Have you been in the same job longer than your long-term relationship, long enough that a lot of important milestones in your life have occurred whilst working in the same company? Do you feel trapped, lack confidence and think you’re skills are too specialized or too limiting?

Great news… all is not lost, you CAN change course and you’re more ready than you realize you are.

Below are 4 strategies to help you shift your mindset, create greater clarity and remove unnecessary roadblocks that are holding you back from finding your dream job.

I was once institutionalized in my job. Whilst I worked their I got engaged, married and had my first and second child. I had a clear vision of where I wanted to go within the company and proceeded to climb the corporate ladder but as time went by I lost the passion that once lit my soul and I started to merely exist in my work environment. I lacked confidence and I started to doubt my abilities.

It is sometimes easier to believe `the devil you know’ is better than `the devil you don’t’ but this mindset, this mentality shuts us off to the opportunities that surround us. Life is about creating opportunities, putting yourself out there, being brave, having the courage and confidence to close a door behind us and go in search for another door to open, a different door that brings new experiences and learnings – that enables us to grow in mind and spirit.

So, if you are one of the many people who feel stuck in their jobs, here are 4 strategies to help get you unstuck.

1. Find your passion and purpose

In order to identify what really ignites that fire in your belly you need to take time out from your everyday busy. Whether that means going for a run or walk by yourself, sitting in a quiet space with pen and journal in hand, going to a favourite place by yourself where you can sit and reflect. Once you know your WHY, i.e. what drives you, you can put strategies in place to implement how you go about achieving it.

This is the first crucial step to taking positive action towards creating change. If you don’t take time to do this, you are sabotaging your opportunities. To create change you need clarity in knowing what you want to do and where you want to head.

2. Without a positive mindset you will fail before you even begin

Your mindset is incredibly powerful if channeled in the right way. Stop making excuses, stop putting up roadblocks. Write down all those roadblocks you keep putting in front of yourself – are they really real or are they just excuses. They may seem very real at first but when you take the time to work through them you may realise those barriers are just your resistance to change.

3. Set specific, realistic and actionable goals

Once you’ve established a road map of what fuels your passion and purpose, identifying the importance of a positive can-do mindset, you need to put your thoughts into more specific, realistic and actionable goals. Goals…what are they? What do they look like? How do you plan for them and why should you have them? Setting goals gives you focus, it ensures your actions are aligned to achieve the outcome that you want. Having goals gives you purpose, it gives you direction and it ensures greater productivity.

– Identify a specific outcome you want to achieve
– List specific actions you need to make to achieve that outcome
– Who do you need to speak to
– What resources do you need/do you need to upskill
– How much time do you need to allocate
– What systems do you need to put in place
– When do you need to achieve it by
– Break it down into chunk sizes and worth through each stage so it doesn’t become too overwhelming

4. Get out there and network

It’s equally important to build a supportive community around you. Nurture those friendships and relationships that provide support and encouragement, connect with new people who are on a similar path. By having clarity on where you are heading and building new relationships with like-minded people you can leverage those partnerships to open up doors for you.

Don’t be afraid to close the door on the path that no longer brings you joy or fulfillment because when one door closes, if we go searching, other doors will open. It is those different doors waiting to be opened that can set us on a course of far greater satisfaction, happiness and contentment. Allow yourself a moment out of your hectic schedule to realize that life doesn’t have to be good, it can be great if you are willing to invest in yourself.

Susan Stevens

Susan Stevens is the founder of New Zealand-based Meme & Co, a jewelry and accessories company with an innovative, woman-centered business model. She has over 18 years experience in sales, marketing and advertising, she climbed the corporate ladder and was committed to her career but her priorities changed when she had her children. Life became a struggle, trying to find a balance between wanting to retain her worth and independence in the workforce without compromising her ability to be a present and attentive mother.

Then, Susan made a terrifying leap – leaving a six figure income to no job and a big mortgage. With a very strong resolve never to go back to the corporate world, and through commitment, perseverance and a passion to succeed, she found as one door closed other doors opened. It was this journey that gave her the motivation and the drive to create an opportunity for other women who want to be in control, who value their independence, who want to be empowered. Her drive to keep a balance between work and family life ultimately resulted in `taking a leap’ into the unknown and embarking on a personal journey of self reflection, new challenges and growth.

Meet Susan here… www.memeandco.com, and on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram