When Lost in Their Careers, People Go Looking for the "Right Answer"

When people are lost in their careers, they tend to start looking for the "right answer."

Should I change jobs?
Should I stay at my current company?
Should I stop working reduced hours?
Will I regret this choice?

They keep gathering information, comparing conditions, and thinking about which one seems the most "correct."

However, this search for the right answer itself can sometimes increase the burden on your heart.

There is no right answer in a career

This is because there is no "right answer that is the same for everyone" in a career. But we still end up starting to "look for the right answer," don't we?

The pain of not finding an answer is not because you are indecisive or lack resolve. It is simply that the way you are questioning yourself is slightly off.
What is important is not "which is correct," but "what am I not satisfied with?"

Searching for the right answer is often done only through visible conditions (the outside) such as changing jobs, salary, or work style, but in reality, it is also an act of searching for the discomfort, fatigue, resignation, and wishes that exist within yourself.

The reason why the same worries repeat even if you change your environment

What happens if you change only your environment without understanding that?

The worries will reappear in a different form. And this time, you will start blaming yourself for "worrying about the same thing again."

Did I waste my time?
Is there something wrong with me after all?

But that is not because you failed. You just haven't replaced the way you question yourself. I have faced this structure many times in the field of career counseling.

What was behind the consultation of "I want to change jobs"

One person came to me for a consultation, saying, "I don't have any major complaints about my current company, but I'm thinking about changing jobs to realize what I want to do."

The conditions are not bad. There are no obvious problems with interpersonal relationships. Even so, the feeling of "is it okay to stay like this?" just won't go away.

As we talked more, it gradually became clear that changing jobs itself was not the goal.

That person was actually unable to see their own future due to their relationship with their boss. A feeling that they were not being accepted, even when they consulted or made proposals. An ambiguity where they didn't know if they were being counted on or not.

It's not enough to call it dissatisfaction. But it is definitely something that is bothering them.

That sense of discomfort accumulated, and before they knew it, it had led to the conclusion that "I cannot achieve what I want to do here."

What I cover in career consulting

What I cover in career consultations is not deciding whether or not to change jobs.

First, we stop together to look at:

・Where the sense of discomfort originated
・What you are not satisfied with
・What feelings you have left behind

It is about carefully re-examining where you are placing your questions.

That person, too, said this while we were talking:

"I thought I couldn't move forward unless I changed jobs, but first, I want to try talking to my boss properly."

They organized what they were feeling and chose the action of consulting directly with their boss. The situation did not change dramatically overnight. Even so, "being able to face the possibilities they had given up on" and "being able to act on their own will" seemed to be a major turning point for them.

The value of career consultation is not the "answer" but the "degree of conviction"

The choice to change jobs was not wrong.

However,by reframing the question, the options increased.

I believe this is the value of career consulting.

It is not a place to provide answers for life, but a time to regain your own sense of self and rethink future choices as "your own."

If you are lost right now

If you feel like you are going around in circles right now, please try this first.

Try writing it down on paper for just 3 minutes.

"What is bothering me right now?"
"What would make me feel a little clearer?"

You don't have to try to come up with an answer, and you don't have to summarize it neatly. Just try giving a name to the discomfort inside you. That alone will help the questions come into view little by little.

From there, your career choices begin.

🌿 Thank you for reading to the end. If you found this post helpful, it would encourage me if you could follow or like it! I also share daily tips on discomfort and career development on Instagram 👇️

@emi_leadership_coach