Why Career Change Is an Inside Job
The day I realized that career change is an inside job, everything changed.
Of the many signs that motivated me to leave my corporate job, there's one Aha moment that stands out.
I was walking home after work. These walks allowed me to shake off the absurdities of my workday and daydream about what I wanted instead.
On this day, I was really pushing my imagination as far as it could go.
I suddenly realized: no one was going to stop me from creating the business I wanted except for me.
It was at once empowering and terrifying.
I was completely free to create the career I wanted...if I allowed myself.
Career Change Is an Inside Job
I needed to make some real changes internally if I wanted the external career that matched my vision:
I HATED asking for help, making mistakes, and not being good at things.
I was terrified of leaving a steady paycheck.
I wasn't sure I had what it took to succeed.
I constantly compared myself (unfavorably) to friends and colleagues.
I knew I had to get over these limiting beliefs (and many others) if I was going to be happy in any career, let alone create a business with the fulfillment, flexibility, and income I wanted.
Wherever You Go, There You Are
Everyone knows that our mindset plays a major role in our ultimate career happiness. Yet so many people focus solely on external factors.
Of course, improving your external circumstances, like having a boss that advocates for you, co-workers that have your back, a role that is meaningful—even reducing or eliminating your commute—goes a long way.
But if you have trouble advocating for yourself, setting boundaries, and recognizing your own value, you're going to struggle to find those opportunities—and truly be happy—once you get there.
Just like in dating, if you don't want your baggage from your last relationship to ruin the new one, you have to work through it.
Creating a Fulfilling Career Is So Much More Than Changing Jobs
A new job doesn't make you less risk-averse. It doesn't make you value yourself more.
You won't suddenly be able to manage your time better or stop doubting your competence.
You won't magically stop hiding, settling, or playing small.
If you believe you need to be constantly driven and productive or that there’s no room for your creativity—um, those patterns are not going to change themselves.
Until you unpack the beliefs that are holding you back, you and everyone around you will be robbed of your full potential.
Here's the kicker: the very things you're trying to get away from are poised to reemerge in your shiny new gig to hold you back in spectacular ways. Unless you address them.
When you do the work to understand what's really driving your unhappiness, and what you want to feel instead, then and only then can you achieve real and lasting success.
That's why career change is an inside job. It's doing the inner work to truly understand yourself AND connect the dots to work you love that pays.
It’s also why many people who jump into something new that looks good-on-paper still aren’t happy. Because they haven’t gotten to the core of what’s really going on. Ask me how I know!
Career Success Starts With Who You Are At Your Best
When you add that clarity to strategy and action, the opportunities appear.
My coaching clients end up with shiny new careers.
But the transformation doesn't only refer to the magnitude of their career change.
They also transform their lives.
It's about fundamentally shifting how they view themselves, recognizing the value they have to offer the world, and regaining the confidence to take action on it.
For some, this means significant career and life changes. Others find there's less external reinvention than they thought.
Watch the video to learn just a few of the amazing career coaching “side-effects” my clients experience (and admire the unflattering camera angle 😂).
Investing In Yourself Is So Worth It
Now I make a great living doing work I love. I set my own schedule. I travel. I create. I never set an alarm!
I meet amazing people and help them change their lives. I have an amazing network of people I love and respect who energize, support, and advocate for me. I have completely changed how I view mistakes. Most of the time work doesn’t feel like work. Cliché, but true.
Alllll of these external results started with internal shifts.
Do I still compare myself to others? Sure! But most of the time it’s gratitude that I’m no longer working insane hours, dreading Mondays, and feeling like I’m only using 10% of my brain.
Was the transition hard? At times, yes! But it wasn't an option to keep doing what I'd been doing. I knew what lay at the end of that road, and I didn't want it.
Your Vision Of What’s Possible Expands As You Walk Towards It
Part of what’s shifted for me after changing careers is how much I value my time. And the importance of having flexibility to choose how I spend it.
I took a luxurious bath in the middle of the day last week, and it was only when a friend pointed out the beautiful self-indulgence in it that I realized how completely my life has changed.
When I was immersed in long days, back-to-back conference calls, and daily fire drills that left me questioning, "What is the actual point of all this?!" mid-day baths were the furthest thing from my mind.
Back then, I just wanted "work" to mean something.
And I wanted to lead an extraordinary life. And my definition of extraordinary today is so much bigger than it was a few years ago.
That's the key with shifting your mindset: your vision of what's “realistic” keeps expanding as you make your goals a reality.
It’s Not About Your Resumé. It’s Not About Your Resumé. It’s Not About Your Resumé!
There are A LOT of people trying to convince you to polish your resumé, spruce up your LinkedIn profile, and put a happy face on work you’re at best ambivalent about.
If you want just another job, fine.
But if you want a career that fits you, that is not the way.
You Always Have a Choice. What Are You Choosing?
Finding career fulfillment is deep work—getting clear, getting honest with yourself, and then getting out of your own damn way.
It’s a process of rewiring deeply entrenched patterns that prevent you from leading authentically and getting the things you want with ease.
Which leads to people creating bespoke roles for you, combining what you like and are good at in new ways, and finding opportunities you couldn’t have imagined.
To succeed and continue to grow in our careers, the real changes come from within.
So, my friend, you have a choice. You can:
Continue to do exactly what you’ve been doing, or
Try to do it on your own and waste a bunch of time, or
Get help from someone who understands where you’ve been, has made it to the other side of the rainbow, and is standing next to the pot of gold with a beer, welcoming you to the other side.
If you're ready to do the real work to find a career you love, email me with the phrase, "I believe career change is an inside job" and tell me the #1 barrier to getting what you want in your career and life. I can't wait to hear from you.
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Author Bio:
Before becoming a coach, Caroline worked in management consulting and financial services. She's made it her mission to help people grow, contribute, and get wherever they want to go.
She’s also a tennis fanatic, aspiring Minimalist, FIRE (Financial Independence and Retire Early) enthusiast, and Aloha Spirit seeker 🤙. She loves to share stories from her unconventional life and career focused on freedom, creativity, fun, health, family, and community. If she can do it, you can, too.
The life and career you want is possible once you have the roadmap. Take the first step by downloading your free guide: 4 Steps To Take Back Your Life and Design a Career You Love.