Career transitions and life transitions often occur at the same time.

Why?

Because “career” and “life” are, for many people, completely intertwined and inseparable. For far too many people, their career, or their job, overwhelmingly defines who they are and makes up the majority of they call “life.”

There are ways to know if you are in need of either a career change, a life change, or maybe both.

Signs that you may need a career transition are:

  • You absolutely dread Monday mornings.
  • You hit the snooze button three times before you wake up on workdays.
  • You feel no connection to any real meaning at work.
  • You feel that you are on a treadmill, trading your time for money.
  • You feel that you are “working to live,” instead of “living to work.”

Signs that you may need a life transformation are:

  • You love your job, your career, but the rest of your life is miserable.
  • You dread Friday afternoons.
  • You go to the office and work every weekend, because you have nothing else to do.
  • You have no close friends, no love life, no hobbies and no passions.
  • You feel like your life has no meaning.

Top 3 steps to take for a career transition:

  1. Go away for a full day, completely by yourself and with no technology (no cell phone, computer, iPad).  Ponder and write down what your REAL interests are.  Also, write down what you’re definitely not interested in doing.  If you didn’t have to make any money at all, would you be doing the work you’re doing now?
  2. Update and make complete your LinkedIn profile.
  3. Read the book The Power of Who by Bob Beaudine.  This inspirational book will prove the case that your next job will most likely come through a connection made by someone you already know.

Top 3 steps to take for a life transition:

  1. Write down the top 6 priority areas of your life.  Examples are spirituality, physical health, relationships, emotional health, professional and financial.
  2. On a scale of 1-10, rank yourself on each of these priority areas of life, and assess your degree of life-balance.
  3. Set 18-month SMART goals to get in-balance and then continue to grow in each of these areas.

To curb being overwhelmed if you are going through both transitions at the same time, practice things that will help you relax and stay calm.  This could be prayer, meditation, yoga, and/or daily aerobic exercise.  Also, write your career and life goals, and review them on a monthly basis with a trusted friend who will be your accountability partner.

Better yet, hire a life coach.

Here’s to successfully managing all the transitions in your life, and remember, the BEST is yet to come.

Cheers!

Coach Brett Blair

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