Feeling hopeless about your current job?

Do you feel hopelessly stuck in your career? Here's how to get free Do you dislike your job enough to be miserable but not enough to leave? Do you endlessly think about other options, only to discount them and end up staying right where you are? If so, you may be stuck in career paralysis. It's not a nice place to be; I know because I spent at least seven years there. Rather than face the pain, I tried to run from it. I lived for holidays and got drunk at the weekends to help me forget the dread of Mondays. While there were plenty of practical barriers to change, it was the psychological and emotional barriers which really kept me stuck. Here are five steps to help if you feel similarly: (1) Recognise that you are not a type Careers advice often rests on the idea that you are a "type" of person who can be matched to the "ideal" job. But you are not; you're a complex human being with multiple, often competing, priorities and values. Instead, think in terms of your decision criteria. This involves clarifying the most important things to you in an ideal future career, including what you need to earn, skills you want to develop, how much risk you can take and what kind of values you stand for. It's fine if your criteria conflict; the aim is simply to be very clear on what really matters to you. (2) Identify all your options before you analyse When thinking about new careers, most of us think about the same old options. But the only way we can decide which direction is best is by understanding all the possible options. Often what is missing is some consideration of alternative careers – those not advertised or which are created from scratch. To do this we need to allow ourselves some creative freedom. Generate as many options as possible, listing everything which holds some appeal. Then get out there: go to talks, read, explore and follow interesting leads. If something appeals, write it down. Your mind will immediately want to analyse, but try to resist for now. (3) Evaluate your options Instead of asking which jobs you could do, evaluate your options using your criteria. Score every option against each of your criteria. This may take time, but the results are usually fascinating. Which options can you get rid of? Which options have come top? For the options you retain, do some more research and then re-score, gradually narrowing your options down to a handful. (4) Get into action In career paralysis, people tend to get "headstuck" – they are stuck inside their minds rather than stuck in reality. Psychologists have a phrase for this: cognitive fusion. Being "fused" with our thoughts means we mistake thinking for experience. To get unstuck, we must get out of our minds and into our life. This means taking some considered risks, such as a radical sabbatical or crafting experiments. But the key is to start replacing thoughts about a change with the experience of change. It is action that changes thinking, not the other way around. (5) Your mind is not your enemy But it is not your friend either. Even when you get into action, your mind will try to derail the process: "You haven't thought this through, there must be a better option." It's easy to fuse with these thoughts and defer action. But remember that your mind's primary job is to keep you safe; it will not want to take risks. It's tempting to wait to feel certain about a new direction, but this can be a trap. Rather than trying to change your thoughts, or waiting to feel 100% motivated, see if you can focus on taking action even in the presence of doubts and uncertainty. That's really the key to getting unstuck. If you can move towards your values while accepting your doubts and fears, not only will you escape career paralysis but you will never be headstuck again.