I know the feelings of frustration, uncertainty, and emotions of doubt and unhappiness very well that are present when the thought or the desire to change careers is present.  It really can feel so overwhelming that with these feelings, different thoughts and working in your current job that adding the task of discovering a new career to that mix seems so difficult.

You may have colleagues and friends say to you “it’s a jobseeker’s market” or “start networking” and you will be ok.  All of this is well and true except for many of us it still seems difficult to think of changing careers or make the change.

The one word that I want to reference in this article is seems; it seems so difficult to change careers.  Your mind is coming into a place of resistance, and your thoughts, what you see is happening, perhaps even your efforts or actions are making it seem like is it so difficult to change careers.

Yet if you were able to look at it with fresh eyes, change the angle, see things with a different perspective then the seeming will shift.  I am sure you have seen this image or heard of something similar.

We can, of course, look at the beliefs we hold, the fear involved, and even self-doubt, all these which can aid negative thinking and keep you looking at your situation in a certain way, but for now I would like to suggest something simpler and easier.  

The people around you matter, and the environment around you matters.

The more you hang around with people that are doing what you want to be doing or are passionate about it, the more inspiration it will give you and this will lead to motivation, which then leads to taking action.

Your environment plays such a big part in your wellbeing, this including your home environment and your work environment. Are you around a lot of negativities or is the energy bad?  Could others around you not being supporting you or inadvertently doing this in a various way?

Somethings can be out of your direct control, but there are few things which are not. You can control what you want to learn about yourself, you can control how you react and respond to others including yourself, you can push your own limits to do the impossible, you can surround yourself with inspiring people or push yourself away from the people who bring you down. These things are all in YOUR control.

I implore you to do a little exercise right now, all you need is pen, paper, 30 minutes of uninterrupted time and you!

On this piece of paper one column is your environment and another is the people in your life. Then for each column write a title of what this is currently doing for me, and the other title is what within my control can I change about this to making it work for me, a new perspective.

This exercise is to help you shift your view and come to a new perspective.  A great example is taking a photo, you can take a photo straight on, to the left of the subject, to the right of the subject, hold the camera up higher, or lower – either way the photo of the subject will still be there but the view will be slightly different depending on which angle you choose to shot it.

This is the same to many situations, which way to you want to look at, to feel it, to accept it, to respond to it, to react….all of this can change if you look at it in a different angle.

“If you don’t like the view, move, you are not a tree” – Jim Rohn

“If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change the way you think about it” Mary Engelbreit.

Don’t say, ‘If I could, I would.’ Say, ‘If I can, I will.’” – Jim Rohn

Great quotes about shifting your perspective.

It is about being the extraordinary and surrounding yourself with that, and once you do, then it becomes the ordinary.  This not saying you need to be the next Prime Minister/President or World Leader; it is about you doing something meaningful to you and create the impact which you desire and can create.

Look around you and see what narrative you are using, then decide on what narrative you want to use with your new perspective, and then go spend time together with others where your environment can grow.  

If you do not know what you want to do for your next job, your next career, but you know staying where you are is not an option, the first step is to reconnect to who you are. 

You must do the work on yourself to then find out what it is you want to do.