"I never thought that learning this new industry would be easy. On the contrary, it’s hard, but it’s not impossible. Let’s analyze this: If it were easy, everyone, or at least a greater number of people, would be doing it, right?
I’m not trying to get off-topic here, but let’s think about something for a minute… The number of high school or college friends we stay in touch with is very small, maybe even zero. So, it is safe to say that most of the social connections we introduce into our lives come from family and work colleagues. This leads to some of us starting new careers and possibly spending more time with our co-workers than even our own families. Mind you, on most days, the time spent with our family is not what we would label as "quality time." Think about it: we get home from work, often exhausted, and all that is left is perhaps 3 or 4 hours before we go to rest, if that.
Now, the reason why I’m bringing this up is to highlight the fact that we surround ourselves mostly with our co-workers. When one of them decides to leave the workplace, it’s usually because they are going to work for the competitor, relocating, retiring, or getting let go.
Due to this, it is hard for someone to go off course and take a different path or start a new career. But if you do, or even start thinking about it, you’re going to value and consider the reactions of your co-workers a lot more than you should. But let me remind you that most people don’t like the idea of change. The truth is, the typical path out of your current work field, your tenure, your co-workers themselves, and the idea of change shouldn’t hold you back. It should definitely begin and end with you making the decision. After all, it’s your life, and no one else would be in your shoes but you.
As I’m writing this, I’m having a difficult time concentrating on the content that I’m learning: new topics, exercises, answering questions, rules to learn, to remember, when to use, when to omit, etc. Does it get frustrating at times? Yes, it does! But it is for this very reason that I’m pausing the subject at the moment to write content like this—not only to remind myself of why I’m pursuing this but to encourage and motivate others who are in the same position right now or will be in the future when reading this.
Think about how gratifying it would be to look back a few years from now and say to yourself, “I did it!” The feeling of accomplishment that comes with that would bring a lot of positivity to yourself and, in turn, you can pay it forward to others. There is no better, more justifiable advice to give someone than when you’ve definitely experienced it yourself.
My number one reason is to be more passionate about what I do on a daily basis than I was before in my previous job. Here’s some food for thought: it has been over 14 months since I left my previous job, and I’ve lost over 16 lbs. I have more energy, which means I get to do more of the physical things I want to do, spend more time with my family and friends, get more quality sleep, and put more miles on my motorcycle instead of having it collect dust in the garage simply because I didn’t have the desire to ride it.
Keeping in mind what I mentioned earlier about spending more of your day at work, having to wake up and go into a job that you dread is not healthy, either on a short or long-term basis. With that being said, I advise anyone in a similar or like situation to at least commit to thinking and planning where you want to end up with however many years you have left in your working lifetime.
In conclusion, if you’re not happy in your current role or even with your career at all, by no means am I saying you should find something different to do instead. It could be very hard and depressing to even think about "throwing so many years of experience away," as some may refer to it. But like I mentioned in the beginning, it won’t be easy. But don’t be afraid of making a big move! Your experience is valuable elsewhere, and you owe it to yourself to figure out where it belongs. If you want to challenge yourself and switch careers like I did, just know that it’s not impossible. There will just be a few more hurdles to overcome.
And remember one thing: the people you currently look up to, follow, or take advice from, who are in the position or have the title you want to end up with, may not have your previous knowledge. With that being said, don’t belittle yourself. When you end up in their spot, that irrelevant experience, combined with new knowledge and fresh insights, can bring a lot to the table. Always think: just by doing this right now, you’re already ahead of those who are still contemplating the idea of doing something different than where they currently are. By moving on and advancing, you will be rewarded!"
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