are choosing to believe.
This can work for you as well as against you. If you now draw a line through all these things stopping you and instead write down what you need to believe and do to make the dream happen, you can begin reprogramming your brain to find proof that these exist instead. Don't believe me? Try it! Pick one of the beliefs you had, rewrite it to what you would want to believe and then think back in your past to a time that this is proven - you WILL find something! Do this with all of them and you will realise just how much you can accomplish - that you have always been able to accomplish - by thinking that you are capable of more!
This should boost your confidence to the point where you are comfortable to look at ALL the choices in front of you and make a choice based on reasoning and NOT limited by what you think you should feel happy with. You may find this process quite difficult, particularly if some of your beliefs have been with you your entire life. But stick with it, maybe ask a friend to help you and eventually you will realise that you are not immediately dismissing possibilities and you are ready to stretch and challenge yourself to do something amazing!
