We need to get comfortable
with the discomfort, our fears and the unknown. There is a reason for
this discomfort, it’s our internal alarm clock letting us know to wake up and
time to change. If we confront our fears and investigate this discomfort
we will find that this is our biggest gift. It will become the fuel and
catalyst for change.
As we evolve, our desires
and needs change and so do the people we are in relationship with, the jobs we go to
and our family dynamics, and so on. Everything evolves and changes; it's the
cyclic nature of life. We must become master artists creating our life's
masterpiece and reinventing ourselves over and over in our lifetime. As
a recruiter of 15 years and now as a hypnotherapist and coach I have seen this
discomfort and dissatisfaction in others many times. What I have learned
about transition is that change is uncomfortable and sometimes unwelcome.
As we move into the change it becomes an opportunity for reinvention and
a transformational process of rebirth and renewal.
I recall when I was in my mid 30's, recently divorced, a
mother of a 5 year old, in a job that did not fit me. I was in a lot of
discomfort and uncertainty in my daily life. It was hard to function
everyday. I was plagued with insomnia, anxiety and depression, I felt
totally lost. For the first time, I had to reinvent myself in all areas of
my life at once. Something I had no clue on how to do, especially in my
career. After the divorce I yearned for stability, yet my life had fallen
apart completely. I was lucky to meet two career coaches at the church I
attended. In the nick of time their guidance changed the course of my life.
I was very motivated and I took their 8-week class on finding your life's purpose and moving through career transition. I dove into this process and quickly began my
exploration to find my life's purpose. It took me 1.5 years to reinvent
myself and understand that I had the power to change. I had to take risks I
would have not dare to do on my own. In the process I uncovered skills I never
knew I had. After deep inquiry, I was able to narrow down the field that
best fit me, human resources. For 6 months, I did research and made cold
calls to companies to invite myself and conduct informational interviews.
During this time I left my job as an executive assistant to pursue a
career in human resources. I was empowered by finding my calling and the
process became an adventure. I uncovered that I loved working with people and
that I was meant to be a recruiter. The excitement of it all carried me
through every interview I had until I was hired by an amazing company despite
I had no educational background or experience.
I thrived in this field for 15 years, until the
dissatisfaction came calling again, the symptoms were back, insomnia, anxiety,
weight gain, and major burn out showed up at my door. This time I welcomed
the change because; along the way I had learned to be resilient, confidant and
developed solid business skills. I saw this as an opportunity for growth
and reinvention of a new phase in my career.
Transition of any kind asks us to be flexible
and open minded despite feeling lost. To follow your passion is
exciting, however, we must have a clear vision, the right support and an action
plan as a bridge to our new future. This may feel daunting at
times and scary, yet it is also a time of self-discovery and growth we can
embrace. It is also important never to lose sight that our jobs, our marriages,
our careers, etc., don’t define our self worth. As we face the discomfort
and find our true purpose we begin to see our true value, this can help us
become motivated, more confident and certain of the new direction in life.
We may realize that to betray ourselves by remaining stagnant has a very
high price that is not worth paying. It is far easier to face the fears,
the discomfort and the unknown than to stay stuck, stagnate and risk our
happiness. After all, what awaits us on the other side is a far better
and new version of ourselves.
