5 S I G N S I T ' S T I M E

T O M A K E A B O L D

Career Change

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 A B O U T

Caroline Castrillon
Get good grades, go to college, land a corporate job, settle down, work like
crazy, retire, and THEN you can actually start to enjoy your life. Sound familiar?

For years, I bought into that mindset. I went to a good college for my marketing
degree, got an MBA, worked for large companies like Sony and Dell, climbed the
corporate ladder and basically got farther and farther from my authentic self. It
got to the point where I felt like I had to become a different person at work to be
successful. Besides that, the stability I thought I would have working in
Corporate America was overshadowed by all the layoffs, reorganizations,
mergers, and acquisitions. SO MUCH FOR SECURITY!

Fast forward 25 years later, I found myself a VP staring at the four walls of my office
thinking, “Is this it?”, “Is this all there is?” THERE MUST BE MORE! I spent most of my
professional life feeling trapped and suffocated—WANTING to make a career
change but not knowing what to do or how to get there. It wasn’t until I found my
own coach that I had my breakthrough. (Here’s a closer look at my personal story.)

Now I’m a coach helping high-achieving professionals discover what really lights
them up inside. I want you to know that there’s hope—yes, it’s possible to find
career fulfillment—and I can help you get there!

F I N D M E O N S O C I A L

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 Whether you’ve recently been laid off or become
underemployed, the pandemic has given many of us the
chance to hit the “pause” button. One by-product of the
current situation is that it’s caused people to reexamine their
current careers. You may be asking yourself, “Do I really want
to continue down this path?” Maybe you’ve been in the same
field for years and are realizing that it’s not as fulfilling as it
once was. If that’s the case, it might be time to consider a new
direction.

Here are five signs it’s time to make a bold career change:

- H E N R Y F O R D
“
“When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the
airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.”

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 01 Your career isn’t
challenging anymore
Now that you have time to take a step back, are you
realizing that you’ve been sleepwalking through your
career? Do you feel like what was once novel and
exciting is now just monotonous and routine?
Unfortunately, if you don't have challenges to face, you
won't change. And if you don't change, you won't
improve as a human being. We need to evolve in
order to grow and become better versions of
ourselves. So, if you feel like you’ve mentally checked
out, it might be time to step off the treadmill and
make that bold career change.

02 You’ve been
dreaming for years
of doing something
else
Did you spend your lunch breaks daydreaming about
doing something completely different? What was it? If
your rational mind dismissed it, now could be an
excellent time to reconsider it as a legitimate career
option. Think back to your younger self. Did you have a
dream back then that you rejected because it wasn’t
“practical?” Sometimes fear disguises itself as
practicality. Instead of going after our dreams, we
make excuses because it’s easier than admitting, “I’m
too scared to try and fail.” Don’t underestimate the
power of a dream. Dreams get you out of bed in the
morning and make you feel alive.

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 “
“I was always looking outside myself for
strength and confidence, but it comes
from within. It is there all the time.”

- A N N A F R E U D

03 Your health is being

negatively affected
Now that you’re spending more time at home, are
you reconnecting with your healthy self? Maybe you
finally realize how toxic your work environment was
and how much it was sucking the life out of you.
Were you chronically exhausted, losing sleep or
experiencing other physical symptoms?

This might be your body’s way of telling you it’s time

to make a change. Your ideal job should fill you up
with energy. If you were operating on the edge of
burnout, making a bold career change could keep
you from going over the cliff.

04 Your values and

priorities have changed
Perhaps when you started your career, you were in your
twenties and single without a care in the world. Now that
you’re married with two little ones at home, working 18-hour
days doesn’t seem so appealing anymore. Instead, having
more freedom and flexibility has become a higher priority. An
alignment between your career and your core values
produces satisfaction, a sense of happiness and fulfillment. If
your values and career are no longer aligned, a bold career
change might be just what you need.

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 “
“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be
truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to
do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep
looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when
you find it.”
- S T E V E J O B S

05 You don’t have a passion for

what you do
Making money and doing something that drives you don't have to
be mutually exclusive. People automatically assume that if they
actually enjoy their work, they are going to make less money.
Wrong. In fact, if you are passionate about your work, that probably
means that what you’re doing is meaningful. Research consistently
shows that people experiencing meaningful work report better
well-being and engagement. They rebound faster from setbacks
and are more likely to view mistakes as learning opportunities
rather than failures. In other words, people are more likely to thrive
when their work has a clear purpose and meaning.

Like Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple, once said, “Your work is going
to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is
to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great
work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking.
Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you
find it.”

Make this the year that you discover exactly what brings you
the joy and fulfillment that you deserve.

To dig deep and discover what REALLY lights you up inside, check
out my Yes It’s Possible! online training course.

WWW.CORPORATEESCAPEARTIST.COM [email protected]