It was during my coaching training, when my coach asked me “When will you stop giving all your energy to somebody else’s dream instead of yours?” that it clicked. I had been dreaming about a career change for years, but I had not made it a priority in my life.
Actually, I had! I had done a Master’s Degree, negotiated an internal job move with part-time hours, I had gotten Reiki and coaching certifications and even had some clients already. I was pretty satisfied with my efforts and rightfully so. However, I was still spending most of my days working for someone else and wishing I could dedicate all of my time to MY coaching practice. I felt I needed more energy and time to continue to build it slowly, but my excuse was “I’m just sooo tired! I have family responsibilities and when I get home after a stressful day at work, I don’t have much energy left.”
This is when my coach asked me that question. I then realized that, until I made my own coaching practice a top priority and until I found a way to dedicate my limited time and energy resources to it, it just wasn’t going to happen. There was nowhere else to hide. I had reached the point where, if I wanted to have a career as a coach, that’s where my focus needed to go.
In my case, that meant quitting my job, but it won’t be the same for everyone. But, what is the same is that to make it happen, at some point it needs to become one of your top priorities. When we find ourselves short of time and resources, a conscious effort needs to be made to create time and dedicate the energy, perhaps financial resources as well, in order to make a career change a reality. Time and energy is needed to do research, perhaps train or volunteer, work with a coach or mentor, speak to people in your network, apply for jobs or create a business plan, find your first client, etcetera.
Our lives these days are generally quite full and we feel that time is scarce. For different people it will be different things – a busy social life, family commitments, housework, errands, staying on top of social media and emails, long hours in a current job or most likely a combination of all of these. So my invitation to you today is, if you are a longing for a new career:
What can you say “No” to, in order to say “Yes” to a career change?
For example:
Could you start saying No to social invitations you are not super excited about?
Are you aware of any activities or distractions, such as TV or social media, you could spend less time on?
Could your home be a little less organized once in a while in favour of spending time on your career change instead?
Are there tasks you can start delegating to others (both at home and at work) or pay someone else to do if you can afford it?
Could you negotiate a shorter or compressed work schedule? Work from home some days to avoid time commuting? Take some time off?
Could you block non-negotiable time in your weekly calendar for your career change?
When you look at your daily schedule, how much of it really needs to happen? How much of it is important enough for you to do instead of working on your dream career?
Career change requires commitment, but when you start doing work you love and making your dreams come true, it is truly a life-changing experience. When you take action to create the life you want and begin to feel deeply fulfilled by your work, you start demonstrating to others that it is possible for them too.
I am really glad I’ve done it and excited to now be here to help you make it happen. Just book a complimentary call with me to get started. When you do, you are helping my dreams come true too.