What if I told you that taking action, even when you’re not ‘ready’ is one of the smartest things you could ever do to fast-track your way to a kick-ass career that you love?
A CRAZY and ridiculous notion, no?
At face value, YES. But let me explain what I’m REALLY getting at; it’s not what you think…
Translated into rockin’ career speak, How often have YOU put off or PROCRASTINATED doing or pursuing something you REALLY wanted (i.e. transitioning to a new career, asking for a raise or perhaps even investing in yourself, a new interview suit, professional conference registration, etc.) because of the ‘uncertainty’ and ‘unknown’ that accompany it?
(HINT: there’s a ‘COST’ to this, and we’ll get to it more in a minute)…
I think it’s fair to say that most if not ALL of us have been in this scenario at least once: you have an ephiphany or an “aha!” moment about something that you feel sure is MEANT for you (let’s say transitioning to a new career field, for example), but, since you’ve never attempted such an undertaking before, you have no prior point of reference to go from…and in turn, this causes quite (natural) ANXIETY, characterized by big, bright neon lights in front of your eyes flashing ‘Caution! Unknown territory!’ And that DOESN’T feel too swanky or make you very encouraged to actually TAKE that step and move forward…so you don’t. And guess where that leaves you? In the same place as you were before.
THE ‘DARK SIDE’ OF SECURITY
Why do we as intelligent beings do these things to ourselves? Naturally, we like certainty and familiarity, and a sense of ‘safety’ or ‘security’ in our lives. And these are all good things to have and esire…until we take them to the extreme that we feel we need to feel them ALL the time, and anything else is ‘wrong’. And that’s where it gets ‘costly’.
How?
In a nutshell, if we only want what’s ‘safe’, ‘secure’ and ‘familiar’ in our lives, then what room is there for exploration, adventure and new experiences and NEW possibilities? And how motivated are we actually going to feel to take ACTION to get ‘there’ ? (the answer: Zero, ZILCH, Nada)
THE READY ‘MYTH’ (aka The Myth of ‘What If…’)
The easiest way to ‘cope’ with all that ‘uncertainty’ furiously dancing ’round in your head that surrounds making the decision to move forward in pursuit of your (new career field, etc.) is to frankly, find a way to get yourself back to a ‘safe’, ‘secure’ place in your mind ASAP, aka convincing yourself off all the reasons why you SHOULDN’T pursue [it]. And sadly, that’s what many of us tend to do by nature, when faced with such a situation.
In other words, you start populating your mind with a swarming tornado of “What if it’s too ‘costly’?” or “What if [x] or [y] doesn’t happen?”, or “What if I don’t do it ‘right’?” or “What if I’m not ‘ready’?”, all to justify your ‘need’ to stay ‘safe’ ( do NOTHING).
And letting this be the ONLY factor in swaying your decision to not move forward is one of WORST things you can ever do…because there’s a huge COST to it that you never realized.
THE ‘COST’ OF DOING NOTHING
If you allow yourself to BELIEVE that you’re not ‘good enough’, or not prepared enough, or it ‘costs too much’ or you’re not ‘READY’, then you do NOTHING, procrastinate, and stay STUCK…and 3, 6, 12 months from now, you find yourself (grumbling and frustrated) in the EXACT same deflating, dull job, salary or situation as you are today.
And not only is that NOT rockin’, it’s COSTING you more than you can ever imagine…like your happiness, confidence, stress levels, eating habits, lifestyle, physical and mental well-being, social relationships, motivation, productivity and/or your upward mobility at work, and your overall joie de vivre for life as a whole…all things that have INFINITELY more VALUE in them than physical, tangible $.
So, in turn, NOW what is truly the COST of doing nothing?
Truth be told, the KEY to actually turning this mindset around and being able to move past your anxiety surrounding ‘unknown’ and ‘uncertainty’ and move forward towards your deepest, JUICIEST goals in your life is to DECIDE and ACKNOWLEDGE that…
While you may never feel truly ‘ready’, the COST of doing nothing is way more than the ‘cost’ of taking that FIRST STEP, experimenting, and learning from the experience…and then course-correcting (as need be), with the new knowledge and EXPERIENCE you’ll have gained, making you THAT much more ‘ready’ to take the next step, and then the next, and then the next….until you start to build momentum, and each step inches you closer and closer towards what you truly desire, and then …PRESTO!
Furthermore, once you make the DECISION in your mind to take that first small step FORWARD, whatever it may be, no matter how it makes you feel at first, and you KEEP going, you’ll start to see your ‘path’ getting clearer and clearer and your efforts more refined and more impactful, with the outcome becoming more aligned with what you desire and possibly, even BETTER than you ever imagined.
Easier said than done? I get you. So, just HOW do you take that first STEP if you’re not feeling ‘ready’ or confused about where to start?
Acknowledge that you’re NOT ready to accept things that way they are now, in 3,6, 12 months from now, and THIS, on its own, makes you READY. So, NOW are you….
READY TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT?
Do you feel uncertain of your ‘readiness’ to make a career move, unsure of HOW to assess your most transferable skills and market yourself smart, or perhaps not clear on what knowledge, resources or skills you need to move forward in your career switch?
If you’re READY for an ANSWER, then I’m your partner in crime. Hit me up for a Career Transition Consultation.
p.s. Helping people get unstuck and on the right track to their dream career is not only my specialty, it’s also one of the most COMMON challenges my (most successful) clients come to me with…and if you fancy, you can read about a few of my ‘rockstars’ and the AWESOME things they’ve accomplished, in their own words here.
Keep ROCKIN’,
Vicki
