What those open doors do FOR you:
- They create comfort and who wants to be uncomfortable. To have something that has been in your life for a long time, like your current career situation, and to banish it into the black hole of things that will never be again, is scary….and uncomfortable.
- They protect you. These doors that you leave open make you feel safe. It’s your back-up plan or rather your back-door plan. Back-door plans are last resorts and is usually that thing we don’t want to do but will do if Mr. Challenge becomes Mr. Obstacle.
What those open doors do TO you:
- They limit you. If you know for a fact that there is an open door to your old job or situation, you will be less likely to give your new goals a fair chance. Your new goals need all of you and not just your toe.
- They create a false sense of safety. It is a false sense of safety because if you are actively trying to leave something behind that is no good for you, it is not safe to go back there. My former job was not a war zone, externally, but the war that it created in me was unbearable. That job, although I did it for a long time, is an option; however, I decided that it wasn’t. I verbally announced that I “retired” from that career to everyone that I know. I deleted job alerts that came into my email that had anything to do with that field. And lastly, I always remind myself that if I am willing to settle there, that I am indeed a punk ass bitch. Harsh? Well, I’m not much into rubbing myself on the ass because that hasn’t gotten me anywhere in the past. Although, that’s just me.
What I want you to do is look at what doors you may still have wide open. They represent what you consider is an option. If it helps, imagine a table full of food that you don’t like. Why would you even stand by that table? You gotta eat, right? Well, why do you HAVE to eat any of those things? You don’t but you will try to convince yourself that you do.
Create ways to close certain doors. For me, it was small things like job alerts that reminded me of the career that I abhorred. It seems small but it made a big difference in how I regarded my options and what were acceptable options for me.
Until next Monday….I’m out!
April@ Will Work Won’t Settle
Send Career Planning questions to WillWorkWontSettle (at) Hotmail.