Is It Time for a Change?

Posted on January 15, 2012 by Mark Strong, One of Thousands of Life Coaches on Noomii.

“If pulling the covers over your head sounds better than pushing ahead in your job, it’s time for a change.”
–Mark Strong

As one year wraps up and another begins, we at Mark Strong Coaching believe there is no better time to take stock of your work life. I’ve taken the opportunity in our last few blogs to further explore some quotes that I’ve recently posted at Mark Strong Coaching on Facebook—the quote at the top of this blog is one of them.

The quotes on our Facebook page reflect our executive coaching and life coaching philosophies, and we hope you’ll find them to be motivating and inspiring reminders as you work toward your personal and professional goals.

As you gear up for 2012, I have one question for you: how do you feel when you wake up in the morning? Do you look forward to the challenges of the work ahead of you, or would you rather go back to bed? If pulling the covers over your head sounds better than pushing ahead in your job, then you need to reverse your push-pulls. This is one of the goals of executive coaching: to help you find and focus on work that truly fulfills you. I can tell you that when you’re doing that kind of work—work that fits—then you will have no trouble facing the day.

I know because I’ve been there, too. I hired my own executive coach nearly a decade ago because I faced increasing challenges as I advanced rapidly in my career. I needed help navigating issues that included finding the right balance for my work and personal life, and choosing the best way to apply my on-the-job talents. The experience of executive coaching led me to restructure my own approach to work and life. It led to my decision to become an executive and life coach, and to make coaching the centerpiece of my professional life.

Here are some tips that I learned through this process on how to wake up happier:

Make that change. Though my life is still as hectic, and I still face as many challenges as I did before I made the switch described above, the difference is in how I feel now. I’m doing exactly what’s right for me—and you can do that, too. How? By changing. As Greek philosopher Heraclitus said, “The only constant is change.” I also like to remind clients that if nothing changes, nothing changes—which means it’s up to you to take that first step toward making your life what you want it to be.

Be prepared to do it yourself. A career coach can guide you and help you see what must be done for your best health and growth. But no one can actually make the needed changes except for you. If you chose “pulling covers” rather than “pushing ahead” in the question at the beginning of this post, then you know it’s time for a change. Take that knowledge and start to take steps toward creating something different and better for you.

Commit to fixing it. Life is not meant to be a tedious, difficult slog, though we may lose sight of that fact in the midst of our daily work lives. Though we all go through difficult points in our careers, you should never have to wake up feeling dread, panic, or extreme anxiety about what awaits you at the office. If you do, take it as a sign that you must find a way to better your situation, and make a firm commitment to doing so.