The main obstacle we often experience in any kind of career change at any age is fear. And midlife is no exception to this.
When I was younger I remember thinking that I only had a certain amount of time to find a career I loved. I saw 50 as too old to start something new and I needed to have everything in place before then.
Now I am about to turn 60 in a few months, I have a totally different perspective.
I don’t see my career limited by my age or think I am only able now to do certain things. It’s more about what I want to do and would be fun. Not what I believe I can’t do.
We can do anything we want. Just because we’ve had a certain type of role until now doesn’t mean we’re limited to that.
Many of us have done numerous types of jobs or roles throughout our working life. Plus had an incredible amount of life experiences. And those experiences have led us to where we are now.
All experiences we have had make us extremely valuable, because we are wise.
By the way, this even applies to you if you have been a mum at home. The experience and skills learned during that time are to be highly prized. They are also more often than not transferrable.
Whether you want to start a new business or change your career, this is the most empowering time of your life. It’s important you don’t let fear or self-doubt get in our way of trying something new.
It is your choice what you choose to do and how you utilise the skills and experience you have accumulated.
What causes self-doubt and how do you deal with it?
Self-doubt I believe is caused by the patriarchal view that values youth, beauty and perfection. We see it in the glossies featuring airbrushed 20-year old models. It’s most places we look really, so it’s easy to be influenced by it.
It’s seen on TV and present in what we read. Possibly in conversations we listened to as a child or even between friends now. We also may have even seen those views modelled by our mothers, grandmothers, aunties or their friends.
Perhaps even an experience you once had yourself and you’ve decided to make it mean something limited.
Because of this we might feel like we are the opposite of valuable. In fact, some women say they feel invisible. And the last thing we feel comfortable about is starting a new career.
The nasties I often find lurking behind fear and doubt are limiting beliefs. Like many women, what you have seen and heard around you, both past and present may have helped you gather a bit of a collection of them.
Getting rid of limiting beliefs will help you banish the self-doubt
The transformations I have seen when limiting beliefs are shifted are extraordinary.
Our beliefs create our reality. Even though it’s experience that led us to choose to believe something, our beliefs will lead to more of the same experiences. It becomes a viscous cycle. That is until we exit it by changing our beliefs.
When you say or think something enough times, it gets added to your belief system. Make yourself aware of them and them flush them out. Write your limiting beliefs down on a piece of paper and tear it up with volition. Then burn them, bury them or throw them away.
Write yourself a set of empowering beliefs to support your career change
As with anything else, when you take something like a limiting belief away it leaves a void. That space must be filled quickly with a belief that will support you in career change.
Beliefs like “This is the perfect time to start a new career”, “I am at my most valuable now”, will support you. But you need to feel like you own your new beliefs.
Take a piece of paper and a pen and play with some empowering beliefs. Write different versions of the beliefs until you find the ones that feel right. Then write them daily, say them to yourself and display them everywhere. This is about re-wiring your brain and frequency of contact with your new beliefs is essential.
Look for proof everywhere that what you say is true
It is there when you look for it. Previously you have been influenced by what you immediately see. Now it’s about looking underneath that surface layer and seeing your new story.
Google is a fabulous tool for this, but you must be specific when you type your question. Open your web browser and type in something like “Women who have started a new business over 50.” Remember they are just like you; they’ve just taken a step that you haven’t yet.
Get to know yourself for confidence and clarity on your new career
Too often I see women feeling disempowered because they lack clarity of what they want. Or they fail to see how they can add value to what they want to do.
Getting to know yourself like never before will give you a strong sense of self. You will know what you stand for and this enables you to see how much you still have to contribute. It gives you clarity on what you want and the confidence to go for it. Any feeling of self-doubt is soon pushed to the wayside as you stride through to follow your purpose. You no longer see limits, only increasing possibilities and options.
Make some time and create space for your own self-discovery and banish self-doubt for good. This is the perfect time to start your new career.
Sometimes doing this alone, it becomes difficult to see the wood for the trees and it’s easy to hold ourselves back without even realising it. Working with a good and experienced coach will help you gain the clarity you need and assist you to back yourself with beliefs that support you. To see if coaching is a good fit for you, book your complimentary connect call HERE