Five Life and Career Transition Tips
Often in life we desire change and know that it could provide a lot of benefits, but it’s really hard to take the first step toward that change. This is especially the case when it comes to making a major life or career transition. Sometimes we feel stuck and believe there’s something else that will allow us to have more fruitful, fulfilled lives, but we don’t know what it is or how to get there. And let’s be honest: Change, even when it’s good, can be challenging.
As I’ve thought of ways to overcome some of the challenges of transitions, I’ve realized that there are similar challenges in running. Running is one of my favorite activities and has brought me a lot of joy over the years (and even more so during this COVID pandemic). Even knowing how much better I’ll feel after each run, on some days the most difficult thing is taking the first step: actually getting out the door.
If you’re thinking about making a life or career transition but having a hard time “getting out the door,” here are some tips that may help:
Assess your current state. When you begin running, it’s important to take stock of your physical condition in order to come up with the right goal and training plan. Are you new to running and want to go from the “Couch to 5K”? Are you in good shape because you practice another sport? You may be able to easily swim a mile in the pool, but that doesn’t necessarily translate into being able to run a mile just as easily. When you begin thinking about making a transition in your life or career, you need to assess where you are currently and determine if a transition out of or a change within your current situation is best. Take time to honestly look at your present state and determine the costs and benefits of staying where you are or making a change.
Have a clear goal. One of the great things about running is that you can have so many different goals: Do you want to run at a certain pace per mile? Do you want to cover a certain number of miles? Do you want to run 10 races a year? There are often goals within the larger goal, but there is one ultimate goal you’re keeping in mind. The same thing applies with transitions. You need to know where you want to go and what you want to accomplish before you make a move. There will almost certainly be smaller goals you’ll need to reach along the way, but know the endgame.
Adequately prepare. Every runner knows they need a good pair of running shoes or you could injure yourself (You also need a healthy diet and good sleep, but that’s for another article.). When considering a life or career transition, are there certain skills, education or experience you’ll need? Will you need to invest a certain amount of capital or time? Think about the things that will increase your chances for a successful transition.
Go at your own pace. Good things rarely happen when you try to run at someone else’s faster pace before you’re ready. From my experience, you might be able to maintain the pace for a while, but eventually you’ll start to get a pain somewhere in your body, have difficulty breathing, or finally lose the joy and excitement you had at the beginning of the run. The same thing goes when making a transition: You need to do it at your pace. Yes, you want to keep moving forward, but only at a pace that makes sense for you and where you are in your life at the moment. Go out too fast and you could lose steam and make decisions that might cause you to fall short of your ultimate goal.
Don’t go it alone. Running is almost always more fun with someone else. Besides having someone to make the experience more enjoyable, running with someone helps keep you accountable to whatever goal you have. Knowing my running partner will be waiting for me helps me get out of bed on those cold, dark, early mornings when all I want to do is sleep. Making a transition can be hard. Doing it alone is next to impossible. We need people who can encourage us, speak truth to us, help us process, and cheer us on as we make progress.
Making a life or career transition can be daunting, but hopefully these five tips will help you take the first step. If you think working through these (or other) steps with a life and career transition coach might be helpful, it would be my privilege to speak with you. Schedule a complimentary discovery call today. Whatever you do, stay hopeful.
The best is yet to come.
