The Road To A Career Transition

Hello, dear one!

If you’re feeling the restless sensation thinking about your current job, sit quietly to feel it for a little longer and acknowledge it. You might be ready for a career transition.

Like many hard-working people, Wayne felt the itch before going to work, but he was too tired to deal with it until he developed a stomach ulcer, a sign forcing him to look into himself.

The good news? He transformed himself through this experience!

Wayne had a well-compensated job as an emergency room nurse for over a decade, but the thought of going to each hospital shift filled him with dread. 

Don’t get me wrong. Except for his work, he was grateful for his family life. His loving wife also worked in the same hospital as an on-call nurse. The two school-age boys were Wayne’s motivation behind wanting a happier self and a better living.

Wayne’s work anxiety was slowly turned into depression, and he sought help. His hospital provided staff with free monthly psychotherapy, but that wasn’t enough. 

He needed pragmatic support for a possible career change!

During the initial coaching meeting, Wayne realized that he wanted a job change, but felt nebulous about what he wanted to do next and how to make the transition.

Wayne was so sick of thinking about his current work that he made a decision.

He decided to commit every week with a coach’s unconditional support.

Steve Jobs said that you can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward.

This is how Wayne did it with a 30-30-30 day coaching plan.

In the first 30 days, Wayne focused on knowing himself better.

For four weeks every week, Wayne agreed to work on clarity. Sometimes, he resisted the specifically and strategically designed exercises for him, but he stuck to them.

Wayne’s self-work paid off.

He discovered how much he despised wearing his nursing uniform, the ambiance of the emergency room, and the lack of creativity in the work setting. He felt like a working machine, going and going all day without the time to think on his own. 

He resented the mandatory weekend shifts which caused him to miss his sons’ sports games.

While describing what he disliked about his current job, he also showed an affinity for patient education and appreciation for his team. He liked teaching, learning, communication, cooperation, and contribution. 

Each week, he became clearer with what he liked or disliked, and the why’s behind them. 

By the end of 30 days, Wayne had a clear vision of an ideal job: 

It was okay to stay in the hospital setting. He saw himself leveraging his tech skills and creativity to design educational courses for the hospital, if necessary, selling to other health care companies.

He saw himself working weekdays only, in his signature polo shirts, screaming “I’m Wayne.”

He saw the family together cheering on the soccer fields on weekends. 

He saw the extra dog walks with his wife, which reminded him of their dating years.

He saw the boys fishing with him, after visiting his parents who lived close to the Sacramento River.

Now Wayne was ready for the next 30 days!

In the next 30 days, Wayne cultivated a new winning attitude.

Oh boy, was it hard for Wayne!

Wayne still dreaded going to work, but he was willing to take action with a new attitude.

Resisted at first, but Wayne made two critical changes to direct himself onto a new path, with constant gratitude and going the extra mile, from where he was!

He thanked his job for giving him work experience, allowing him to develop into who he was, teaching him teamwork, sharpening his skills in patient care, paying for mortgages, and putting food on the table for his family. 

Every week, he found at least three new things that he could be thankful for at work. It could be as small as drinking water, comfortable room temperature, and a smile from a coworker.

It wasn’t easy at the beginning, but he kept his promise to shift his energy from hating his job to feeling blessed with his job. He learned that attitude determines altitude. If he wanted to fly higher, up the attitude.

Meanwhile, he intentionally went the extra mile for everything he did. He understood a simple principle by observing people he knew for years. 

Whenever he heard a person salivating at others possessing a million dollars, he would chuckle. Because if this person couldn’t handle $1,000 now, how could he/she manage a million dollars? The Universe is infinitely intelligent and knows how to give you what you can handle.

The more good seeds Wayne intentionally sowed, the bigger the harvest he could anticipate. 

Some of the small actions Wayne took became his biggest self-investment for later.

Wayne allowed patients an extra 7 to10 minutes to express their concerns, engaged colleagues in improving patient care and the work environment, noted the smallest efforts to eradicate miscommunication, and acknowledged every win for his patients and team.

During these 30 days, Wayne was becoming the new person he never would have dreamt of. He was feeling good about himself and building momentum of higher self-confidence.

He also took many notes and began developing a plan as a nurse educator.

In the last 30 days, Wayne prepared himself with new skills as a nurse educator.

Wayne had heard a saying, success is when opportunity meets preparation. He went on preparing himself diligently. 

He registered at many job sites, signed up with Toastmasters International to overcome public speaking barriers, took online courses with presentation mastery, and learned to use software to manage contacts and hold a group meetings.

While learning new skills, he expanded himself with social media connections. He could see and feel many possible opportunities ahead.

By the end of 90 days, Wayne was no longer dreading going to work. He was too busy giving thanks, going the extra mile, and working on his projects.

Wayne was living with a new identity, a new Wayne!

In about five months since the time he sought coaching, the opportunity knocked on his door. 

His hospital implemented a new job position: Clinical Nurse Educator!

The position required a nursing master’s degree which Wayne didn’t have, but with multiple recommendation letters from his department, he was miraculously hired!

Wait. Did I mention that the job also gave him a part-time remote option? Less gas and more time with his family?

Here is how Wayne made this career transition happen: 

Wayne was aware of his dissatisfaction and sought help. He was coachable; he took action with gratitude and went the extra mile. He prepared himself for the transition. The transition happened when he was physically and spiritually ready.

If you’re thinking about making a career transition or a career change, let’s chat. Let me learn more about you with my FREE 45 to 60 minutes chat.