How to Pivot Careers at Any Age
90,000 hours. This is the generally agreed upon number of hours the average American will spend at their work over their lifetime. We can all agree- this is a serious chunk of time. I don’t believe that it is unreasonable to spend the majority of this time working at something satisfying and fulfilling, yet for those of us who are less than thrilled about our work, changing course can be daunting.
To my mind, there are 3 things that can get in the way of even getting started:
1. What we think other people will think or say.
2. Believing that you are too young, old or that you have too much time invested in your current job to change.
3. Having no idea how or where to even start.
Let’s unpack these a bit.
What will (fill in the blank) think/say?
Many of us, maybe most of us, have awareness of what other people think or say about us. As tribal creatures, humans are wired to want to be a part of a community. We want to feel accepted and loved. On a really basic level, this represents safety to us. Even if we don’t care what the larger world thinks of us, we generally have a person or two whose approval is important to us.
When we change something about ourselves, we change everything about ourselves. This, of course, changes the basis of important relationships. If Dad is proud that you are an attorney, would he still love an accept you if you left that profession to pursue art? The question is whether you think Dad loves you because of your job which you may see as your identity or does he just simply love the person that you are.
The complexities of working through this kind of challenge is beyond the scope of this article. Suffice it to say that it is important for each of us to separate out the, perhaps false, perceptions we have about what an important person thinks about us and our career choice and what is actually true. Clarifying that is a great start.
Perception of age and time
I wish I had a nickel for every time I heard this one. While it is true that some career choices have an upper age limit or a lower age limit, most do not. Consider taking a deeper look at this one. It can be an easy excuse to stay where you are.
Also in this category is the idea that you have so much time and energy invested in where you are that you should just stay and “ride it out”. This can be a really valid point. You might be weeks or months away from a bonus payout or being fully vested in your employer investment package. It can make total sense to stay put.
At the same time, this can be a bit dangerous to our well-being if it means that we dismiss the desire to do something different with the immense amount of time we spend in our work life. Consider the possibility of laying a foundation for an “exit” or transition. This can look like putting together a business plan, taking online courses or apprenticing with someone in the field you are interested in entering. The idea here is to establish a pattern of forward movement regardless of your current circumstance.
But I don’t know how!
Of course you don’t know how. If you did, you would already be doing it! The fact of the matter is that there a TON of resources out there, many of them free. You can easily access answers to many of the questions you have about getting started in your preferred career path.
It can be helpful to include the steps to accessing the training that you need as well as the training process itself into your strategy. Many of us look at this part of the process as a barrier rather than actionable steps we can take to get to out end goal. If, for example, part of your forward progress is researching relevant training programs or learning how to set up a business, you begin to find it a bit easier to feel like you are getting some traction.
The bottom line, just start. Acknowledge your fears about taking the steps without letting them stop you. Surround yourself with people who want you to succeed and are cheering you on. Listen to their wisdom and perspective and learn to trust that inner wisdom that has been with you all along!
