how to break out of analysis paralysis

The 'Three Steps' Approach To A Successful Shift

Natasha Stanley — Tue, 29 Apr 2025 07:00:01 +0000

We're always told it's important to have long-term goals. But what if the worst thing you could be doing is thinking about them? Natasha shares her 'three-steps' rule to making a career change without burning out.

When I was 17 years old, I travelled to South America for my first solo trip.

I made my way from Ecuador, through Peru, and into Bolivia. En route, I hiked the 4-day Inca Trail to Macchu Picchu – an intensely beautiful and tough trek – with a group of travellers I’d met on my way.

Now, I walk 'with intention' at the best of times, but there's something about walking uphill that really brings out my inner stomper. So there I was, up at the front of the hike with our guide, Diego, the entire way.

5 Unconventional Questions To Get You Unstuck In Your Career Change

Natasha Stanley — Tue, 25 Mar 2025 08:02:41 +0000

Sluggish, frustrated, and running the same old circles in your head? Craving a fresh perspective but don’t know where to look? Natasha shares 5 things you can ask yourself to see your shift (and the reasons you’re stuck) in a new light – so you can get moving faster into more fulfilling work.

At the start of my career change, the space under my bed was a source of major embarrassment.

Not because of dust bunnies and long-lost hair ties (although there may have been a few of those, too).

Under my bed was my collection of self-help books, and an embarrassing number of pieces of paper covered in lists, angry scrawlings and mournful, unattainable dreams. It was the place where the chaos inside of my frustrated brain was visible to the outside world.

What To Do When You're Scared To Change Jobs – And Of Staying Where You Are

Natasha Stanley — Tue, 18 Feb 2025 09:24:44 +0000

You're stuck. The idea of a leap fills you with terror – and yet the thought of another year in your current career is just as scary. In this fear-filled limbo state, how do you move forwards? With the help of a career changer just like you, Natasha shares an effective way to use fear to your advantage.

"My stomach – my abdomen – it feels tense and tight. I'm very uncomfortable right now."

Carl and I were halfway through a coaching call.

He was at a crossroads: he was miserable and undervalued in his current marketing job and, at the same time, he'd been offered a better-paid position in another company.

Time For A Career Change? 11 Uncomfortable Signs You Need To Make A Shift

Natasha Stanley — Tue, 21 Jan 2025 08:12:04 +0000

You’re thinking about a new career. But how do you know if you really need a change? Are these feelings just normal ups and downs, or are they warning flags you need to pay attention to? Check out our guide to the most important clues you're in the wrong career. How many feel familiar?

It's starting to bother you, this insistent, buzzy thought.

“Just pack it in. Find something else.”

It started off quietly; easily-dismissed as nonsense.

But over time, it's been getting stronger, louder, harder to ignore.

And yet, it's not as easy as “just pack it in.”

What if you're just being melodramatic?

What if you're being seduced by all the pop-culture, pseudo-psychology, unrealistic rubbish out there in the media, when actually you should just be grateful to have a steady job at all?

Why 'Not Ready Yet' Is The Best Time To Start Your Career Change

Natasha Stanley — Tue, 03 Dec 2024 08:52:58 +0000

Don't yet feel fully prepared for your shift? Natasha explains why 'ready' can be a dangerous concept, and why you should get started, whatever stage you're at.

You're tired of running circles inside your head.

You've read about 300 career change articles, made 24,000 lists, and scrolled through at least nine miles of job adverts online.

You've calculated how much money you'd save toward your career change if you skipped your morning cappuccino on the way to work (not enough to be worth it). You've done every personality test out there, and you still don't feel ready.

Why I Feel Uncomfortable Writing Career Change Articles

Natasha Stanley — Tue, 19 Nov 2024 09:44:37 +0000

I want you to find fulfilling work. Supporting you to figure out what you want to do, and to make the shift – it's why I do what I do every day. But this process frustrates me beyond belief. Here's why.

If you're reading this, you're probably doing so for one of three reasons:

4 Surprisingly Effective Career Change Games To Make Your Shift Faster And More Fun

Natasha Stanley — Tue, 17 Sep 2024 08:39:04 +0000

Stuck in paralysis by the idea of a major change? Unable to find the answers you need? Sometimes, you have to come at big questions from unexpected angles. And the more you can enjoy the process, the quicker you'll move. Natasha shares four playful ways to make consistent, meaningful progress towards work you love.

Finding fulfilling work can feel like squeezing a wet bar of soap: the harder you try to grip onto it, the more it slips away from you.

There are so many moving parts and unknown quantities – things that seem evident at the start and then disappear in the space of a conversation, and other things that are slowly revealed over time.

And there's no 1, 2, 3, step-by-step 'To Do' list.

At Careershifters, we teach career changers to approach the process from unusual angles.

"I Hate My Job": How to Survive When You Can’t Leave Yet

Natasha Stanley — Tue, 03 Sep 2024 08:51:12 +0000

You're miserable, uninspired and frustrated. You know you have to make a shift. But much as you'd love to quit, you're simply not ready. How do you stay sane? Natasha shares nine ways to make it through career-change limbo.

There were mornings when I had to pep-talk myself into getting out of bed.

There were commutes when I did an extra lap of the roundabout, just to delay my arrival at the office by ten more seconds.

Days of clock watching, wondering how it was possible that only four minutes had passed since I last glanced up.

Nights of lying awake, running circles in my head, desperately trying to think of a way out.

The Most Powerful Tool In Your Career Change Arsenal (Hint: You Use It Every Day)

Natasha Stanley — Tue, 20 Aug 2024 08:46:31 +0000

Scientists, inventors and entrepreneurs use it; it's sparked the greatest achievements in the world; and it's something you use every day (but likely not in the most powerful way). Natasha explains the simple tool at the heart of a successful change – and how you can use it to unlock new 'aha' moments for your shift.

What is it you want most in your career change right now?

Is it clarity? Self-belief? The right connections? Knowledge – knowledge about whether you need those qualifications, knowledge about how to make things work financially?

Chances are, what you want from your career change is the answer to a question.

The Feel-good Trap: How The Search For Happiness Is Keeping You Stuck In Your Shift (And What To Focus On Instead)

Natasha Stanley — Tue, 30 Jul 2024 08:34:02 +0000

Not happy – either with your current work, or with how your career change is going? Natasha explains why the way you understand happiness could be holding you back – and how a new perspective can speed up your shift.

Are you happy?

These days, it seems, there's no bigger question.

The search for happiness has exploded into centre stage: in the academic world of science and philosophy, in the pop-psychology section of your local bookshop, and in general public consciousness.

A Google search for 'happiness' yields 495,000,000 results.

Amazon doesn't bother telling you exactly how many books you can buy on the topic; it stopped counting at 50,000.

Too Busy To Change Career? Not With These Techniques...

Natasha Stanley — Tue, 11 Jun 2024 08:30:51 +0000

Lack of time is not an excuse to stay in the wrong career. Natasha shares her favourite (lesser known) approaches for how you can make time work for you – and, through doing so, make a speedier shift.

There's work. There are bills. There are kids. There are friends.

You have to go to the supermarket, and then the tyres on the car need a top-up. Your partner's been feeling neglected, so you need to spend quality time with them. You work late to finish a project, spend at least three evenings stuck in traffic, and before you know it, six weeks have gone by since you did anything about your career change.

And you're still miserable. And you're still busy. And that's just the way it is.

You Can’t Shift Without This: The Single Ingredient That Will Make Or Break Your Career Change

Natasha Stanley — Tue, 09 Apr 2024 10:25:30 +0000

If you want to move into fulfilling work, there’s one thing you’ll need to have in place before anything else. It’s not the right idea, a detailed plan or sufficient money (though they all help). It’s more fundamental than that. Here, with examples from her own story, Natasha shares what’s at the core of a successful shift.

At 7.45 that chilly morning in April 2012, the bus was almost empty.

I heaved my rucksack onto the luggage rack and chose a seat near the front.

The bus door was still open.

The air was crispy. I unzipped my jacket and sat on my fingers to warm them.

The door was still open.

I looked out of the window; my best friend was waving from the pavement. He was wearing the green woollen jumper I'd got him for Christmas the year before. That had been a great Christmas.

The door was still open.

Avoiding Your Career Change? 4 Ways To Beat Resistance And Get Going With Your Shift

Natasha Stanley — Tue, 02 Apr 2024 08:48:49 +0000

Can't bring yourself to take action on your career change? Fearful, overthinking, and staying stuck as a result? Sounds like Resistance is at play. Here, Natasha explains the three places Resistance might show up in your shift, and the four key elements you need to overcome it.

You're stuck.

You're full of information, advice, ideas – you've been reading article after article, book after book, website after website, for weeks.

Ideas, hunches, possibilities, are flying around in your mind, leaving you dizzy almost to the point of exhaustion.

You know it's time to stop the analysis and start to act.

But you can't seem to begin.

It's like being stuck in a negative magnetic charge – one part of you straining forward, while another part of you is rooted to the floor.

Micro Shifts: How A Change Of Focus Can Help You Move Faster Into Work You Love

Natasha Stanley — Tue, 05 Mar 2024 09:34:03 +0000

Feeling stuck and overwhelmed by this huge career change ahead of you? No idea what you should be doing to make progress? You might be thinking too big. Natasha shares a simple but profound mindset shift to help you get energised, confident, and into effective action.

When I tell you the story of my career change, I tell you the brief-and-romantic version.

I give you the highlight reel.

I was unhappy at work, I quit my job and booked a one-way ticket to Greece, I came back, I saw a pattern in my Bookmarks toolbar on my internet browser, I sent ten emails to people who inspired me, and I started working, in a small way, for Careershifters.

What I don't tell is everything that that story skims and encapsulates.

Why You Should Stop Thinking About Your Career Change (And 5 Effective Things To Do Instead)

Natasha Stanley — Tue, 30 Jan 2024 07:02:37 +0000

Stuck in your head? Going round and round in circles trying to figure out what else you can do? There's a reason all that thinking isn't working for you. Natasha explains why and shares five fun, practical techniques you can use right away to find clarity and momentum for your career change.

How long have you been thinking about making a career change?

Weeks? Months? Years?

It's possible you've been thinking about it so much, so often, and for so long, it doesn't even feel like a real possibility. It's just another daydream you disappear into, or a theoretical problem, like a difficult algebra equation, that you keep trying to solve.