CONSIDERING CHANGING BOATS IN MID-STREAM?

Does Career Change in Midlife seem daunting?

When she was 55 Rebecca made a career shift from architecture to something closer to her dreams of her 20s when she thought of becoming a physician. Today she’s enrolled in a nurse practitioner program specializing in neonatal intensive care that will result in a master’s degree in 3 years.

In looking back she thought in her mid-20s that she was “too old” to begin medical school…

Today she reports: “I feel like I am doing exactly what I’ve wanted to do my entire life. I have an incredible level of confidence about the situation. Things have never felt so right.”
–Rebecca Armstrong, “Presto Change-O”, AARP Magazine 2006

Hello Mid-lifer looking at different careers :

Reflect a moment with me about how young adults “choose” their careers: there are the single-minded ones who always knew that they wanted to be a marine biologist or firefighter or lawyer…then there are the practical ones whose focus is on making big bucks so they choose business or computer science--whatever in their college years appears to be the quickest road to success…then there are those who don’t know what they want and have to choose something as the pressures mount to make a decision…

Whatever your path, many of us are like Rebecca who made career decisions for the “wrong” reasons.

Whatever road you’ve taken, if you’re reading this page, you now have reason to reflect on your career choices and possibly changing careers.

I found Rebecca’s story in a recent AARP magazine article. I also learned that 76 percent of baby-boomers intend to “retire” and then keep on working after they make a career switch.

Are you taking this in? You’re not alone. There are others too who

How would you like to deal with this career challenge?

Are you wondering: what are the best careers for women to look at? Are you thinking about a career from the perspective of being an “older woman”?

Regardless of your present approach, for all of us, it’s not a casual question—you are this point because:

Joyce Roche, 59, changed careers when she was president and COO of a hair-care company because: “I wanted to do something more meaningful, and make a difference.” Working for less pay for Girls Inc. she reports: “I used to go on vacation to feel re-energized and rejuvenated. Now I feel that way every day.”

Linda Reardon out of work after a merger set up shop in a different line of work reporting: “I feel like I am putting my talents to work and having a lot of fun.”
– From “Presto Change-O,” AARP magazine 2006

There are so many concerns that arise. Often you have become accustomed to a certain lifestyle and any job available to you doesn’t support what you are accustomed to. Do you settle for less?

Perhaps, you’ve never thought very deeply about what kind of work you want to do in your life before: your career was the result of easy choices or opportunities too good to pass up…

GOOD NEWS--Now at midlife you get to make a thoughtful decision giving yourself all the time you need.

It’s easy enough at this point to seek out quick fixes such the various career testing programs that are available to you through your company, some local services or the Internet. But before you do that, would you please consider one thing…

THIS DECISION COULD BE ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT DECISIONS OF YOUR LIFE.

This midlife crisis or midlife transition in your career life may be the opportunity of a lifetime that should not be taken lightly. Many career programs are not designed to probe at the level of depth that I am suggesting in the following paragraphs.

What do I know? Who am I? My name is Anne Uemura. As a psychologist at UC-Berkeley I worked with hundreds of students in career testing and counseling. That experience serves as an instructive contrast to my looking at career changes in midlife in helping others in midlife transitions and experiencing my own.

What is different about midlife career change?

When we began our first adulthood we had little experience, perhaps lot of dreams and idealism. Now beginning a second adulthood we know more about the realities of life.

As Dr. Allen Chinen, a psychiatrist who wrote about midlife in Once Upon a Midlife, “Unlike the youthful fairy tales of ‘happily ever after,’ midlife is more about facing the harsh realities of life.”

Earlier in our lives we did the best we could despite the fact that we didn’t have enough experience to know who we were (and who we would grow to be), what we would loved the best and what our talents were: we made choices because of practicality or because some authority figure thought they knew better what our lives should be. Or we thought the goals we picked for ourselves would satisfy our soul and heart…

No matter how uncomfortable it may be, please take a long pause and don’t put pressure on yourself to make a quick decision. Isn’t the rest of your life worth time and space to reflect and consider seriously what your choices are? Shouldn’t you take some extra time to figure out…

SELF EXPLORATION TAKES TIME AND THOUGHT

You may want to consider that you will not be truly satisfied with your career unless it is one that reflects your life purpose which only you can discover and know--one that utilizes your unique talents and perspective on life. It may take some time to discover what only you can know—what can make you truly satisfied.

Deepak Chopra tells a story about how he used the law of dharma with his children. When they were little, he told them that there was a reason why they were here and their responsibility was to discover what that reason was. Think about what a powerful and influential perspective that was for his children. It made a world of difference for them to base their lives on such deep roots. They each found meaningful careers/work that brought them abundance early in their adult lives.

In a similar way you may want to think about a career change in terms of deeper values rather than what often attracts the young—fame, fortune, big houses, fancy clothes and the toys. You may think about being of service, of pursuing your passions, of utilizing what is unique about you.

These are big questions to ask yourself. Looking at a midlife career change is a large undertaking. You may do all right negotiating it by yourself…

But remember the analogy in the headline of this page? Switching boats in mid-stream can be daunting. It requires attention to many factors. Having an experienced guide can be immensely helpful.

A story to illustrate:

Let me share with you a recent experience with a coaching client who came to me because she was feeling stalled in her work life. In a solid marriage of many years she wasn’t making any headway in her second career, real estate. The “aha” moment didn’t come until I asked her to do some writing to begin exploring possibilities for herself.

She loves to write, she told me, and soon talked about an unfinished novel started when she was much younger. After our sessions, she moved quickly--she enrolled in a writing class, started a copywriting course, and made it very clear to her business partner and husband what he could expect of her in terms working in their real estate business. (He agreed.) What she wanted became very clear to her in our work together.

“From the start Anne's serene environment put me at ease. Then she began to ask questions, very pointed questions that took me on a journey to understand what was going on with me. Within a few sessions I was able to gain clarity and understanding of the career direction I wanted to expand on. Anne led me to see for myself what I needed and how important it was for me to value that. Anne's focused, simple way of working with clients brings satisfaction and a sense of getting what you came for. The time I spent with Anne was very worthwhile and I would work with her again if I felt the need.”
– Celia L., Bay Area, CA

Join her by calling me for a free introductory session and discover whether working with me may be helpful to you as you deal with this challenge in your life.

But be forewarned : I love working by reaching into the depths…so you must truly want to grow, evolve and be willing to re-create yourselves to find what you came to this life to do and to be.

Contact me: Yes I am ready.

You have absolutely nothing to lose, do you? If you want to learn more about me, click on this link (About Anne). If you want to learn more about life coaching with me, go to this link (Life Coaching).

Also if you decide to continue with me, I operate on the basis of 100% satisfaction guaranteed.

Yes, you are refunded your money when you find that you are not getting your money’s worth.

BONUS for acting quickly, available for a limited time--Because I know the difference that my career coaching could make in your life, I am prepared to offer you one FREE session so that you can experience exactly what I am talking about when I say this can change your life. 

Click on the link below and fill out the information in the form, and I will contact you for your complimentary Career coaching session.  I promise you will have a real sense of what is possible out of our conversation.  Also you may have a friend who would find my Career Coaching of value.  Please feel free to forward my website address to them.

Again, you risk little by experimenting and have so much to gain. I would be pleased to walk with you on this journey of discovery, growth and fulfillment.

Warmest regards,
Anne