How To Get Unstuck And Figure Out What You Want To Do Next
Welcome to my series dedicated to helping you find your ideal job using my 5-Step Career Design Framework. This is the framework I used to go from stuck and frustrated in an unfulfilling legal career to feeling clear, confident, and fulfilled as an executive coach. You can download the Career Design Guide here.
________________________________________________________________
What if I told you that feeling stuck, frustrated, or unfulfilled in your current role is actually a good thing?
You’d probably think I was crazy but hear me out. Feeling this way is the first step toward making a change. We, humans, tend to put up with a lot and can ride out a “not so bad” job for a long time. It is only when things get really bad that we finally decide to do something.
Now I’m hoping you are more proactive than most people and that things aren’t so bad for you right now. But pain is what lights a fire under us to get into action so let’s harness those negative feelings and make them work in our favor.
Break Out Of The Cycle Of Stuck
When I was an unhappy lawyer, I found myself in the "Cycle of Stuck".
I would dream about a new job that seemed more fun, rewarding, lucrative, or fulfilling. Then fear and negativity would creep in and I would think about all the reasons why it wouldn’t work out. So I would give up on finding my dream job. I would defer taking any real action because my job wasn’t terrible. And the cycle would start back up again a few months later.
Maybe you can relate?
Recommended by LinkedIn
So how do you break out of the Cycle of Stuck?
The key is to break down this big overwhelming goal of finding a better job into smaller steps. Here is what I did, instead of daydreaming and then letting the fear of failure stop me I decided to treat the job search more like a research project.
This removed the pressure of having to get it right. I felt free to follow my curiosity. Whatever I was interested in, whether it was entrepreneurship, working in tech, or real estate investing, I would start talking to people in those fields, I would go to events to learn more about the industry and meet more people.
My job search started with research. Instead of overthinking and overanalyzing I got into action and learned about each new career option. I used this information to inform my next steps and soon the clarity I was looking for started developing. A big lesson in this beginning phase was that action leads to clarity.
So I invite you to embrace the same lesson. Get out of your head and start learning about new career options without the pressure of it having to be the right job. Let your curiosity guide you.
Download my 5-Step Career Design Guide to learn how you can get unstuck and find your ideal role.
________________________________________________________________
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mo Chanmugham, Esq., ACC is a former entertainment lawyer turned executive career coach and the founder of MGC Coaching. He helps ambitious, purpose-driven professionals who are feeling stuck gain the clarity and confidence they need to find better jobs and become better leaders.
Executive Leadership Coach | Executive Confidant | 25+ Yrs Global Leadership Experience - Sales, Marketing & CEO | Certified ICF-PCC and Gestalt Practitioner | Coaching in French and English
1yYour idea of viewing career exploration as a research paper is a good one.