Rolling the dice on your career moves
“It is confidence in our bodies, minds, and spirits that allows us to keep looking for new adventures.” ~ Oprah Winfrey
The multi-million dollar question, as is said – should I stay or should I go? How do we ever know if what we’re doing is the right thing until we’ve done it and got going enough to find out? The question I would counter this particular enquiry with is this. “How will you feel if you are where you are in 12 months time and things are the same and you’re another year older?” You might counter this with “You know what, with all I’ve got going on, actually it will be alright for me. I just need to get more out of what I’m doing” or that kind of thinking and if that’s you, then I agree too.
I’m not an advocate of moving roles, organisations or industries for the sake of it or to prove the point that you can, it’s about what feels right for you. It’s about you knowing how you feel about what you’re doing, how long you can see yourself doing it for and your appetite to take a chance on yourself, to back yourself and to roll the dice on your career progress.
If you think of any big move you’ve made in your life – getting married, having a child, changing roles so far, buying a home, selling a home – all big moves which affect all areas of your life. These decisions were made with the same conscious and sub-conscious influences which you use to decide if or when you’ll make a career move. You’ve followed that guidance and then rolled the dice. See what I mean below, I know I look at things through these lenses.
- What will this do for me?
- How do I know I’m ready and feel right about it?
- What are the benefits to doing this?
- What are the risks and how will I handle them?
- How will this decision affect others?
- Can I see myself being happy with things as they are?
- What would I tell someone else to do if they asked me for advice?
Once you’ve sense-checked yourself and taken a good look at your responses to the above questions you’ll know if it’s time to roll the dice again and take that leap of faith.
It’s not always the time – in fact rarely ever – the perfect time. Most of the time though, it’s worth really closely considering.
(Extracted from Kay White’s 2nd Book – Title, TBA)