For most people, even thinking about a career change can feel daunting and even disruptive.
Stepping outside of your comfort zone is bound to create resistance, starting within yourself. Perhaps you doubt that the pivot will be successful or that everyone (including your own inner voice) is right that “you’re not ready” or that “it won’t work out.”
Our goal today is to assess those thoughts and feelings head on and recognize the 3 blocks to successful career change…
So you can move beyond them and easily shift your life into a meaningful career you absolutely love!
Your Paradigms Keep You Close To Your Comfort Zone
It’s natural to lean towards the familiar. However, this tendency to retreat into your comfort zone also prevents you from seeking out experiences and opportunities that can change your life!
You may notice this when introducing new, small habits into your routine, or just before taking a leap of faith. Often, we experience resistance as an inexplicable feeling that fills our minds with fear, discouragement, or doubt.
This invisible force that reels you back into your comfort zone in the face of change is called your paradigm.
How Your Paradigms Work
Let’s suppose you decide this is the year you are going to fulfill your dreams.
So you list out your heart’s desires:
- I’m going to meet my soulmate!
- I’m going to find my dream home!
- I’m going to make a successful career change that pays well and keeps me fulfilled!
And this time, you mean it!
But then, something (or really – nothing) happens.
A week goes by, then a month, and maybe even years pass without your dreams coming true.
And you tell yourself, “I know I’m not a bad person, it’s just that one thing came after another and it just didn’t work out…”
But what’s really happening inside you is a powerful pull to the familiar that comes from your paradigm.
Paradigms, however, aren’t inherently good or bad – they are just your current level of awareness.
Some of your current awareness, even some of the patterns you have in your life right now, work great for you. The issue comes from the patterns and paradigms working to keep you stuck.
These patterns operate through thinking, feeling, and action. Their flow looks like this:
A collection of thought patterns —> habits —> results.
Most of the time, paradigms keep you in constrictive, limiting patterns of thought in an attempt to “protect” you from the potential of failure.
That’s why anything “new” – like the idea of a career change – will trigger your paradigm and activate the three blocks that prevent you from taking action.
These 3 blocks are: Dissuasion, Distraction, and Delay.
Now let’s explore the inner workings of each, as well as how you can overcome them!
Block #1: Dissuasion
As the name implies, dissuasion blocks successful career change by trying to convince you that what you want really isn’t what you want at all.
So when you start to say “I’m going to find a more meaningful career where I can make a difference”, it’ll respond with something,
“Ehh, that doesn’t sound realistic… maybe what I really want is just an easy job that I don’t have to think about at the end of the day.”
Or…
“My current job is way better than most people have it. It may not be ideal or the most fulfilling, but it pays the bills! And who does have a perfect job? I should be more grateful.”
This voice tries to talk over the part of you that wants to move forward and direct your attention to the part of you that’s telling you why you can’t.
One side will eventually dominate, and if you aren’t aware of what’s going on, you’ll easily believe in the paradigm’s voice.
Whenever you begin to doubt whether you deserve a better life or career, I encourage you to look beyond your current circumstances, situations, and conditions and reflect on this wisdom: you are deserving of your dream by birthright.
You Are Designed For Growth And Expansion
Every single one of us is more than just our physical bodies. You did not create yourself, you can’t breathe yourself, and you can’t make your heart beat even once under your own power.
Something sacred and wonderful is happening within you called life.
The Talmud says every blade of grass has an angel leaning over it whispering, “Grow, grow, grow.” And you see these blades of grass push through cement. You see trees expand outward and go beyond the edges of their growth.
Life strives to do the same within each of us, which is why longing and discontent drive you. These feelings guide you as you build ever greater goals and dreams.
So, as you gain greater clarity about your dream job and you come across the block of Dissuasion, follow these steps:
- Acknowledge that your paradigm is trying to protect you from change.
- Thank it, but make it clear that those negative thoughts aren’t helping you.
- Release the thought(s).
- Replace it with a positive affirmation.
For example:
“I am more than this. I am more than any circumstance, situation, or condition. I am deserving of all the good Life/Source/Universe has to offer. I deserve to live a life that I love.”
Develop affirmations that directly address the dissuading thoughts that challenge your ability to make a successful career change.
And as you write and recite them on a daily basis, eventually you will overcome the block of dissuasion by focusing on positivity and possibility!
Block #2: Distraction
Distraction is a strategy we encounter every day, and we’re all familiar with it. So much so, that most people are numb to its presence.
Your paradigm knows this fact all too well. Because of this, it uses Distraction as a backup plan when you decide to pursue your dream despite its efforts to discourage you.
The distraction takes your attention away from your dream so that you have to devote all your attention and energy to something else.
So let’s say, for example, you decide to become a life coach. Your first reaction may be excitement and joy as you finally make this decision real and share it with others!
But then your mind starts to wander and gets distracted by things like:
Designing Your Website…
It all starts with looking at hosting platforms, and then website templates, until you’re so stuck on what colors your website should use that you’re exhausted just by thinking about it. You get so overwhelmed with choices that don’t actually move your coaching business forward.
Hours of Entertainment…
Determined to start learning more about starting a life coaching business, you hop on YouTube to research next steps. But one thing leads to another, and you end up spending hours on YouTube getting lost in cat videos or old music videos from your highschool years. Eventually you either fall asleep or you realize it’s too late and decide to put off your plans until tomorrow.
Both examples demonstrate how the Distraction successfully diverted attention away from your dream until eventually it lost its energy.
Simply put, your paradigm will always bring to your attention anything that will distract you from moving towards your dream.
Notice What You’re Noticing
Since distractions can lead to a downward spiral, stopping them from the beginning is crucial. The solution is to become aware of when those distractions occur and immediately hit your internal pause button.
This practice will enable you to reorient yourself the moment you’re distracted. In short, it’s like removing a blind spot.
So next time your paradigm tries to gain your attention, recognize the distraction, pause, and realize you have two choices: expand or constrict.
Then, choose to expand.
And once your paradigm realizes you’re not distracted anymore and ready to take real action, don’t fall for its next trick statement: “Fine, but start tomorrow.”
Block #3: Delay
The third strategy that blocks a successful career change is something I like to call “The Tomorrow Syndrome.”
If you don’t succumb to its dissuasion or distraction, your paradigm will ask you to wait until “tomorrow” (or another vague, future date). But tomorrow is “out there” – in the distance where it feels far away and unlikely.
“Do it tomorrow,” your paradigm will tell you, “you will always have tomorrow.”
But when it becomes tempting to give in to this convenient belief, hold on to this truth: no one is promised tomorrow.
As soon as you take action and decide that “I’m going to take steps today to move myself in the direction of my dream”—and you mark it down on your calendar and schedule it—you are placing pressure on your paradigm.
And almost immediately, you’ll encounter a seemingly inexplicable sense of fear.
This is actually a good sign – that your paradigm is losing its grip on you!
Repatterning Your Thoughts
By refusing to give up your control to constrictive patterns that restrict your potential and possibilities, you’re creating a new pattern.
And the more energy you put into a new pattern, the more the old pattern withers away.
At first, it’ll feel uncomfortable – scary, even.
And this is the point where you must act despite that fear.
Because successful people are willing to be uncomfortable in the interest of growth.
In the same way that grass pushes through cement, the Universe is calling you to “Grow. Grow. Grow.” And growth is paired with seasons of failure. Which is exactly what your paradigms are protecting you from.
So by repatterning your thoughts about failure as opportunities for growth (failing forward), you shift control away from fear and into your own hands.
From there, your thoughts change, resulting in new habits that produce better results that align with your dream and provide you with the focus and confidence to take one step after another!
Conclusion: The New You – Unblocked and Unstoppable
By now, you’re familiar with your paradigms and the tactics of dissuasion, distraction, and delay. And with this new awareness, you shed light on the possibilities of growth and expansion along the journey to your dream life.
We also touched on how to question your paradigms and consciously move forward by asking: What blocks are preventing me from moving forward?
Is It Dissuasion – thinking you’re not worthy or simply not right about your dreams?
Is It Distraction – when you lose focus and get lost in things that aren’t moving you toward your dream?
Or Is It Delay – where you consciously set your goals and plans for the future while letting fear keep you stuck in the present?
The 3 blocks to successful career change are determined to keep you in your comfort zone for as long as possible. But with awareness and practice, nothing can stop you from manifesting your dream life.
Lastly, if you’re still exploring career paths and want to learn more about life coaching, I would love to support you in this sacred calling!
I encourage you to grab a free copy of my e-book, “Are You Meant To Be A Life Coach?” and see if it aligns with a life you would love living.
It will reveal:
- What a life coach really is and how it will impact your life and others.
- 6 questions you’ll need to answer to make sure life coaching is the right career path for you.
- The single, crucial factor that determines your impact, income and freedom as a coach
- And more!
So if you love helping others and want to pursue a business that makes a positive impact on people’s lives, download the ebook and discover the career you’ve been dreaming of!
To a life of power and purpose (and a successful career change),
Mary
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