

A profession should be something we approach with curiosity and anticipation, not avoidance. Sometimes, you need to power through something to develop a positive habit (all of us should exercise, for example, but it can be hard to get started) but other times it’s necessary to take a temporary or permanent break. She realized, ultimately, that she needed a long break from writing if she was ever going to fall in love with it again. But at some point, she had grown tired of it and began seeking ways to avoid it - procrastinating, choosing almost any activity from laundry to yard work over putting words on a page, and getting lost on social media when she’d finally sit down to write. You actively look for ways to avoid your job.Sometimes we simply accomplish what we set out to achieve and are ready to move on to new challenges. But after he retired, he found he was satisfied with that period of his life, which had been an incredible source of meaning, and was ready to leave it behind.

The first phase of his life was all about football. A former colleague of mine played in the NFL. Sometimes, you may lack growth in your current position because there’s nothing left to aspire to.

The best athletes will often diversify their physical training or dramatically change their routines. It’s no longer encouraging your growth.I always advise people to be thoughtful about reinventing their current work before moving on to something new, there are times where the right choice is to strike out on a fresh path.Īs you consider whether to join the Great Resignation or take on a career transition, here are a few signs you might use to evaluate whether it’s time to truly move on from work that previously provided you with meaning: But big decisions, like a career change, should be approached thoughtfully. All of us experience moments when we must face the difficult decision to let go of doing something that formerly offered us purpose, as I highlight in the HBR Guide to Crafting Your Purpose.
