It happened again.
In the past two weeks, multiple leaders shared with me they were no longer satisfied or happy in their current job, and knew it was time to leave.
But they are planning to wait.
Wait until they see a job they like. Wait until their big project is completed. Wait until they have more experience, get a promotion, get permission, decide what they really want to do, wait for the market to shift, their partner’s situation to become more stable, etc., etc., etc..
All are perfectly practical reasons, and make alot of sense… except if you’re not happy.
Remember what I know to be truth. Fact:
- You are here for a reason – to have the impact you are meant to achieve.
- Feeling joy – the exhilaration of being “at the top of your game,” doing what you do in that special way that you do it, almost effortlessly – is both a litmus test and compass to having impact/living in your purpose.
Therefore, if you’re not happy – it’s your responsibility to “fix” that. The people you are meant to help by “simply” BE-ing your best self – are counting on you!
You can approach addressing this in either of two ways:
- Look at what’s “preventing” you from being happy in your current role, and create strategies to shift your mindset and breakthrough old patterns, test assumptions, and create the causes and conditions you need to thrive in your current situation. [I alway recommend starting here.]
- Look at what’s “preventing” you from resigning or making a leap, and create strategies to shift your mindset and breakthrough old patterns, test assumptions, and create the causes and conditions you need to make a change.
Yup.
Either way, inward “intel-gathering” is the necessary – and often missing piece – to unlocking clarity on what to do, or how to negotiate a promotion, be valued, write a compelling cover letter, nail an interview, and more!
When thinking about our situation, we tend to focus on others – the factors that are all out of our control: a challenging boss, a lack of resources. We have assumptions and limiting beliefs about what is and is not possible for us, or what we should or should not do (which can all look like best practices, industry standards, expert advice, proven biases, being practical and being responsible).
Instead, by knowing, valuing and speaking our unique impact that comes from how we show up – from BEing our best selves – we create our own momentum and possibility – with grace, with joy, with impact.
For as many clients as I have who took their “leap” and are living in their self-described “Dream Scenarios/Lives” (over 200 now – some who re-positioned themselves and their leadership in their current situations, and others who made a change), I would say that there are just as many wonderful leaders I’ve met who are still “stuck” and still “waiting” and thus not having the impact they are meant to have. They may be inadvertently and figuratively folding their arms, bracing, preventing opportunities to occur. In paralysis. In resistance. Fear.
I know from personal experience what that fear hiding as being practical feels like. It took me almost a year to trust and honor the “pulling” I was feeling, and make the decision four years ago to resign to “do things that made my heart sing.”
All that all we have is the present moment to live fully.
When my son had brain cancer I was at his bedside every day in the hospital AND launching a thriving business (this flexibility and joy would have never been possible if I hadn’t taken my leap).
I’ve just returned from my dear father-in-law’s funeral in England, where my husband has been able to spend weeks there helping his mother and siblings (which would have never been possible if he hadn’t taken a leap into early retirement).
We’re living in a place we would have never thought possible, doing things we never thought possible, I’m working with people that bring me joy every single day, in ways I would have never thought possible (and experts SAID it wasn’t possible!)
Please don’t wait.
If you sense that a change of some kind is needed, and you are hesitating, or your mind keeps going in circles as you run all the different scenarios, please:
- Know you’re normal!
- Value your instincts that it’s time for a shift.
- Understand that to be “happy” is not a selfish act. Feeling joy is a litmus test for making a difference in the lives of others. Professionally and personally. It’s your purpose. And therefore, your responsibility.
- Look inward. There’s a guided process that can help you thrive in your current situation/role or in creating a new one..
To your success,
Kathryn
In just four years, over 200 of Kathryn’s clients have moved from being “stuck,” to now living their Dream Scenarios; following their passion in corporations and businesses, theaters, symphony orchestras, operas, dance companies, foundations, arts and culture departments, universities and social service agencies around the world.