Overcoming Your Career Change Fears

According to experts, fear is the one thing that usually stands between people and the achievement of their dreams. Although it is natural for you to be afraid of what’s to come after you change careers, you should not let this fear of yours hinder you from doing what’s best for your professional life. This isn’t the easiest thing to do, but by following the steps below, you will be able to prepare yourself for the big changes to come and you will also have the courage to face and overcome all your fears.

#1 Determine the risks of your career reinvention.

Needless to say, you have to know first what’s causing you to be scared of switching careers. You can break down your fears by asking yourself these questions:

- What are the advantages of pursuing a different career?

- What is so scary about it?

- How bad are things going to be if it turns out your decision was wrong?

- How are you going to overcome the bad consequences of your decision?

- What do you need to make this move less risky?

#2 Understand the fact that fear is just part of the process.

Don’t you ever think that you are the only coward person in the world worrying about the effects of switching careers. So many other people out there have been planning to change careers but cannot do so because of their fears. Acknowledge your own fears, but don’t them cause you to doubt yourself and your abilities.

#3 Take it one step at a time.

Once you have a clear idea of what you are scared about, it’s time for you address them one by one. It is very likely that your fears are all in your mind. Thus, when you have successfully dealt with your smallest fear, you will find that everything will follow, and you will have your self confidence back. This is also what life or career coaches do. They allow you first to look deep in yourself so you could see what’s bothering you the most. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself because this could just make things worse for you.

#4 Forget about the past and live in the present.

Many of those who are hesitant about changing careers have had bad experiences in their work and careers. Perhaps they were once told by their superiors that they were not valuable members of the team, and that they needed a lot of work to do to become better. If such incidents have happened to you in the past as well, you had better put them all behind you. Instead, look at what you have accomplished and keep believing that you have what it takes to succeed in any career you wish to pursue.