Five Thought-Provoking Suggestions for a New Beginning in Your Career

Your understanding of the workplace is substantial.

With years of experience under your belt, you’ve navigated its complexities: ascending the professional ladder, applying for positions, securing clients, enhancing your resume, attending interviews… and a myriad of other tasks.

Even if you feel lost and stagnant about your career transition, rest assured it’s not due to any lack of ability in managing your professional life.

So, what is the underlying issue?

How can a smart, driven, and capable individual like yourself, who comprehends the workings of the professional realm, feel utterly stuck in pursuing a career that excites rather than drains you?

It might be that conventional career guidance focuses more on upward mobility than lateral movement. Perhaps your school career counselor (along with your parents and others who feel equipped to offer advice) taught you more about stability and haste than about fulfilling work or handling setbacks.

Yet, now is not the time for finger-pointing when there is action to be taken.

If the individuals, institutions, and systems meant to assist you are falling short, it could be beneficial to draw inspiration from unexpected sources: areas that have no relation to the typical work environment.

Take cues from a canine psychologist, for instance, a radio presenter, or an artist who cannot move from the neck down…

1. “We are not blind, but we wear blinders”

In 2013, she published On Looking: Eleven Walks With Expert Eyes, documenting her exploration of what unfolds when fresh viewpoints are applied to a familiar stroll around the neighborhood.

Horowitz was taken aback by how much her usual surroundings had been concealed beneath a veil of familiarity. Her day-to-day experience had rendered the world and its possibilities increasingly invisible to her:

“I find myself alarmed, delighted, and humbled by the confines of my ordinary perception. My comfort lies in the fact that this limitation is entirely human. We see but do not truly perceive: We utilize our vision yet glance over its subject. We recognize signs but miss their meanings. We are not blind; however, we don blinders.”

The truth is undeniable: Your reality (along with your ideas, perceptions, opportunities, skills, and even imagination) is confined to your experiences. Even your wildest conceptions are merely combinations and alterations of what you already comprehend.

There might be potential avenues for your future career right before you that you are failing to recognize.

If you’re having trouble generating ideas, strategies, prospects, or alternatives, consider this: What are you failing to notice?

And if options, concepts, and opportunities exist, but the issue is merely their obscurity, what steps could you take to illuminate them?

For Horowitz, a new companion for her neighborhood walk was enough. She introduced eleven different experts from diverse fields into her strolls: an artist, an architect, a doctor… and with each new perspective, she unveiled a fresh spectrum of discussions and possibilities:

“The rhythm with which a man chopped onions sounded akin to a table tennis match, and Kalman’s face lit up at this connection. An association between table tennis and onion chopping formed in my mind.”

While table tennis and onion chopping may not be the key to your career transformation, I wager you’ve never linked those two ideas before.

I wonder what doors could open in your quest for meaningful work if you began systematically unearthing fresh ideas and connections in your daily routine?

Jamie engaged in our Career Change Launch Pad and realized that even a single new experience could drastically alter his perception of the professional world:

“What left a lasting impression was putting myself near opportunities and immersing myself in different settings.

“For instance, I attended an event featuring a renowned adventurer as the guest speaker. He discussed how even the smallest opportunities can invigorate our minds.

“Listening to his address marked my initial move away from my typical existence. It was monumental for me. For the first time, I felt as though I could truly make a change, which led me to ponder leveraging adventure as a catalyst for personal growth.”

This prompted Jamie to embark on developing a business combining short adventure excursions with coaching and personal growth—perhaps an idea he wouldn’t have entertained had he remained in his usual rhythm as an accountant.

What actions can you take to explore the world with renewed perspective?

Where might you go to gain a fresh viewpoint on what’s available to you?

Break free from your routine. Connect onions and table tennis. Remove your blinders.

2. “It is not your job to determine how good it is”

In 1943, dancer and choreographer Agnes de Mille created the musical Oklahoma!

Prior to that, she had choreographed several works that she personally considered superior to that of Oklahoma!, yet none had achieved the acclaim this award-winning musical garnered.

She was baffled. How could the public see so much brilliance in something she perceived as merely average?

She expressed her confusion and frustration to Martha Graham, arguably the most significant dance choreographer of the 20th century.

Here’s what Graham had to say:

“It is not your role to assess its quality, nor its value, nor to compare it to other forms of expression. Your task is to remain clear and direct with yourself, to keep the channel open. You don’t even have to believe in yourself or your work. You simply need to stay open and receptive to the impulses that inspire you. Keep the channel open… no artist finds contentment.”

When I embarked on my career shift, I faced smaller iterations of de Mille’s frustrations myself.

I believed it was unreasonable to want to become a coach. At just 25, who would take me and my work seriously?

Every time I picked up the pen to write an article for Careershifters, I felt I was subjecting myself to public embarrassment. I lacked experience. I wasn’t an excellent writer.

Mike, a participant in our Career Change Launch Pad, experienced a similar struggle when he heeded an inspiration and created a brief course on entrepreneurship.

“I continuously questioned: What is my appeal? What unique insight do I possess that people would value? I don’t know anything extraordinary—at least, that’s the narrative I tell myself. But abandoning the quest for uniqueness and simply starting to do something is the only way forward. I often wrestle with myself, but when I cease battling and embrace what I have, it feels liberating. And perhaps more crucially, it proves to be effective.”

Mike’s course was adopted by a university, with trial runs amongst practice groups proving successful.

What Agnes de Mille, Mike, and I have all come to realize is that we are often poor judges of our abilities, our work, and our contributions to the world.

As Graham reiterated to de Mille in the 1940s, assessing the quality of your work is unnecessary. It’s not your responsibility to determine whether you are qualified to apply for that thrilling position.

For those of you waiting for confidence and certainty to magically appear: Stop.

You have no authority to dictate whether you deserve a career you cherish—not before you’ve even made an attempt.

Your primary task is simply to show up. To put in the effort. To share what you have to contribute from where you stand currently.

You may face rejection when applying for various opportunities. You will be informed that you lack sufficient experience, that your portfolio falls short of the expectations, or that what you offer isn’t worth the price you’re asking.

And that’s perfectly acceptable. You can learn from these experiences, refine your methods. Understand that if they deem you unsuitable at this moment, they might very well be correct. They are likely doing you a favor. Move on to the next opportunity.

As long as you show up, put in the work, and deliver what you can, you are achieving your goal. Eventually, it will click into place.

Also, recognize that this inclination to critique yourself, to question your competencies, and to dismiss your ideas… will eliminate any last chance you have. It keeps you exactly where you are.

Pursue what you love.