My client got on the call and I could tell she was down.

She’d had a tough couple of weeks — obstacles at work, disruptions at home. She’s feeling exhausted and discouraged.

Because of these obstacles and disruptions, she wanted to talk about different directions she could take her career.

“I just don’t love this job the way I used to. Maybe I should do something else…”

This was pretty shocking to hear from her; she’d started her firm 12 years ago. She once described it to me as her dream job!

Space for growth

Before exploring a career change, I asked her if we could look forward to the end of the year. “Imagine,” I suggested, “that you’ve made it through the year. And when you pause to review 2022, it turns out it was a terrific year. And you’re really happy. What happened to create that outcome? Who did you become to create that?”

Her eyes brightened, she perked up, and a description of where she wanted to go this year spilled easily from her mouth. She described some changes she’d need to make to her role, and the roles of her team members. She anticipated how she’d need to step up and make some hard choices, and how her whole organization had responded.

Seeing where she wanted to end up helped her create a plan for getting there, and as she laid it out, her energy returned. Her shoulders perked up. She no longer wanted to talk about finding a new career — she wanted to be excellent at this one!

Change your perspective and watch your thoughts change.

Sometimes we need an outside perspective to free us from the tyranny of our thinking. We turn our gaze from the problems in front of us to the success we look forward to, and the way becomes clear.

If you are interested in having this kind of conversation about your business, hit reply, and we can create a time for that!