What, in your life and work, is it time to put to rest?
Death and decay are an integral part of the ecosystem, and without them, there can be no renewal or fresh life.
If we hold on to whatever’s no longer serving us, we don’t make space for those green shoots to poke out of the earth.
Staying in a relationship that isn’t right doesn’t allow the chance to meet someone new. Slogging it out in an unfulfilling job and holding onto an outdated work identity doesn’t give us the opportunity to reinvent ourselves.
Doing a “pre-mortem” on your existing career can create fertile soil for new beginnings. One way to describe a pre-mortem is that if you do it right, you won’t have to suffer the regrets of a challenging post-mortem.
Identify the relationships you want to preserve or repair, and take those people out for a coffee while you’re still in the job – otherwise it might be harder to reconnect once you’re gone
Look out for any projects going on internally that might give you the chance to diversify your experience and tell a different story about your time there
Make a note of any achievements you’ve made, big or small (ideally quantifying the results) as it’s all too easy to forget.
Gather evidence of when you’ve used your favourite skills – i.e. the ones that you actually enjoy using and would want to bring with you into a new career.
Seeing these dying days of your current job as a chance to lay the foundations for what comes next - an opportunity rather than an ordeal - can help re-energise you for your career change.
As Buddist leader and author Thich Nhat Hanh said,
“no mud, no lotus”.
If you want get clearer how you can create the most fertile conditions for your own career change, feel free to book in a free call with me.