I was thinking of writing this article for a while now. If you want to be successful in your life then you must have a successful career too.
Usually people choose to have only one career but sooner they realize that they are finding it difficult to make it happen and they might like to switch to a new career.
It is not really important to stick it to one career if you want to be successful. You can always switch gears if you see light on the other side of the tunnel.
I mean to say if it is not working out with your current job then you can think of other job which suits you better.
Take my example.
I was working as a software developer/programmer for quite few years, I was happy but I needed more money to buy a house and a car. My programmer job was not paying me enough.
Hence I decided to switch my job as a day trader in stock market. But changing your career from one job to another is not easy because you know nothing about the new job.
Your mind is always occupied by anxiety and fear whether you will be successful with your new job or not.
You have to learn everything about your new job very quickly. But the most important challenge to overcome would be fear factor.
How do you convince your mind that yes you can make it happen with your job?
Here are 7 ways to overcome your fear and anxiety for a career change.
1. Strong Willpower, Positive Attitude and Passion to Succeed
Well this is very clichéd but I need to repeat this. Shifting a job is not very easy and you have to have strong willpower that yes you can make it.
Your mind is constantly absorbed in fear that you will make it or not. You need a positive attitude.
You know all these things but it is worth mentioning again. Do not think of changing your career without a strong willpower and positive attitude.
Otherwise fear and anxiety would overcome you and you will never succeed.
2. Save Enough Money in your Bank Account
Now let us move on from preaching to real life.
Fear of changing a career could easily be mitigated if you have saved enough money in your bank account.
One of the reasons fear being fomented is because of financial security. If you do not have savings and you want to switch careers then it could be risky.
A bank account with no money is prime reason why you fear. Hence, I recommend you to save enough money from your first job so you can switch gears with a fearless mind.
3. First Know Successful People in a Career You Would Like to Switch to then Quit Your Current Job
Another way to overcome fear is to know people who are extremely successful in the career you want to shift to.
Take my example. I wanted to shift my career from programmer to day trader. And I knew nothing about day trading.
Hence to gain confidence I started meeting people who are successful with day trading and stock market. I met them and asked them how much money have you made and are you happy. Is day trading for real?
Can I start and become successful like you. If you meet even two to three genuine people who are successful then it will give you confidence that yes I can do it.
If they can do it then I can do it too. This is perhaps the best way to overcome fear while you are changing career.
4. Learning Every Trick of the Trade
You have to work hard there is no other easy route. If you know more about your new career fear will not engulf your mind. If you know about the job then you could talk about it in a great length in an interview.
Knowledge overcomes every fear in your mind. Therefore try to learn new things about your new job before you switch gears.
It will come in handy once you get the job as pressure is very less and instead of fearing your new job you would start enjoying it.
5. Stay Away from People with Negative Influences
A man is known by company he keeps. Try your best to stay away from people who are ready to give you an advice even though they have done nothing in their lives.
They will always tell negative things and discourage you from doing right thing. It is better to not share your plan of changing your career.
Instead of motivating they will tell everything that is wrong with your new career choice hence demoralizing you. Save yourself from kinds of negative influences.
6. Always Have Plan B or a Contingency Plan
Again fear is fomented by a mind which is not sure what is going to happen next. You are uncertain about your future.
What if you don’t succeed in your new career? To overcome this fear you must have Plan B. If you are not succeeding in your new career then you always have an option to go back to your previous job where you left from.
A contingency plan would give you peace of mind or a backing that if anything goes wrong then I could always revert back to what I was doing earlier.
7. Family Support
The last way to overcome fear for change of a new career is having full backing of your family. You cannot realize the importance of family support especially when you are looking for a change in your career.
It makes things easy for you. If something goes wrong then there is always someone with shoulders you can lay your head on.
Fear will not bother you if you have a great family support.
So these were 7 ways you can overcome your fear of changing your career. I shared these with my personal experience.
