Choose to Experiment rather than be Perfect

Perfectionism is such a DIS-EASE in our culture. Too many times, I see clients “trying to get it right” during career transition versus trying things out. My answer is EXPERIMENT, allow yourself to experiment. We often think we know what is right for us, but often we do not know.

The best solution is to experiment with various ideas.

Women especially can fall into the trap of thinking what others say is the right next step, when in reality their suggestions or ideas do not align with our personal values. In the end, we may have pleased the other party, but ultimately we are left feeling empty.

How do I experiment, may be your next question. I suggest, first to think about what you loved when you were a kid. What did you do with ease? What did you do without being asked? Start there. Maybe you played an instrument, danced, drew or sewed? Maybe you created plays or built structures. Allow yourself to go to a place of joy and/or satisfaction. Check in with yourself and explore how it might it feel to try this thing out again? What do you notice in your body? What do you feel?

The more you put things in your life that you enjoy, you then expand and with expansion comes creativity and with creativity comes new ideas. When you are in career transition, you want ideas, lots of ideas. Ideas invite possibility, and with possibility comes experimentation. You want to feel expansive! When our body contracts from PERFECTIONISM we close the channel of creating and ideas. You want that channel open. 

The next ingredient to experimenting is looking at people in your life doing work that inspires you. Talk to them. Meet with them and learn more. What do they like about their work? What was their career journey? What is hard about their work? What do they most value in life and work? (Hint: make sure it aligns with what you value.) If you are lit up, then ask them to connect you to 2 to 3 people doing work that inspires them. Then go meet and talk to those contacts.

One step at at time, this is all you need to create more purposeful work. There is no such thing as a perfect career transition, there is simply trial and error. AND big doses of self-compassion, gentleness, and ease. Truly being kind to yourself as you try things out during your transition is the key to feeling good about the change you seek. Change does happen, and it can happen with ease. Experiment.