Dubbed The Great Resignation or Great Reshuffle, life re-evaluations following the pandemic could create an influx of people changing careers (Kaplan, 2021). Over 40% of respondents in a 30,000 global study are “considering quitting or changing professions this year” (Morgan, 2021).
This is not media hype. Many of my coaching clients around the world are sharing this thinking and are now focusing on what makes them happy, fulfilled and content in their lives – and careers. It seems spending five days in the office with a long commute and little time for leisure and family is no longer attractive, no matter how much the compensation.
Often it doesn’t have to be a major event for people to decide that enough is enough. Suddenly, what you have been ‘putting up with’ becomes intolerable when combined with a new stress or change and this can finally trigger decisive action. It reminds me of a friend who had been unhappy with their job for a number of years. They felt undervalued and unappreciated, but they’d carried on because despite everything, it was a job.
It all came to a head when my friend received what he described as “one snotty email too many”. It pushed him over the edge, and he realised something had to change. Those things he had been ‘putting up with’ were instead ‘dealt with’.
What would it be like if you valued yourself so highly that you did not ‘put up with’ anything that depleted your happiness and energy?
What if you took action immediately?
This idea may be challenging because we are often taught to “keep calm and carry on”, “put up and shut up” and that “we can’t always do the things we want to do”. You may recognise picking up these beliefs from others, especially in childhood.
Well, imagine that you can always do the things that you want to do … what would you do? Where would this thinking take you?
My challenge this month is to catch yourself if you hear limiting beliefs, either in your head or being said out loud, or someone else’s beliefs that you have unconsciously taken on board. When you spot them, question whether they are really true. I am looking forward to hearing what you discover.