SB

This time 9 years ago I was toying with the idea of quitting my job.

 

Every morning I would muster up the courage to face another day of getting through a long list of seemingly impossible meetings and project milestones. I was barely keeping it together. 

 

The truth was I knew in my heart that I wasn’t right for the job. 

 

My heart would say…

 

…you’ll figure out another way

…there’s something else to work towards, let’s go and explore what that could be

…you’ve achieved your goals up till now, of course you can achieve them doing something you love

 

Yet my head and ego were rationalising all the reasons I should stay…

 

…it’s a great job that others would kill for, you’re crazy to want to walk away

…how can you let your boss and everyone else on your team down? You’re so selfish

…this is what being an adult is about, you have to grind out the tough times to get to the good

 

Everyday I would ping back and forth between trusting my heart vs. listening to my head. 

 

It was exhausting. 

 

So I did what any sensible person would do…I sought advice from my friends and family.

 

Whilst most were supportive, I could tell that some were really worried and fearful for me. 

 

In hindsight, I now know that they were simply reflecting back my own worry and indecision.  

 

I felt more confused than ever. 

 

Side note: If this feels like you, please check out my blog post “Before you ask for career advice, do this.”

 

The more confused I was, the more advice I sought.

 

More advice didn’t help.

 

I felt like a tree being blown by the wind. Depending on whose advice I’d received that particular day, I’d move in another direction. 

How do you deal with all the paradoxical advice that’s out there? How do you know when you actually need a career change?

 

This is a question that continued to ask myself and continue to ask as I navigate this unconventional path I’ve chosen to walk. 

 

There are lots of strategies and tactics available to us but ultimately we are the ones in the driving seat. 

 

Only we can make the decisions on which way to go. 

 

Which is why first and foremost we have to trust ourselves, or our Soul Aligned Woman within as I like to call her.

 

Side note: If you haven’t already downloaded the Soul Aligned Woman Activation Audio, make sure you do that HERE. This will get you started on trusting your own inner guidance system. 

 

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If things aren’t quite working in your career, here are the 3 signs that you’re ready for a career change.

 

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Sign #1: You leave work completely drained and depleted

 

Sure we all have tough days that are more taxing but if you’re feeling completely sucked dry more often than not, then something’s not working.

 

One of my clients, let’s call her Rose, had a fantastic job on paper but was overworked, constantly stressed and traveling so much that she could hardly keep up with her email inbox. She debated quitting many times over and was feeling stuck in the “should I stay or should I go?” trap that many women face when they’re feeling overworked and undervalued. 

 

Tip: Look at what is draining you and list all the proactive things that you can do in your control to turn it around e.g. If you don’t have enough support at work, you could speak to your boss about how you can manage the workload with your full plate. Look at the heart of the things that are draining you, are they relatively straight-forward fixes e.g. my example or does it run deeper…if that problem was solved, would things be better?

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Sign #2: You feel completely disengaged and disinterested in the role

 

Again, we all have off days and that’s OK but if you’re permanently looking at the clock wishing your time away because you can’t stand your work and just want to get out of the office, this is a sure-fire sign that you’re wasting your talents in the wrong role.

 

If you look at your boss and think to yourself, “I don’t want their job!” then that is a huge flashing sign that you’re not climbing up the right ladder. 

 

Tip: Ask yourself if you can create excitement and engage with your work again. If it’s too easy, can you ask for more of a challenge? If it’s boring, can you take on a new and exciting project? If it’s truly unfulfilling and dull, then it’s time to think about what it is that you do enjoy and start incorporating that into your life today, even if it’s just for fun outside the office. 

 

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Sign #3: You feel jealous about someone else’s life

 

I believe that jealousy can be a good thing. Jealousy gets a bad wrap but I believe it’s an opportunity for us to look at what’s missing in our own life. If we’re jealous of someone else, there’s a trigger within us because we want what they have. Maybe not exactly the same thing but the essence of what lies underneath. 

 

For example, I used to be jealous of my successful friends who had cool and interesting jobs that paid well and allowed them to travel. Whilst I did have a “successful” job, my jealousy was really about the fact that my friends were happy and enjoying the challenge of what they were doing. And that piece was what I so desperately wanted in my career.

 

Tip: Allow yourself to explore who you are jealous of and ask yourself why. Thank them for showing you what your inner guidance is trying to tell you. Then get creative on the ways that you can bring more of what they have into your own life. 

 

Let’s recap the 3 signs that you’re ready for a career change.

 

Sign #1: You leave work completely drained and depleted

 

Sign #2: You feel completely disengaged and disinterested in the role

 

Sign #3: You feel jealous about someone else’s life

 

I’d love to hear from you.

 

+ Which of the 3 signs are obvious to you in your life right now?

 

Leave a comment below! 

 

With love,

Siobhan

xoxo