Silencing the "What If's" of Career Transitions
Navigating Career Changes with Confidence when you're a Highly Sensitive Person
Do “What if’s” plague you when you contemplate changing careers?
- “What if I choose the wrong thing?”
- “What if I completely mess up my career?”
- “What if I can’t pay my bills?”
- “What if people raise their eyebrows at me for leaving a secure job?”
If these questions resonate with you, take comfort in knowing you’re not alone. It’s perfectly natural—even prudent—to ask these questions. The real issue arises when these “what-ifs” paralyze you, causing years of struggle and preventing you from moving forward.
But there’s good news: there are many antidotes to this paralysis, even when you’re a highly sensitive person. In this post, we’ll explore how to get started so you can forever silence the limiting “what-ifs”.
Whether you’re contemplating a major career shift or simply seeking more meaning in your current role, this guide will provide you with tools to navigate your journey with greater confidence and purpose.
Ready to begin? Let’s start by examining how to approach these larger, life-affirming questions and use them as a compass for your career decisions.
1. Ask the Big Questions.
It starts with shifting your perspective and asking yourself larger, more profound questions:
- “Am I living my life, or am I living out a story that isn’t mine?”
- “What wants to come into the world through me?”
- “Do the choices I’m making diminish me or enhance me?”
These questions (and others like them) are important to ask as you embark on the journey of a career transition. They open up a whole new world of self-reflection and possibility. They encourage you to look beyond your current situation and immediate fears, so you can consider the broader impact of your choices on your personal growth and fulfillment.
2. Dream Big, Really Big.
Dreaming big is key. If you’re afraid you’re becoming delusional with fantastical dreams, don’t worry, we reality-check it, and the real world will right-size it for you. If you start too small, the right-sizing will whittle it down to something that barely motivates you.
I invite you to dare to dream those dreams that are on your heart. Dream of the perfect day, the perfect work environment, the work that lights you up. Even if it doesn’t exist yet, even if you can’t make any money from it (yet!), lean into it until you feel that excitement, joy, spark of possibility.
This step can be a barrier for some because when they try to do it, they come up with nothing. Or, they dismiss their dream as being to unrealistic. As well, it can be difficult to dream when you’re , including burned-out or if you haven’t addressed limiting stories about what you can and can’t do.
This is where working with a partner or even a career coach who is trained to help you tap into your vision and unravel your stories can really help. There are many tools and tricks to open up your vision.
Below is a video that explains what I mean about limiting stories. It starts with an old video of Carl Jung and is followed by a more detailed explantion of the unconscious mind. Many of our current tools are rooted in Jung’s ideas.
3. Include You
If you want a career with more meaning, include who you really are as a starting point. If you don’t, you’ll do all this work and end up somewhere, wondering why you’re there. Of course, you’re thinking you’re already starting with who you are, because who else could you be? But the truth is we’ve all built up layers around our true selves that help us stay safe and fit in so we can navigate our careers successfully.
But, when we are craving meaning, those layers really get in the way. It really pays off to peel away the layers of cultural conditioning and access your true self.
I love using Astrology and Human Design with my clients. It’s like I hold up a very profound mirror to ourselves and we see things about ourselves that we deeply knew but hid away from ourselves.
You don’t have to become someone new to go after a dream. You return to your real, true self.
4. Do it Your Way - A Way that Honors You and Your Sensitivty
There is so much messaging in our culture like, “Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway”. Or, “Leap and the Net Will Appear!” While this is motivating for some, for me, it made me freeze. It made me believe that a death-defying leap was the only way, and I knew my nervous system wasn’t built for it. The thing is that “Do What You Love and The Money Will Follow” is not as motivating for those of us who are highly sensitive people. Just know that you can move into work that’s more meaningful and do it in a way that is aligned with who you are.
Leap if that’s right for you. But, the thought of a leap makes you freeze, there are ways to do it in a more mindful manner that isn’t so overwhelming. Your journey to a more meaningful career is waiting for you, and you’ve got everything it takes to make it happen. Here’s to finding the path that makes you truly happy!
A Guide for Your Journey
Silencing the “What if’s” of career transitions is a process. While it might seem daunting, it is be a fulfilling process. Yes, it takes a little work, but it’s the right work at the right time and produces the results you want.
As a career coach, my special skill is helping people begin their journeys to more meaningful work. It’s right there in my Human Design chart that I’m good at beginning things and I am an idea factory. I use these skills, along with Astrology, Human Design, and coaching skills to help my clients get on the more meaningful career paths. If you’re planning a career change and are having a hard time getting started, I’d love to help!
Stay sensitive!
P.S. Did you know that there is career transition map? Pinpointing where you are on that map can help increase your confidence and reduce your anxiety. This can be particularly helpful if you’re a highly sensitive person and change has been thrust upon you. You can find the link here.
P.P.S. I wonder if you could help me out by answering a market research question. Click here to access the one-question research.
