Navigating A Career Transition Can Feel Like Trudging Through A Swamp
I've been thinking a lot about swamps lately as I work with several clients on questions about career change.
Way back in 2008, I had a comfortable job working in advertising sales at Google. I loved my manager, team, clients, the free lunch, you name it. But, a mid-30s-something-life crisis was starting to take shape in my heart, and it was creating some existential dread.
I couldn't shake, let alone answer, a few questions about my work: "What is my true calling? What's keeping me here? What impact do I want to have on my community?"
Feeling lost, I decided to participate in a leadership course at The Whidbey Institute led by the incredible Larry Parks Daloz and Sharon Daloz Parks. The year-long course was so profound that I can still remember specific moments, such as Larry asking all of us to "wade through the proverbial swamp" and calling us forward to trust our ability to work through that feeling of discomfort, fear, and self-judgment that accompanies leadership on the edge. Or Sharon challenging us to "get on the balcony" and dare to be expansive in our perspectives, listen with curiosity, and challenge our assumptions about ourselves and others.
After the year-long course concluded, I left Google (for the first time) and returned to school. I jumped into the muddy swamp of one significant life transition after another. Fifteen years and a couple of careers later, I can still say the swamp was (and is) both sulfuric and messy but also beautiful, surprising, nourishing, and full of growth. I'm wise enough now to know that it's okay to have many callings or to shift my definition of impact as my values sharpen and my identity evolves. And I'm starting to feel strong enough to embrace a few truths I couldn't accept when I was younger:
We can't skip that uncomfortable transitional period between who we are today and who we want to become. There's no single step or decision that propels us from one career identity to a new, fully formed alternative identity.
It's okay not to have the perfect plan—there's power in experimenting with a new career and being open to opportunities that aren't part of a linear path. How could I expect my 35-year-old self to know what I'd find fulfilling today? That's a lot of pressure to put on a person.
Sometimes, we must "act our way into new ways of thinking rather than think our way into new ways of acting," to paraphrase Herminia Ibarra. Our big, beautiful brains sometimes get in the way of true fulfillment.
If you have stories about unconventional approaches to career change, I'd love to hear what you've learned. Or, if you need support exploring career transitions, 1:1 coaching could help. Send me a note at kristen@arterburn.com or schedule time at calendly.com to connect live.
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I'm still exploring the intersection of identity and career, just a little slower than I had planned! This is post #4 in a series of 7. You can find prior posts on my blog.
