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Many people nowadays are facing midlife career changes and asking themselves the question, How can I do what I love and make money too?
And even some who’ve explored that question before, are suddenly in a position of having to deal with it.
Maybe you’ve been downsized, or you’ve simply hit a place where you’re no longer willing to continue down the old road anymore.
Sparking New Priorities
Midlife often sparks something new in a person’s priorities, and making a career change in midlife can seem especially daunting.
Yet making changes in midlife can also be a wonderful catalyst for growth. You just have to put it in the right perspective and get the tools you need to make these changes more easily.
One of the biggest benefits Desirée and I bring to our coaching clients and students is the benefit of foresight.
Finding A Map to Follow
Many people when facing an unexpected change are not clear what to do next because they don’t have a good map to follow. And that is where we can help.
I remember a time when I was just 7 years old my friend next door was leaving to go on vacation with his family. And I got the brainy idea to follow them on my little red bicycle.
Off they went in their wood paneled station wagon as I peddled fast behind trying to keep up.
I did keep up pretty well for a about a mile as my friends weaved their way across town. Then upon reaching the main highway I turned around to go back home.
Suddenly I had the startling realization that I had no idea where I was. I had ventured beyond the bounds of familiar ground and I was lost.
Almost instantly I felt panic and began crying out loud as I weaved my way through a new and unfamiliar neighborhood.
Boy was I ever lost.
There I was cruising down the street on my little red bicycle, just wailing.
I’ve had this same feeling many times over these past few years as Desirée and I have followed our dream of coaching and teaching.
We didn’t have a good map to follow, and I find it interesting to note how our midlife journey has led us to create exactly that for other people.
It was through the process of solving our own problem that we discovered how to help others navigate their midlife changes, only with a lot more ease and confidence.
So if you’ve been feeling a little lost, here are 5 powerful tips for making midlife career changes that will get you started on the right track:
Midlife Career Change #1:
Get Clear: What Do You Really Want to Do?
When facing a midlife career change, it’s easy to get focused only on the money. And surly you may need to get that handled, but this is also the perfect time to think about what you really want, and begin taking the steps to achieve it.
Try to set your limitations aside for just a bit and keep asking yourself the question What do I really want to do?
Write your answers down and begin looking at some ways you could possibly get started.
Midlife Career Change #2:
Gather Resources and Build a Bridge:
Often the biggest consideration one faces when making a midlife career change, is how to pay your bills while pursuing the career you really want.
Let’s just be honest, no one said that midlife changes are always easy, but now is the best time to consider your deeper priorities.
Find a way to bridge your midlife transition. Plan on making an investment in your future and this often requires sacrifices.
Maybe you’ll need to borrow money, or take an interim career position for a while. Look deeper to see what resources may be available to you. Now, I’m not a big proponent of accumulating debt, but sometimes this option makes sense when your plan also includes a way to pay it off.
Desirée and I closed our old construction business, sold off a real estate investment, moved and started over completely. Then we borrowed money to start our new business.
These were not easy decisions to make, but seemed like our best choices at the time.
If you don’t have those kinds of resources, focus on what you do have and keep asking the question What can I do now to move forward? Maybe you can partner with others or pool resources to create the bridge you need.
Midlife Career Change #3:
Let Go of the Old:
One of the most unsettling elements of midlife career change is that the skills that made you successful in a former life may no longer work in the new.
Your success may now require letting go of the familiar as you develop new skills and learn how to focus on new opportunities in front of you.
In our Codes of Destiny program we have mapped out 6 unique stages of transition that occur during times of change. You may enter a time we call the void which can happen when something ends in your life and the new beginning is not yet clear.
The tendency is to cling to the old, yet being open to something new is where the real power is.
Look to see if life is now calling you toward something bigger.
And be ready for some truly exciting changes.
Midlife Career Change #4:
Put It All In Perspective:
Making changes in midlife can be uncomfortable. So don’t expect your time of transition to feel cushy all the time. It won’t be.
Yet midlife can still be a rich and rewarding time. Think of this time of change as a powerful recalibration and renewal. Focus on what is trying to open in your life as a result of the changes you’re making.
Look back on other changes you’ve made in the past and apply what you learned to the current change. Remember, this is only one chapter of many periods in your life.
One day you’ll turn the page to find the next chapter. And you’ll be ever richer because of what you’re learning right now.
Midlife Career Change #5:
Expect the Unexpected:
So many times these past few years, I have felt like that lost 7-year old boy on the little red bicycle.
Yet even then, just as I was about to give up hope, a man called out to me. Sitting on his front porch he said, “What’s the matter little boy? Are you lost?" in this kind gentle voice.
I said, “Yes” though my tears while gasping to catch my next breath.
He said, “Well, come on over here. I’ll take you home.”
He picked up my little red bicycle, put it in the trunk of his car, told me everything would be okay and sure enough, pretty soon I was back home in the safety of my familiar nest.
Here in midlife, Desirée and I have discovered something new. We each found a deeper well of clarity and strength, an "inner" map that would lead us down a new path toward our destiny.
So, if you’re making career changes, in midlife or otherwise, begin with these 5 steps. And you’ll be surprised with what all can open up in your life. If you’re reading this article, it’s likely these new changes are happening anyway.
Just remember with the right tools and skills, your midlife and career changes can be one of the most rich and rewarding times you’ll ever encounter.
Take the first step and see what opens.
We expect you’ll love your new career as much as we love ours—even in midlife. •
Mark Watson is a transformational trainer and coach, helping his students and clients discover and achieve what holds true meaning in their lives.
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