So maybe you’ve been focusing on your Plan A now for quite sometime without any real momentum. Or maybe you’ve been striking out but somehow you keep thinking it’s going to come together for you any day now. Still, you stick with it, follow through and do everything you were told would help you get a job or move up in the job you currently have but, nothing. So you might go to a career coach, figure you might need to tweak your resume or maybe splurge for a career makeover. Trying to stay focused on your original plan, you continue to go out of your way to make it work even when nothing is coming together for you. Do you dare ask yourself, “Is it time to initiate a Plan B?”
When you are so focused on Plan A, a job, a promotion or anyway you can make money, you really don’t spend much time thinking about creating a Plan B. Well you might need to think again. Just like the movie “The Back Up Plan” you may have decided you know what you want but fate may have a different plan or timing is not right and things are not quite falling in place as you had hoped. It’s always good to plan ahead and these days when it comes to your career, you’ll really need to plan far in advance. Sometimes planning helps you stay the course and sometimes it delays you from thinking about your “What if?” plan.
When you spend time creating a Plan B it can take the edge off your fear of the future. Sometimes things don’t work out the way you want them to the first time around, and you try, try again hoping for a different outcome. Knowing when to give in is not acknowledging that you are give up. Being careful not to put all your eggs in one basket is especially important now when you are looking for a job or any move that has the potential to change your life. Keeping your options open is much like having a Plan B. You’ve got to be more self-aware in order to steer your career in the right direction. Your Plan B is your ticket to freeing yourself from career anxiety.
What should your Plan B include? Well for starters, it should include everything your Plan A does not. Veer to the right, change your thoughts and open yourself up to new and different opportunities. If you were only looking for a job in one city or town, your Plan B should include other regions. When you’ve been only considering working for one company or a particular type of position, Plan B has you looking at global jobs, and positions that are broader in scope. Your Plan B is your escape route, your gateway to everything you think you can’t do or won’t even take the risk of trying to do for fear of failing.
Giving yourself permission to venture outside your comfort zone will help you figure out the wealth of Plan B options. Those options should include your ability to do whatever you thought you couldn’t do or wouldn’t consider doing because you were so sure Plan A was going to work. It’s a nice feeling to know that you can make the most out of your career future but it’s even a better feeling to know your Plan B may be better than your Plan A. was to begin with. Take a risk – it may be worth it.
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