A common trigger for career change in 40s, 50s or 60s

Wanting more satisfying work is much like wanting to lose weight - possessing the desire to weigh less, rarely motivates anyone into making changes that result in a transformation.

Whereas being very clear about the very specific elements of body composition, or exact fitness gaps that you are unhappy with, focuses the mind on change.

Many people consider career change (and weight loss #guilty) for a very long time…without much change occurring. 

Being crystal clear on the specifics that you don’t want in your future career, clears the mind to focus on the next step in any career change.

In my ongoing change interviews with midlife professionals, I’ve noticed two broad triggers for career change.   

In this article I focus on one of those triggers:

…A DESIRE FOR LESS of the nonsense that makes their work less Enjoyable, less satisfying, and definitely less fun than it could be…

Acknowledging what you don’t want in your future work, appears to be a crucial starting point for change. This is the equivalent of clearing the fridge, and pantry, of the sugary treats that could railroad a future weight loss programme.

From my research, I’ve discovered that there are 3 specific categories that trigger change.

Here are some quotes from midlife professionals, who decided what it was that they had had enough of before, then moving onto the next stages in designing their new work.

Do any resonate with you?

1. Exhaustion

“I realised I’d been spending two hours each day commuting. This is the equivalent of 2 full working days, in addition to a five-day week, where you’re working 40-50 hours a week.” (Client, Media, 40s)

“I’m physically and mentally burned out. I’m worried that I’m not performing at my best and that it might start to show.” (Client, Law, 50s)

“I had had enough of the dread, of having to look forward, every year, to the business struggle, the redundancies and the disruption. Enough of 10-12-hour days, travelling across London. Being exhausted at the weekends. I thought there’s got to be more to life than this.” (Denyse Whillier, Chief Executive to Executive Coach and Business Scale Expert)

“I hit my mid-40s and began to wonder how I wanted to spend my remaining working career. I was fed up working 60-hour weeks for someone else, always being on call. I felt like a commodity in the end.” (Kelly-Ann Grimes, Hospitality IT COO to PA Franchise Owner)

“I’d burned out doing work that didn’t suit me. But my drive and hard-working personality had kept me going. I’d never considered any other career than this, ever. But, I made the decision that when I would go back to work, if I could go back to work, I would definitely not be a solicitor.” (Client, Legal, 40s)

2. Stress

“I was on blood pressure tablets and heart strengthening drugs and was still dealing with the death of my father the previous year. Work stress was the least of my worries, but there came a point when I recognised that it was at the core of my worries.” (Client, Retail, 40s)

“My Sunday night blues started at 6am on Sunday morning. I hated going on relaxing holidays, because I couldn’t relax and my work stress was putting a strain on my lovely relationship.” (Client, FMCG, 40s)

“A whole swathe of managers were offered the opportunity to stick around for heart attacks and early deaths. Most of us had signed the papers before they hit the desks!” (Ges Ray, Former Banker to Public Speaking Entrepreneur)

“I’d been carrying around my resignation letter for months, but couldn’t make myself hand it in. I couldn’t figure out why not.” (Client, Technology, 40s)

3. Work that doesn’t fit anymore

“As a senior female, I felt shrunk to fit, forced to specialise in something that I didn’t love, and being edged out of a successful, cut-throat world of advertising.” (Client, Media, 50s)

“I’d grown tired of trying to motivate people to change when they didn’t want to.” (Client, Financial Services, 50s)

“For so many years, I left before the kids went to school and I’d return when they were in bed. Or I would travel the world for 2 weeks at a time.” (Andy Eaton, International Finance Director to Owner of Accounting Firm)

“One new leader proved to have a cataclysmic effect on my enjoyment of work.” (Ben Fielding - Technology Career to Joint-Owner in a Technology Firm)

“I’d been carrying around my resignation letter for months but couldn’t make myself hand it in. I can’t figure out why not.” (Client, Technology, 40s)

“I felt like I was moving further and further away from work that I really enjoyed.” (Lindsay Cornelissen – Banking Industry Leader to Wine Entrepreneur)

“Even though I had a great career and a six-figure salary, I was expected to keep moving up in a career I had fallen into. I just didn’t want to go any higher. The roles weren’t attractive to me.” (Julia Duncan, Technology Career to Photographer)

“Then I started to realise that the day job was just not me anymore. I’d always been fairly good at getting job offers, but I had just stopped connecting with MDs in my late 40s. I was maybe too expensive, too grumpy, too old, or simply too opinionated. They just wanted me to do the job the way that they wanted it done.” (Andy Eaton - International Finance Director to Own Accounting Firm)

“I’d fallen out of love with sales a few years ago, around the time when I filed for divorce.” (Client, Recruitment, 40s)

“I realised then that I had had enough of this culture of profit over people.” (Jennifer Corcoran - Executive Assistant to Social Media Trainer for Entrepreneurs)

Clarifying what you will not accept in your future work, is a very good place to begin a career make-over.

It’s a starting point - that moves you from feeling stuck….to feeling clear about what you don’t want. It helps you see the wood for the trees.

The Get Clear on Your Kryptonite worksheet is one of many free resources offered within the “Never too old, Never too late” Midlife Unstuck community.

Download it HERE and you’ll join an army of midlife professionals who are learning how to design more satisfaction into their work-lives.

If you liked this article you might like this Tedx talk.

You’ll hear more about my own personal triggers for change.

Stuck in a career that doesn't fit any more? Do you just know you can't keep doing what you are doing for another 10 years (never mind 20 years!) but don't know where to begin figuring out how to do work that could be more satisfying, more fulfilling and possibly...