Reasons, seasons and changing jobs

You don't have to stick with your job, or even your career. If you're looking for a permission slip, here it is.

You're probably familiar with the opening line of a poem by Brian A. Chalker:

“People come into your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime"

The idea is that not everyone you meet will be around for ever. Some people are in your life to meet a need you've expressed - a reason. Others, to catalyse or facilitate an important growth experience - a season. Still others, to form part of a lifetime lesson that you will apply to many other areas of your life.

This is useful thinking not just for our relationships, but also for our careers. When you're a kid, you think that your 'job' will be a static thing that you start doing once you reach adulthood, and continue in perpetuity. You consider whether you'd rather be a teacher, a doctor, a lawyer, a builder, et al, and that's that.

But that's not how the modern world of work is, not anymore. Careers are much more fluid, and jobs are far less knowable than they were a generation or two ago. The average person changes jobs 12 times and future workers are expected to have portfolio careers comprising even more gigs than that.

If you're contracting, or self-employed, you may work on dozens or even hundreds of jobs, and not all of them will be in the same field.

Despite knowing this, lots of people I talk to beat themselves up about changing their career. They feel pressure to 'stick with' what they've done (sunk cost bias, much?) and agonise over switching lanes. Will they make the wrong choice? Is it too late? Will they lose face, relationships, or credibility?

Spoiler alert: probably not. And if you do make the wrong choice, you can always unmake it. People are far less worried about what you're doing than you think they are.

Your job is a temporary station that forms a small part of your life. If it isn't working for you, you can change it - which might mean changing employers, roles or even industries. Very few careers are meant for a lifetime.

If you've finished with your reason, or your season, it's OK to move on. Your options are probably far broader than you think.

For help on how to shape a fulfilling career, check out this article.

Til next week,

A