Scared to death to change career midlife? Completely in a rut and short of ideas? Uncertainty about “where to go next”? I was too! Here are a few hard-won lessons I’ve had so far. You might find one standing tall for yourself.
Your decision belongs to you
Find a midlife career idea that pleases you, but scared to death because you’re not ready to take risks? You can avoid responsibility and stay where you always are. But the consequence of your decision will occur either way.
What if it does not turn out to be good? It’s part of the game. You might “try-out” something to see “if it works”. Or you “know” that it will work, and make it happen.
Stay because you’re scared to fail, scared to have opinions of your own, scared to admit what you want and go for it, scared to be vulnerable? Don’t worry, all of us (well, mostly) do.
But the most successful people know that honesty precedes courage. We want first to be true about what we really want and go for it. I want to help you. You want to help me. But we can’t. Others can only show us the doorway.
And our decisions belong to us.
Midlife change – Follow the signs
I am someone who has good intuition. But I did not listen to it as often as I should. When I sat down and listened to a more profound being that resides within myself, I knew there was a connection. A capacity to know many things, above my normal understanding. Sometimes I didn’t know why. But if I followed, it turned out the right thing to do.
Sometimes, I thought I wanted something, that I did not achieve. And in retrospect, I saw that it did not happen, for my best.
So for a midlife career change, here is one lesson I learned so far. Let go of the control of anything I desire. I abandoned myself to the internal guide, that I knew much bigger than my own”ego”. It guided me with little steps. Sometimes I didn’t really know why. But I felt good. More fulfilled. More sense. And I knew I was on a good path. In the long term, I got the change I wanted.
I learned that “abandoning to myself”, or “abandoning to the universe”, is a better way to obtain what I “truly” want in life.
For a successful midlife career change, actions are the last step
Do you believe that you achieve your success by taking action? I did too. And it turned out to be a bad idea!
Like me, and many others, you probably have been pursuing your midlife career change goals. We are told to set an objective, to make a plan, to take action. I did. For years. Search for a job, make a plan from A to B, reach out, network… Looking back today, I really feel that I was completely lost in these actions. Mill the wind, yes indeed!
What did I learn? Success comes firstly by being mentally prepared for it. With visualization and belief, you win already. Inspired actions are just a “logistics matter”. You follow with ease.
I learned to visualize mentally what I truly wanted, without blocking myself by all the “reality” that people told me to watch out. Consistently and strongly. The universe seemed to finally maneuver in a way to show me the way to navigate.
Is that not something powerful? I felt that, as a human being, I found back the magic and the power in this world. A world in which I thought I was insignificant, powerless, and dependant on all other external forces.
Meaning over anything else
A difficult decision? Remember, “meaning over anything else”. I learn over time to sit back. Feel what I truly want. And see the whole picture of my “existence”, the “why” and the “more”.
Change to meaning is probably one of the nice things that we can at least do, after half of our existence, don’t you think?
I read some time ago “Man’s search for meaning” by Viktor Frankl. He showed an example of human beings, even in extreme conditions of a Nazi concentration camp, could find meaning in their sufferings.
If you are in search of a midlife career change, a change is meant for you. When I had a little bit of difficulty or challenge on my path, I took a step back and saw the big picture.
As conclusion
Find the idea of changing career midlife scary? In short of ideas? Uncertainty about “where to go next”? You know now my 4 hard-won lessons. Stand by your own decision. Be attentive to your internal guide. Mentally prepare for your success before actions. And search for meaning.
All good? Start today.
Read more
Midlife career change – 3 reasons smart people like you stuck
How to be successful by being yourself – 4 ways to start today
Midlife career crisis: How to make the rest of my life meaningful?