73% of chefs in Wales that left work during the first lockdown have not returned to working in restaurants.

4.3 million workers in the USA quit their jobs during August.

In many sectors and across the world, people are recognising that working to survive is not a fulfilling life.

The radical perspective shift afforded by pandemic changes to work habits has triggered deep, unsettling, and potentially transformative questions about work, life, and what really matters.

Seven years ago, I set out to re-discover my own future, calibrating away from productive, achievement and acquisition-oriented towards purpose fuelled enjoyment, freedom, and contribution.

The journey was difficult, requiring me to question long-held beliefs and expectations about what I should be doing and how my life should look.

Tired of being the version of me I had become; busy reaching for external success, not speaking or living my truth, putting on an acceptable front to the world, putting off my dreams, tolerating the intolerable.

It took waking up to discomforts that had become so familiar I didn't notice how uncomfortable they were. Just like what has happened for many during lockdown.

Photo of woman sat at a laptop with her head in her hands

It took getting honest with myself.

It took giving myself permission to feel my dissatisfaction and fears, rather than disregarding my gut sense that this is not enough for me anymore by stiff-upper-lipping-it to the next shiny goal.

Our brains are wired to avoid the (dangerous) unknown and the system we live in is designed to keep us profitably producing and consuming.

It takes courage to step outside the perceived safety of the known AND the rewards are worth it.

If you are sensing nudges for change and have the stomach for it, these unpalatable questions are a powerful place to start:

What is not working for me?
What feels uncomfortable?
What am I unhappy about?
What don't I like?
What fears and concerns do I have about changing my life/work/situation?

Inspirational photo of someone looking out to sea

While fully facing the discomforts of your current reality rather than papering over the cracks is a potentially scary/depressing/destabilising option, it also has within it great strength and the beginnings of a totally new experience. Not only that but the safety of the known is a crumbling illusion. Clinging on is not a sustainable fix. Better to get ahead of the curve and proactively move into your more satisfying future.

Once you identify what you don’t want you also know what you do want.

So then ask yourself this -

What dream life can I picture for myself that is different to this?

Begin to imagine, dream, and play with ideas options and possibilities.

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