Top Fears Keeping You in an Unfulfilling Career

Fear is pervasive, it’s an emotion that will make you feel like everything you’re doing is wrong. But fear is just that, an emotion, a feeling. You often cannot control when it shows up. The real problem arises when you start making decisions from a place of fear – this is when you move from fear to being afraid. In this article, I share the top fears keeping you in an unfulfilling career.

An unfulfilling career is a career path that makes you dissatisfied and unhappy and does not fully allow you to express your abilities, characteristics, and strengths. 

As we talk about these fears keeping you in an unfulfilling career, it’s important to note that these fears that I share in this article are all valid, perfectly normal, and natural in the process of change. But the first step to overcoming your fears is being aware of them.

Let’s jump right to the fears.

Top Fears Keeping You in an Unfulfilling Career

Fear #1: Making the “Wrong Choice”

When you don’t know what career options are available to you, this fear arises. But, what’s really under this fear is the fear is disappointing yourself by making what you think is the wrong choice.

The problem with this thought process is the only way for you to know if it’s the wrong choice is for you to make it! You have to take action.

When you’re in an unfulfilling career, the mentality that you should have is “Anything has got to be better than this”.

See, our brain does this thing where it’s always looking for negative outcomes. We immediately default to thinking about worst-case scenarios when we’re facing change. 

When you’re faced with this fear of making a wrong choice, you have to take a step forward. Instead of focusing on the negatives, think about the potential positive outcomes by asking yourself “What if this works?”.

 Don’t let the fear of the wrong choice keep you stuck by focusing only on the negative possibilities. 

Fear #2: Losing Money/Sacrifice of Status

A lot of people assume that meaningful work means not getting paid a salary that’s aligned with their values. They are afraid of shifting to a new or different lifestyle because of the fear of losing the lifestyle that they’re already used to.

To address this fear, what you need to do is to research and find evidence if that assumption is true. But I can tell you from my experience, it is extremely false. Besides myself, there’re a ton of people that are in fulfilling careers and are still getting excellent compensation.

I often work with my clients to ensure that they end up in a career that allows them to still earn a value-aligned salary. When it comes to your salary, getting a value-aligned salary is less about if the career is aligned and fulfilling, it’s more your ability to negotiate for a value-aligned salary. Look at the options out there that align with who you are, and develop the skills that you need to negotiate for a salary that is aligned with what your value-add to an organization.

Fear of Sacrificing Status

In addition, pivoting your career comes with sacrifice because you’re taking a risk. Many people are afraid to take this chance because they are afraid of going back to what they perceive to be a “lower role” or “starting over”.

A good analogy is from Beyonce’s “Homecoming” documentary when she made a powerful statement during one of her rehearsals. She talked about how a lot of people don’t want to be a student again. They’re afraid of being a student, so they never improve in their craft.

Even in the corporate sense, some people are terrified of going back to being a learner, so that keeps them from making pivots. If that sounds like you, what you need to know is that you can probably quickly leverage what you’ve learned from that “student” role, combine it with your existing knowledge and rise back even higher in your career.

Don’t be afraid of making sacrifices because the reward on the other side of it might be fulfillment!

Fear #3: The Unknown

Third, in my experience, this is one of the most common fears keeping you in an unfulfilling career. Routine is comfortable and safe for us, but it can be deceptive especially if you don’t feel fulfilled. On the other hand, it’s understandable that the idea of pivoting into something that you are clueless about may be unsettling.

If you’ve never done this particular thing before, fear rises up because your brain is protecting you from something dangerous, when in reality, it’s just an unfamiliar situation.

The important thing to recognize with this fear is that anytime you’re facing a new situation, you’re going to experience fear – it’s a physiological defense mechanism. Your job at that moment is to recognize what’s happening.

Your job is to think “I’m feeling fear right now because I’ve never experienced this before. That’s normal, but I’m not going to stay stuck because of it.“

Fear of the unknown is normal, but you can’t let it keep you stuck.

Staying stuck in your comfort zone can keep you from experiencing great things in your career.

Where’s the thrill that comes from completing a project and feeling proud of your effort and contribution AND getting recognized for it? It’s usually in the fulfilling career you’re hiding from.

Fear #4: Not Being Good Enough

Often time, when you finally find a career that you intend to transition to, your mind comes up with a bunch of thoughts that might keep you from making the transition.

Once you start thinking about taking the leap from that job you hate to one that you’ll find more fulfilling, you might find yourself thinking:

• What if I don’t have the right skills?
• Can I do XYZ job if I’ve only ever been a [insert job title]?
• What if I can’t communicate my value add well?
• What if I don’t know how to effectively market myself?

First, most of those doubts are perfectly natural. But more often than not, you’re letting societal messages keep you stuck because here’s the thing: 

1. If you have been working…in any job, you have developed transferable skills that you can leverage to transition into a new role.
2. Even if you don’t have all the skills, you will learn! Jobs can train you. You don’t need to know everything to be successful in a new role. The ability to learn is a skill itself.
3. That fear of not being good enough can just be you hiding your greatness. Under that fear, is “What if I’m good at it?”. You now have to actually show and deliver the awesomeness.

Fear #5: Opinions of Other People

You’re afraid of what people will say. You’re worried about your friends, family, and loved ones questioning your decisions and options, and invalidating the new role you’re considering.

The only thing I have to state about this is that an unfulfilling career is directly impacting all the aspects of your life, not theirs. They’re not the ones who feel underappreciated, undervalued, and drained daily. You just have to stand your ground, and not let their opinions control your choices.

You have to be ready to make that change, your desire for fulfillment must be greater than your fear of their opinions. If you start noticing that your relationships and mental and physical health cannot take it anymore, it’s time for you to find a fulfilling career. 

It might be challenging to navigate the thoughts of others, but you deserve to be in a career that makes you feel like yourself and is aligned with your values.

It’s not selfish to transition into a new job especially if it will make you happier. It’s important to remember that being satisfied at work is much more than just the feeling.

You show up better for everyone in your life when you enjoy the work you do.

There you have it, the top fears keeping you in an unfulfilling career.

Did any of those fears resonate with you? If yes, comment below, and let’s chat.