Career Change...Is it Just Too Hard?

I received a phone call from a new client who was frustrated with her career. Each day work drained her energy and left her longing for bed. The interesting thing was that after a few minutes this client told me exactly what career she wanted. She knew what she wanted to do but was not pursuing her dream. Why? She was holding onto the limiting belief that "Changing careers is too hard. It will take too much work." Here she was stuck in a job she didn't like because she was afraid it would be too hard to change.

This client is not alone. The old saying, "The devil you know is often better then the devil you don't." is an old saying for a reason. We are willing to put up with the job we know because we are afraid of change and how hard it might be. But what is hard? I think hard is getting up every morning and dragging out the door to a job I hate. Hard is having this hopeless feeling that I'll be going to this job, spending precious hours of my life, at a place I dread being at. It is hard work showing up at a job that drains my energy and leaves me unable to really enjoy life even after I leave the workplace in the evening. Now THAT is what I consider hard!!

Pursuing a new career, one that interests and excites you can be a great adventure with loads of fun. Will it take some time and energy? Absolutely! Energy and work spent on something you love is a completely different feeling then spending energy on something you dislike. Think back to a time when you learned something new...something you wanted to learn. Maybe when you first learned to ride a bike. You got on the bike and everything felt wobbly and scary. There probably were a lot of falls that first day. But you kept practicing because you wanted to ride that bike! Pretty soon you could ride a little ways with out falling. What a feeling! Before long you were zipping around the neighborhood with the wind in your hair.

When you first begin to change your career or start that new business it is often overwhelming. Just like when you learned to ride a bike everything feels new and unsteady. There is so much to learn and accomplish. Take it easy on yourself and break your tasks into small steps. Take one step at a time and allow mistakes and learning to take place. All of this... mistakes, overwhelm, fear, comes with change and you will be alright.

Take those small steps, keeping your eyes on the goal and before you know it you will have the career or business you have always dreamed of. Oh, and guess what? You will look back and say, "Yes, it took some work but it was absolutely worth it!"

Leanna Fredrich helps people discover their passion and build a business or career around it. To contact her send an email to coach@leannafredrich.com