Sometimes career transition sucks. Sometimes your job sucks.
It happens to everyone. But that doesn't mean you have to just suck it up, shut up and color, and simply endure it.
If you're in career transition, you gotta work hard, no doubt, but you also need to build in breaks. Transition can be a grind. The unknowns, the risks, the uncertainty, all can add up and wear you down. But not taking breaks is a bad plan. Consider this:
- Road marches, when well done, build in planned stops to check your feet, change your socks and adjust your load.
- Endurance auto racing includes pit stops because even the highest performing machines need a break to re-fit and refuel.
The same logic applies to career transition and job search. Build in breaks. Take them before you break.
Once you've landed you may find that your new gig isn't all you thought it would be. You're frustrated, you know its not a fit. You're not happy, not as productive as you know you can be, and there's little sunshine on the horizon. You being wondering what to do next.
"Quitting" comes to mind. But as military veterans we don't quit. Ever. Its not in our DNA. I get it. I believe it.
But pressing a bad position for too long is never good.
Consider this:
"Quitting" doesn't usually mean "Surrender in Defeat". Military veterans tend to see it this way. I know I did. For far too long.
It was only after several post-military transitions that I came to realize just how wrong that perspective is.
Rarely does quitting a bad job mean 'surrender in defeat'. Far more often it is a positive action taken to re-shape one's 'career battlefield' and to create more advantageous conditions ... and that is always a good thing!
Be well my friends. Keep up the fire!