They say the grass is greener on the other side. Maybe it is. But change is hard. For people considering a career change, the more apt way to describe the choice is: the devil you know vs. the devil you don’t.
Two weeks ago I introduced the Four Horsemen of Career Doldrums: Obligation, Inertia, Fear of Change, and Shortsightedness. I’ve written about Obligation, the quiet pull of living someone else’s story. Inertia, the sneaky momentum of just keeping up. Today, I’ll explore the Horseman that convinces you to get off the ride.
Fear of Change.
Fear of Change is the kissing cousin of Inertia, just as insidious. If Inertia is the hamster wheel, Fear of Change is the voice that convinces you to keep running in place. It’s what keeps you cozy while you’re quietly yearning to get off the couch.
It rarely registers as fear. It dresses up as prudence, a wolf in sheep’s clothing. It reinforces the psychological safety of staying the course.
I’ve got a good thing going, you tell yourself: what if change doesn’t work out? Isn’t it better not to risk it? Fear of Change is ready to justify those feelings: “it’s not worth the effort.” “What if you fail?”
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I’ve been working with a client who’s spent over a decade at a high-profile consulting firm. Talented. Well-regarded. But she clearly wasn’t enjoying the work. It was unclear if she ever had. When I asked why she hadn’t started looking, she said she wasn’t sure how her skills would transfer to other roles. But she hadn’t actually tested that assumption by putting herself out there. Her working hypothesis was becoming her reality.
Later in that same conversation, she mentioned things had become too much about five years ago: the same five years she’d gone without a raise. She’d been running out the clock on a decision she’d already made and calling the indecision “not being sure.”
That’s Fear of Change. It’s like gravity. It keeps you grounded. It doesn’t abide by rules of logic. It just needs to sound reasonable enough to give you permission to wait. One more performance review cycle. Until the job market’s a bit better. After your son is a bit older.
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The question isn’t whether your fear is valid. It probably is. The question is whether you’re letting it make the decision for you.
What’s the “devil you know” you’ve been mistaking for a choice? I’d like to hear from you in the comments.
Next week: Shortsightedness, the last Horseman, the one that trades your next five years for your next five minutes.
#careerdoldrums #fearofchange #careercoaching #makeworkwork #careercalibration