Run to something, not from something

Know what you'd like to do, not just what you don't

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.
This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
tip is to run to something, not from something. If

(00:24):
you are pondering making a big switch in life, it
is often more motivating to have something you actually do
want to do, rather than just trying to get away
from something you don't. I love hearing from people who
are thinking about switching careers. There are often great ways

(00:44):
to explore new options, and starting something new can be
a good way to become more interested in life. I
can usually recommend ways to fit training and searching into
even a busy schedule. That said, I noticed that career
switchers come in different flavors. Some people have identified something

(01:06):
they are very excited about. They may be reasonably happy
in their current jobs. It's just that there is something
they would like to do more. However, there are others
whose career switching conversations center more on how miserable they
are in their current work. They are looking to flee

(01:27):
their current situations, and that is fine. I don't want
people to be miserable, But sometimes folks then idealize some
other profession as just being incredibly different from what they
are currently doing. The logic goes that if they are unhappy,
now doing something very different should make them happy. So

(01:51):
now they need to go back to school for two
years or more to do that. And I am thinking, WHOA,
let's slow down. No profession is perfect. Even if you
work for a nonprofit that is saving the world, you
can still have a lot of emails and meetings and

(02:11):
a distracted manager. You can have amazing colleagues and get
paid a lot, and have a terrible commute that leaves
you feeling frazzled and starved for time. You can have
incredible flexibility and the ability to work from home on
interesting projects, and yet be in an industry where there's
a lot of consolidation leading to turmoil and layoffs and

(02:35):
the like. You can invest a lot of time and
money in trying to change careers and find on the
other end that things aren't nearly as blissful as you
imagined them to be. I have seen a number of
people switch jobs and careers to find something more flexible,

(02:55):
and I mean anything more flexible, and then they wind
up board because they are not challenged, and unhappy because
they are underpaid. So if you are miserable in your
current job, figure out how to lessen the immediate misery.
First lots of times, these changes can be relatively doable.

(03:19):
If you work for a big company, there is no
doubt some other internal team that is hiring, so you
can get away from a terrible manager. If you've got
an awful commute, see if you can work from home
another day or two per week, or find a different
organization that lets you do just that. As we discussed

(03:42):
in another episode this week, there is no harm in
looking for a new job, and you might find a
better one that uses your existing skills and credentials, no
new ones required. If your work feels meaningless, maybe you
can seek out a different project or start something new
at your organization that feels more meaningful to you. Or

(04:06):
you can start volunteering on the side, because work doesn't
have to be everything in life. Then, once you have
solved the immediate source of misery, create a vision of
what you would like your life to look like. What
kind of work do you truly want to be doing?
When are you happiest? If you identify jobs that match

(04:30):
up with this happy work, talk to lots of people
in these professions and see what they like and what
they don't like. How would you spend your days if
you did this sort of job? What would your hours
look like? Do the upsides outweigh the downsides? Could you
live with those downsides? When you have a clear vision

(04:53):
of what you are running toward, you can figure out
how to take the steps to get there. But when
you are just running away from some current misery, you
may wind up in a place that is not much
better given the time and energy invested. It's good to
know what you want and not just what you don't.

(05:17):
In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and
here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,
I'd love to hear from you. You can send me
your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with

(05:39):
me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod.
That's b the number four then Breakfast pod. You can
also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcast at
iHeartMedia dot com. That Before Breakfast is spelled out with
all the letters. Thanks so much, should I look forward

(05:59):
to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartRadio.
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