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Desperate to switch careers but stuck on what to do next?
"I don't know what or where, but I do know it's neither this nor here."
That's how one of my clients recently described their ongoing career conundrum, in perfect grammar. They'd captured a common hurdle for would-be career-switchers: an idea shortage.
We have vivid fantasies of how it'll feel once we escape the nine-to-five, make money doing what we love, set up side hustles, and create more impact in the world. We might even have enough self-belief to know we can pull it off.
The question we get stuck on, though, is: doing what, exactly?
Once we try answering it, two challenges show up. We don't have enough ideas, and we filter the ideas we do have too early. We struggle to think beyond the same few options that keep bubbling up. Having researched them to death, we conclude they're either too hard, too expensive, or too time-intensive.
So we stay in our lane and watch other people thrive in careers we've never even heard of.
The crucial step most of us have skipped is the ideation phase.
Getting past your inner censor
We all have those "yeah but" colleagues and friends. People who are pragmatic, down-to-earth, and blessed with excellent judgment.
The first rule of ideation is to avoid these people while you're brainstorming. Reach out to the visionaries and dreamers instead.
It's bad enough having to contend with our own internal "yeah but" voice. You don't need extra party poopers.
Julia Cameron, who wrote The Artist's Way, talks about the inner censor. On a good day, the censor cranks out a dozen sensible reasons for letting go of an idea. On a bad day, it tells you you're too old, too dumb, too poor, too impatient, too late, or too unworthy to change careers.
The way to bypass it is to step into the dream room.
The dream room, the realism room, and the spoiler room
This concept was first coined by Walt Disney, who developed a creative strategy based on moving between three consecutive rooms: the dream room, the realism room, and the spoiler room.
Each room requires you to show up wearing a different hat. First the dreamer, then the realist, then the spoiler.
As the dreamer, your sole purpose is to let your imagination run wild and come up with as many ideas as you can. In this room there are simply no bad ideas. Acceptance is key, so never judge or criticise ideas while you're in there.
Only once you're drowning in ideas (and be careful, because most people move on far too early) can you step into the realism room. This is where you start to consider the resources needed to make each idea a reality and rank them by feasibility.
Then, finally, you let your spoiler loose on each idea and make a firm judgement on what to pursue and what to drop.
Don't shelve any ideas until you've reached this final room.
What to do when you're stuck on ideas
I hear you think: nice and well spending all that time in the dream room, but what if the ideas just aren't coming? What if my dream room looks more like a prison cell?
Most people fail to come up with new ideas because they spend too much time fishing in the same pond. They catch the occasional carp, release it back at the advice of their inner realist, then angle that same fish over and over until they hang up their tackle in frustration.
If you want more and better ideas, you'll have to fish in different ponds.
New inputs equals new outputs. The more you expose yourself to novel ideas, experiences, concepts, professions, industries, people, discussions, and events, the more material you'll have to brainstorm with.
To borrow a line from Marian Wright Edelman, who set up the Children's Defense Fund: "You can't be what you don't see." Dozens of roles might be a great fit for you, but you're not even aware they exist.
From design ethicists and chief listening officers to data visualisation managers and privacy engineers, when you start digging, you'll come across a wealth of impactful and engaging professions that pay the bills.
It's not just in tech, either. From high-rise window cleaners to esports coaches, professional handmodels, hostage negotiators, puppeteers, bereavement coordinators, sommeliers, fire investigators, and toxicologists, there are plenty of career paths you may never have heard of.
Tips to help you brainstorm
We often think of brainstorming as a group activity, but it's perfectly possible to do it alone. Here are some tips to help you open your mind and decorate your dream room.
1. Don't panic
If you're under pressure to leave your role or desperate to bring in a salary, this is probably not the best time to brainstorm a career shift. Stick to what you know and find a job in an area where you have existing career capital, even if you tell yourself you hate it. Switching careers takes mental and financial bandwidth, so look after your basic needs first.
2. Get it all out
I could fill an entire newsletter with brilliant ideas I came up with in the shower. By the time I've towelled off, they're already lost to me forever. Note to self: write down every idea that comes to you. Use a notepad or a visual tool like Conceptboard or Miro. Add pictures, videos, or quotes to keep you inspired or stimulate more ideas. Keep that notepad close, because you never know when the muses might pay a visit.
3. Warm up with free association
Whenever you plan to actively think about what to do next, spend a few minutes switching into your right-brain creative mode first with some free association exercises. Originally developed by Sigmund Freud as a way to enter the subconscious, free association involves developing new ideas through a chain of fast word associations, writing or saying whatever comes to mind. It's a useful warm-up.
4. Trust the slow hunch
Great ideas don't usually burst into consciousness fully formed. They lie dormant and take their time to develop. Diffuse thinking plays a big role in idea generation. It's the opposite of focused, conscious thought. Diffuse thinking happens the moment your conscious mind stops concentrating on something, but your subconscious continues to ponder in the background. It explains why our best ideas often arrive while daydreaming in the shower or mind-wandering on a drive.
5. Embrace chaos
Pondering your next career move by locking yourself in a hotel room with a flipchart and a stack of Post-its probably won't cut it. When it comes to creativity, you want to actively seek out chaos. There's a reason the average artist's studio looks like a bomb went off in it.
6. What might you fancy?
Here's a tip from a former mentor I took to heart many years ago. Right before going to bed and immediately after waking up, ask yourself: "What might I fancy?". Don't wait for an answer. Just start going about your day or go to sleep. With that simple phrase, you're instructing your subconscious to do some diffuse thinking by scanning for opportunities and ideas in the background.
7. Forget the big idea
Instead, keep coming up with the next idea. And then the next. And the next. Once you remove the pressure of dreaming up great ideas, you create space for playfulness. At this point, you're mining as much material as possible to sift out the gold nuggets later. Even if an idea turns out objectively ludicrous in one of the next rooms, it might open the door to a slightly less ridiculous one.
8. More, more, more
Brainstorming in your dream room should feel like walking into an all-you-can-eat buffet after a three-day juice cleanse. As per tip 7, you're looking for the next idea, so go for quantity, not quality. Set yourself a numerical goal, or have a pack of Post-its and keep brainstorming until you've written one idea on each.
9. "Yes, what I like about that idea is..."
I've recently become obsessed with improv theatre. One of the basic rules is never to "block" your stage partner by saying "no" or "but" to an idea they bring in. Applied to career brainstorming, if an option excites you but feels a little too "out there", add it to your list regardless. Also write down what you like about that option, because that might stimulate further ideas.
10. Pick the right brainstorming partner
Two brains are often better than one, but be mindful of who you pick. Most of us are naturally critical "yeah but" people, so if you want to make a big career move, pick carefully who you disclose to and when. Find a creative, non-judgemental soul to jam with and clearly explain the dream room ground rules to them before you start. Better still, work with a professional coach. We can offer an objective sounding board, new perspectives, and plenty of tools and frameworks to stimulate new outputs.
11. Spot patterns
Take stock of your hobbies and activities that make you feel alive. What can you tell by the magazines you read, the shows you watch, or who you like spending time with? Which tasks keep you engaged at work? What topics would you love to learn more about? What long-held dreams did you park when people told you you were being frivolous? Note your answers in your dream notepad. They'll probably stimulate further thoughts.
12. Combine existing ideas in new ways
Once you have plenty of ideas on paper, start making random connections between them and see what comes up. For example, see what happens when you connect dog walking with secondary school teaching. The two have nothing in common at first glance, except that they might stimulate the thought of becoming a dog trainer or an equine therapist. Use this technique to keep looking for the next idea, not the big idea.
13. Focus on the adjacent possible
So far, I've encouraged you to go big and wild in the dream room. You'll also want to include any adjacent roles. Author Steven Johnson calls this the adjacent possible. It contains the different paths your life could take if you only made minor changes to your circumstances. Remember to look at what might be right in front of you or sideways, for example by shifting industries, geographies, or employers.
14. Build a habit of seeking out novelty
New inputs equals new outputs, so regularly expose yourself to new ideas. In The Artist's Way, Julia Cameron recommends weekly "artist dates", where you take yourself to a new environment and explore something creative. Why not take yourself on a weekly career date, where you shadow a particular role, attend professional events or job fairs, and allow yourself to feel inspired again about your future?
Step into your inner MacGyver
For those who don't get the reference, MacGyver was a 1980s TV character who could escape any sticky situation thanks to his endless creativity and a Swiss army knife.
His interior design skills were questionable, but I'm hoping these tips will help you tap into your own internal MacGyver so you can fill your dream room with curiosity and inspiration.
Creativity thrives on chaos and novelty. Allow yourself an incubation period of several weeks or months, during which you consistently expose yourself to new inputs and influences. Focus on quantity, not realism. There will be plenty of time for "yeah but" later.
Want to shift careers but have no idea what or how? Book a free consultation call to see if we could work together.