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This is the grand-daddy of career myths, the belief that you cant have a practical career doing something that you were passionate about. It has to be one or the other. This myth is rooted in fear. Fear that we have to sacrifice our happiness to make a living. Dont buy the myth that you cant earn a living by doing what you love. When I first started coaching, I heard from plenty of people that it would be very difficult to make a living doing this work. I just decided to find coaches who were successful, and to learn from them (simple, eh?). If you find yourself buying into this myth, consider this question - As you look back on your life, what will you regret more? Following your passion or following your fears? Career Myth #2: Its a tough job market/economy Even when the newspapers and other news sources say that unemployment numbers remain steady, that job growth is at a standstill, or that were experiencing slow economic recovery, not to mention downsizing and outsourcing, dont believe it. Its a myth because it doesnt reflect the whole story, the fact that that its a different job market today. Its a changing economy. How we transition from job-to-job is different. Hiring practices have shifted. So the job market has changed, but that doesnt necessarily make it tougher. What makes it tougher is that weve been slower to change. Weve held on to old practices and old behaviors. Thats not to say that old ways still dont work, but theyre just not as effective. So I challenge you to just believe that its a perfect job market for you to find work. Ive had my college students try this, just for a week, and, more times than not, several of them find job leads or make important connections during the week. Career Myth #3: Changing careers is risky Whats riskier than leaving what you know to pursue the unknown? Changing careers means leaving behind a piece of your identity - your Im a lawyer response to the what-do-you-do? question. It might mean admitting to yourself that you made a mistake with an initial career choice. Or it might mean acknowledging that youre unsure of whats next. And smart people always know whats next, right? Nope. Successful career changers often dont have a plan. In Working Identity: How Successful Career Changers Turn Fantasy into Reality by Herminia Ibarra, she provided evidence that waiting until you have a plan is actually riskier than just doing and experimenting. Nothing, absolutely nothing, is riskier than not changing careers if youre longing to do so. Heres why: The longing wont go away. It will always be there, under the surface, waiting for you to do something about it. Career Myth #4: Always have a back-up plan Sometimes having a back-up plan is the smart and prudent course of action. Back-up plans are so grown-up and responsible. But what happens when youre standing with one foot in and one foot out? In my experience, we usually close the door and retreat. We are reluctant to commit to ourselves, and we end up denying ourselves the satisfaction of playing full-out, getting dirty and sweaty. We end up with feelings of regret and the nagging What if? question. Back-up plans diffuse our energy. Diffused energy equals diffused results. Give all that youve got to your dream/passion/risk and youve got a better chance of being successful. Career Myth #5: Theres a perfect job out there for everyone How long have you been searching for yours? You just know, deep inside, that theres an ideal job thats perfect for you out there. It matches your personality, skills, and interests to a tee. And it pays well. If only you could figure it out. If only you knew what it was. Is there a perfect job out there for you? No. And heres the good news - there are more jobs than you can imagine that would be perfect for you. Chances are youve even come very, very close to a few of those perfect jobs already. So what happened? And how do you recognize one of these so-called perfect jobs? Ever see the perfect gift for someone, but it was months till his or her birthday? Then when you go to find the item later, you cant. Another lost opportunity and you, once again, berate yourself for not buying it when you first saw it. So maybe youve run into a perfect job in the past, but because of the timing, you passed by the opportunity. Or maybe you were so focused on something else, that you missed an obvious clue. Instead of dwelling on the past, which you cant change, vow to keep your eyes open and to look beyond the obvious. Career Myth #6: Asking Whats the best thing for me to do? is the right question This is one of the most common questions asked when considering a career change or a career move. It seems like a logical analysis - weigh the pros and cons and evaluate the balance. Do not ask yourself this question!! It rarely leads you to the answers youre seeking. It will lead you to feeling overwhelmed with options (sound familiar?), or feeling like you have to choose whats practical over what seems to be impractical. The question that will lead you to answers is simple (but not easy!!) It is What do I really want to do? This is a very different question than whats best? Career Myth #7: If you dont like your job, youre probably in the wrong career Cause and effect, right? One way to tell if youre in the right career is whether or not you like your job. If youre dissatisfied with your job, its probably a sign that you need to re-examine your whole career choice. This is frequently what I hear from new clients who have decided to work with a career coach. They know something isnt right because they dont like their jobs. Their natural assumption is that their dissatisfaction is a symptom of a larger underlying issue - their career choice. This is an example of false logic. Not liking your job might be telling you youre in the wrong job. It doesnt necessarily mean youre in the wrong career. It doesnt even mean youre in the wrong job. You could just be working for the wrong person or the wrong company. It takes a skillful approach to discern the source of discontent, and I think its very hard to do it on your own (shameless plug for career coaches here!) Career Myth #8: Everyone needs a mission statement Do you know what your mission is? Mission statements are supposed to guide us, keep us on track, and help us move forward. But what if you dont have one? Does that mean youre destined to never fulfill your potential career-wise? A client who was a successful professional contacted me because she was at a career crossroads. She felt that if only she could find her mission in life, she would know which career path to take. She had a clear goal for coaching - find her mission! Instead, the most amazing thing happened. She decided that she didnt need a mission. She chose to trust that she was already fulfilling her mission statement, even though she didnt know what it was. After the client shifted her focus from finding her mission to living her life, an amazing opportunity came her way and she pursued it. Heres a little tip: If your mission statement is elusive, stop chasing it. Be still and let it find you. And in the meantime, keep living your life and see what happens. Career Myth #9: Expect a career epiphany When you see a link to Find Your Dream Job, do you immediately click on it to see whats there? Do you look at every Top Ten Career list out there to see if anything catches your interest? Do you know your MBTI type? If you do, you might be falling prey to the career epiphany myth. Id love, love, love it if most of my clients had a career epiphany that indicated to them, in crystal-clear terms, their next step. Instead, I see career unfoldings or a journey of discovery much more regularly. That is, being willing to not ignore the obvious, the pokes, the prods, and listen carefully to the whisper within. Yep, forget harp music and angels, for most of us, the career epiphany is a quiet whisper. Career Myth #10: Ignoring your career dissatisfaction will make it go away Oh, if only this worked in the long run!! Granted, it does work at first. When you find yourself beginning to question your career, youll find its rather easy to push the thoughts aside and pretend they arent there. You know what Im talking about: the what ifs and the list of regrets. Over time, the random thoughts become nagging thoughts. You spend more and more time daydreaming about options. You build your list of reasons to ignore your growing career dissatisfaction:
With clients in this situation, we work on identifying and challenging these fears. Sometimes the fear of change remains, but there becomes a greater commitment to living than to feeling the fear. Challenge So now that you know that one or all of these myths have been holding you back, what are you waiting for? |
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