5 Reasons to Face Your Fear & Change Career

Changing your career can seem like a daunting prospect. It often involves years of retraining or education, and may even result in a lower income. However, you’ve only got one life, and it’s important to follow your dreams. If you’re stuck in a dead-end job, or a career you hate, it might be time to move on. Here are five good reasons to face your fear and change your career, according to this month’s guest author, Cloe Matheson:

1. Fear limits your career growth and opportunities

If you stay in a comfortable job for years longer than necessary, you’ll miss out on a lot. Career growth relies on change, which may be challenging, exciting, but also scary. However, know that fear is often the last limitation you need to hurdle before reaching your new career goal.

For example, imagine you get offered a lucrative opportunity abroad. Many people would kill for an opportunity like this. If you don’t take it out of fear, there’s no guarantee that you’ll have the same opportunity again.

Fear also serves to make you unhappy and unsatisfied. It often results in procrastination, which will get you nowhere. What might start off as a few days putting off sending those CVs can easily turn into months. Procrastinating is a waste of time and energy, and you’d do better to avoid it.

If your goal is to make more money, changing jobs is often a far better way to do this than asking for a raise. Don’t be afraid to jump ship if you’re given the chance.

Ultimately, if you make changes, your fear will disappear. If you keep thinking about making changes and procrastinating, the anxiety will only remain. You don’t want to live with fear for the rest of your career.

2. You’ll feel more fulfilled

Perhaps you want to work for a non-profit, or perhaps you'd like to dabble in a creative field. Lucky for you, gone are the days when people worked one job until retirement. We have so many options, it seems a shame to settle. Choosing a new career will help you to feel like you’re making the most of your life.

3. You’ll look back with pride

How do you want to look back on your life when you’re older? Do you want to remember a life in which you remained firmly in your comfort zone? A life that involved working a job you didn’t really enjoy? This is unlikely. You probably want to look back knowing you did everything you could to follow your dreams. Do your future self a favour and work hard to make a better life now.

4. You’ll be able to explore new interests

As humans, we can’t expect to enjoy doing the same thing every day for life. Think about what you loved when you were younger. Consider your hidden talents too. Are they being wasted at your current job? You might also like to think about what’s important to you. If you’re working for a large corporate company, their mission may not align with your values. Now is the perfect time to change careers and find work you consider meaningful.

5. The only thing holding you back is your mind

Whilst it's important to have plans, overthinking can be your worst enemy. Change can be scary, but try to remember that your mind is your biggest setback. Fear is very good at preventing you from making any real changes. Once you understand that fear is in your head, you’ll be able to move forward. If you don’t like your career, changing it will change your life for the better. Face your fears and don’t let doubt stop you from chasing your dream job.

About the Author
Cloe Matheson is a freelance writer from Dunedin, New Zealand. She loves exploring the outdoors, trying muffins and flat whites at different cafes, and has penned articles for adventure tourism websites such as Epic Adventures between devouring classic mince pies. Visit Cloe’s blog to find more of her published work.