I think a lot of us graduated from high school and higher education believing that we would specialise in a specific area, get a job in that role, work our way up the corporate ladder to a high position, and that’s what success looks like, right?
Although that may still ring true for some people, what I’ve found personally is that we feel inspired to work in certain areas until we learn as much as we can from it, and once we’ve reached that upper limit, we then have a nagging feeling that there’s something different out there for us.
Unfortunately, a lot of people avoid investigating that feeling, for fear of "failing" the career they thought they wanted for life.
When we’re tempted by alternative pathways, our inner critic, who is dutifully trying to keep us safe (and remember, familiar = safe to that part of our brain), sends us down rabbit holes with tales of inadequacy, failure and not being able to “hack it” in the career we chose.
There’s also a misconception that moving away from what you originally studied, or an industry you’ve worked in for a long time, means you’re abandoning it all, throwing away everything you’ve learnt and starting completely from scratch.
This is all sounding pretty bleak, so let me skip to the light at the end of the tunnel. In reality, what I’ve found is that each iteration of your career is part of your unique development journey. Each step leads you to another opportunity that you could never have envisioned at the beginning. And each role builds your skills in ways that remaining in the same role, in the same environment, never could.
So in reality, when we move through different careers, industries, and experiences, we're not starting over, we're building on what came before. The skills, perspectives, relationships and lessons all come with us. Sometimes the thing that feels like a detour ends up becoming the very thing that prepares us for what's next.
In my podcast episode this week, I’m interviewing someone whose career path is a perfect example of this kind of non-linear career journey. Moving through teaching, acting, print-making, small-business ownership, motherhood and now founding an online resource platform, Maree Giannetti's story is a reminder that careers don't always unfold in a straight line.
What struck me most about our conversation was that none of these phases were wasted. Each chapter gave her something she needed at that point in her life, even if she couldn't see where it was leading at the time.
And I think that's the part we often forget when we're in the middle of our own uncertainty.
We expect ourselves to know exactly where we're going, we want certainty before we take the next step, but sometimes the next step only makes sense when you look back at it all.
If you're currently questioning your direction, wondering whether you've outgrown something, or feeling drawn towards a path that doesn't neatly fit the plan you once had, perhaps the question isn't "What if I'm getting this wrong?"
Perhaps the question is "What if this is my next chapter?"
🎧 This week on Unwind Your Mind, Maree and I explore what it means to follow curiosity, trust your instincts, and allow your career to evolve as you do.
You can listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts:
As I moved through my own career journey, the less convinced I became that fulfilment comes from perfectly executing a plan made by a younger version of ourselves.
To me, fulfilment comes from being willing to listen when life starts nudging us in a different direction. And trusting that not every chapter needs to make sense immediately to have great value.
– Nat
PS If you want more from Maree you can connect with her on Instagram or LinkedIn, or explore her platform Shareify. There are so many valuable resources on there from a diverse range of creators, I'm sure they'll be something that sparks your interest.
PPS I'd love to know, has your career unfolded the way you thought it would when you were 18? Hit reply and let me know. I have a feeling many of us have a very different story than the one we originally planned.
