Creating A Lifestyle Versus a Career

There comes a time in many people’s lives when they realize that the path they have chosen for themselves, is no longer the path they want to follow. Whether this is early on in a career or after years and years of work, it’s normal! I distinctly remember the time I decided I wanted to make a change and started thinking about what this would look like. I had come to terms with the fact that I was no longer passionate about styling, but I had no idea what to do next after spending the past 11 years building this career.

My criteria for the future: find something I’m passionate about that is a part of my life but doesn’t consume it. I talk to so many women who are facing this same challenge and are desperately ready to move on to the next chapter of their career with one thing in common, they need to make a change for their family and their sanity but they have no idea where to start.

During this chapter of my life I was working with a coach that gave me an invaluable tip:

Stop trying to figure out what you want to do for your career, instead tell me how you want to live in this new chapter of your life.

This gave me a whole new perspective that I had never explored before, so I got to asking myself some questions. In my ideal world, how many hours was I working a week? Did I go into an office or did I work from home? How much money did I need to make? Did I want to connect with people face to face or virtually? Would I have a strict schedule that I’d have to stick to? What other parts of my life did I need to make time for outside of my career? Once I answered these questions I worked backward, identifying what careers would fit the mold.

In coaching, we call this the discovery phase. Even when someone comes to me with a clear vision of what they want to do next, I make sure we really detail all the pros and cons. This helps to ensure you are choosing a fulfilling career that fits into all aspects of your life. Like many, I am passionate about a lot of different things, but that doesn’t mean they are all viable career options. They are, however things you need to find space for in your life.

There are more steps to this process, but if you’re feeling the need to make a change or reorganize your life to work better for you, I’m here to help. If coaching isn’t an option for you, I still encourage you to try to answer some of those questions for yourself. Take the time to get to know the new you and create the future you deserve.

<3 BJS