Fed up feeling stuck at work?

Monday night, I talked to a former lawyer who’s fed up feeling stuck in her career.

She wants to make a career move but she’s not sure what she wants to do.

She’s not even sure why she wants a career move.

She’s stuck but she doesn’t know why. And when you don’t know why, it can be REALLY hard to get unstuck.

That’s when working with a coach – even for just 60 minutes – can be incredibly powerful.

Often when we get stuck, it knocks our confidence. The obstacle grows bigger and bigger in our minds until it seems unmoveable.

Sometimes staying ‘stuck’ seems the easier option. Because the alternative feels risky. It’s scary. Especially if you’ve invested years of training or experience into your career.

What if it’s something you’ve never done before? How will you manage it? What about family or friends – what will they say? What if it all goes wrong?

BUT what if it all goes right?

I know exactly how it feels to be stuck and not know what to do.

Back in 2014, life was pretty hectic. I had a part-time job in the NHS. I was trying to balance my consultancy clients with my private coaching clients. I was working hard as a volunteer to rejuvenate my local NCT branch. I was training for a marathon ….

I was spreading my energies and my attentions far too thinly and I wasn’t being fully present with any of it, and truth be told, I wasn’t enjoying any of it either. That had a knock-on effect on absolutely everything.

When you are feeling stuck in your career, remember that the career decisions you made at 21 don’t have to be your career decisions for life.

It’s ok to change your mind.

It’s ok to do something different.

AND it’s ok to not know what you want to do instead.

So if you’re feeling stuck, here are my top tips to help you get ‘unstuck’. Here are a few of the strategies that I share with my VIP clients:

1. Write down all the things you love to do – your skills and strengths.
2. Write down all the things you’re proud of doing – your achievements, big or small.
3. Write down a list of things that you’re scared of doing – things that will take you out of your comfort zone. Then pick one of them and do it!
4. Ask yourself “what do I want instead?” or “what’s missing?”
5. Ask your inner mentor “What do I need to know or do to get unstuck in my career and get to where I want to be?” (Check out Tara Mohr’s inner mentor visualisation here).
6. Don’t do this alone – talk to a friend or mentor or a career confidence coach (like me, hint hint).

Once you’ve figured out what you want instead of what you’ve got, then it’s a simple matter of taking the first step. And I know you can do that.

p.s. If you need help, let’s talk. Sometimes a simple conversation is all you need to get you unstuck and if you need more than that, check out my Career Confidence programmes here.