Replacing limiting beliefs
Belief changes everything. If you believe you can, it makes sense to go for your goals. If you believe you can't, you may feel disempowered and frustrated. But beliefs come from different places and vary greatly depending on the person. Beliefs cross every aspect of our lives from work to relationships to political affiliations. Many of our beliefs are so unconscious that we consider them more like facts than just beliefs. In reality, they may be unique to us. When I was in school, I had a belief that I'd have to learn a language to set myself apart from the competition. That belief wasn't true or helpful. In fact, it sent me in the wrong direction for longer than it should have. It was a limiting belief, meaning a belief that limited my growth.
Limiting beliefs hold us back. They are both negative and untrue beliefs, unlike facts, which are objectively true. An example of a limiting belief is someone feeling like their Spanish isn't good enough to do a job when really they are fluent. That's different to someone who literally doesn't know any Spanish.
Challenge your beliefs about education, salaries and changing careers. More education isn't the answer to all your problems. It's a nice idea that simply going back to college, doing some project work and meeting new people will solve any career issues. This strategy can work but it can also postpone the decision. Make sure that it's not just an easy way of avoiding a pressing issue.
You don't have to meet all the requirements in the job description to be valuable. If you decide to retrain, ensure you are retraining out of volition and not force. Next, ask yourself, “what job would I do if I didn't want to retrain?” If you have an answer to that question, great! Why don’t you do that job now? Would you be open to looking at jobs that harness your existing skills and experience? Or if you could move to another job you liked in a similar area, would you prefer to do that? Sometimes career changers are very determined to make a complete change — to go back to education and change careers completely. They have the drive to take on a new course and change their profession. They want to learn the specifics of the new role and are confident in their new career path.
Do you need to take a drop in salary to change jobs? I've heard people volunteering to take a reduction in salary even though nobody asked for it. If you change jobs or careers and continue to use transferable skills, why would you need to take a salary cut? You'll be delivering similar value to your previous role and you'll have more experience than you did when you agree to your previous salary figure.
You can fail at what you don't want, so you might as well take a chance on doing what you love.
Jim Carey
In the past, I've heard beliefs like:
"I don't think I can do a job I like and get paid for it"
"I don't have enough experience to get a job"
"I'm too old!"
"Companies don't want people with my skills"
"There are no jobs!"
You might read the above statements and think they could be true, but they are simply beliefs — limiting beliefs. To help you better understand yourself and your core beliefs about work, try answering these 10 questions below:
Do you think work is something to be endured or embraced?
Do you believe you could be replaced easily?
Do you need to be an expert to change careers?
Are your skills transferable across jobs and industries?
Do you feel you need more formal education to get a new job?
Do you feel you must follow a passion to feel satisfied at work?
If you changed jobs, would your salary increase, decrease or stay the same?
Do you think getting a new job is easy or difficult?
If you leave a job, do you see yourself as letting people down or doing what's best for you?
Do your beliefs serve you well or badly?
If you don't have any empowering beliefs, then maybe it's time to question your core beliefs about work. Doing this short exercise might seem like a hassle, but it will help you clarify exactly what you're thinking and why. It's a good idea to start this now and come back to it later to refine what you've written and add more.
EXERCISE: In the first column, jot down your limiting beliefs about work. In the second column, write down your empowering beliefs about work. If you don't have any, write down what you'd like to believe.