Tag Archive for: Change

The End of a Career Is Not the End of You: How to Rebuild With Intention

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Alexandra Humbel standing in front of a painting by Franck Stella at NSU in Fort Lauderdale, FloridaAlexandra Humbel Coaching

Do you feel a sense of loss when you realize your days are numbered in your current job, position, or career? Is that feeling strangely mixed with anticipation and even excitement? Soon there will be no more back-to-back meetings, no more emails answered on vacation, no more subtle power games. You will finally have the luxury of owning your time.

So why is the joy tainted with anxiety? Why does it feel like you are entering a grey zone? Why does this phase suddenly seem like “the last segment” of your life?

Several forces are pulling you in opposite directions, so it’s no wonder the result feels uncomfortable, even painful. Let’s untangle this inner conflict that drains your energy and clouds your vision of the future.

There Is No Script Anymore

For decades, you have been driven. As a professional and as a person, you always knew the direction: grow, climb, build, launch, succeed, fail, rebound, stay in the game.

There was a blueprint. From student to junior, to high potential, to senior professional, the path was visible. Growth was the norm. Progress was expected. Society celebrated it. Work culture reinforced it. You were part of a clear narrative.

And then, suddenly, the narrative ends.

When a career comes to an end, there is no obvious script to follow. Terms like “Golden Years” or “Silver Power” sound like marketing slogans, not like real life. They feel impersonal. Abstract. Detached from who you actually are.

Yet expectations are still there.

The Discomfort of Being “Decoupled”

For years, you were expected to deliver, to perform, to evolve. The system relied on your productivity. The culture rewarded your ambition.

Now, no one expects anything in particular from you. You may feel like a wagon decoupled from the train. The train keeps moving. You are standing still.

It is a relief. And it is deeply unsettling.

People around you enthusiastically describe all the things you will finally have time for: golf, travel, gardening, painting, yoga, cycling, learning languages, family time. None of these are wrong. But the more they insist on your future happiness, the more confused you may feel.

The real issue is not activity. It is purpose.

It’s Time to Get Real, Brave—and Creative

You cannot build a house without a blueprint. And at this stage of life, no one hands you one.

You must design it yourself.

This requires honesty. Who are you, beyond your title? What do you value now? What parts of your former professional identity do you want to keep—and which ones are you ready to release?

You may need to let go of a persona that served you brilliantly in the past but no longer fits the person you are becoming. That is not failure. It is evolution.

Explore what makes you feel alive. Curious. Energized. Then sketch your own blueprint and start building.

Yes, it is scary.

But it is also liberating.

This time, you are the architect, the builder, and the owner of a life designed on your own terms.

 

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If You’re Considering a Career Change, Read This First

If you’re standing at the edge of a career change, you’re likely feeling a mix of excitement and quiet fear. Something in you knows it’s time — and yet everything familiar is pulling you back.

Career transitions rarely fail because of a lack of talent or courage. They stall because of invisible beliefs, inherited rules, and well-intentioned voices that make change feel irresponsible, unrealistic, or selfish.

Before you take your next step, pause to see more clearly. These reflections are the things I wish more people knew before embarking on a new professional chapter. They won’t tell you what to do, but they may help you trust why you’re doing it.

1. The only approval you need is yours

Beautifully expressed by Amanda Gorman, the need for approval is one of the most common hurdles that may stop you in your momentum. The minute you share bold, ambitious dreams for yourself, you will see a number of red flags raised around you. Well-intentioned, loving people in your life will instantly reject the idea that you may get lost in ambitious and risky projects. They want you safe, and the status quo is largely safer than… anything else. Red flags will come from all directions. Colleagues or friends may sense an unavowable pang of jealousy at your renewed aliveness. Don’t take it personally, it’s about them, not you. 

2. Big dreams don’t make you a dreamer

The biggest red flag, though, is in yourself. It is cultural. People with dreams are dreamers. Dreamers are no achievers. This idea was drilled in your subconscious at an early stage, and you will find it on your way to a new career. Don’t buy the simplification. Rather, engage in honest exploration: What is really important to you? What does your future, the one you crave, look like, taste like? What is your own definition of success, from now on? Does it encompass every aspect of your life? Does it bring value to you and the people around you? What would be the markers of your future success? The more aware you are of what you really want and why, the more enticing your vision is, the better. As the genius dream architect Walt Disney said, “If you can dream it, you can do it”.

3. Luck is when preparation meets opportunity

How many times lately have you heard yourself say something like, “She was lucky to get this job”? By default, we tend to attribute positive, unexpected events to luck — whatever that word really means. Yet abundant scientific literature suggests that “lucky” people have their own way of attracting luck. They do so in two essential ways: they put as many chances as possible on their side, and they keep their senses wide open to allow meaningful coincidences to occur.

If you want to share a strong business idea with a highly sought-after person, for instance, you may want to make sure your idea truly brings value to them. You refine it, rehearse your pitch until it becomes clear and compelling, gather as much insight as possible about where and how this person might be accessible — and then you let go. Because if your idea is genuinely good, it will find its way into the world. With or without that person.

4. It is so cool to go back to school

A current cause of stress for career transitioners is the necessity to get extra training. Will you be able to learn as fast as you used to? Is your brain capable of memorizing new knowledge? How awkward will it feel to sit on a school bench at your age? What will your ex-colleagues think? How will you cope with homework, supervision, and exams?  Most likely, all of these fears will materialize. Yes, you will feel intellectually rusted. Yes, you will have to deploy your best efforts to catch up. Yes, it will feel awkward sometimes. Yes, some well-intentioned peer will ask what the hell do you expect, getting back to school at your age. And yes, homework sucks. But the reward is invaluable. Your decision to be a student again is a gift you offer to yourself and an investment in your future. The process is fun too. Learning has its own way to pump up your spirit and upgrade your self-image. 

5. You will never look back

Maybe the most important thing I have learned is that there is no way back. More accurately, there is no desire to go back to square one. You are a creature of movement, like all living creatures in this world. The journey towards a fulfilling second act of life is both bumpy and interesting. We talked about the inner reward of learning, and learning comes in many different ways. Questioning the status quo makes you more alive. Taking bold moves towards work and life that you love triggers renewed energy. And keep in mind that you might well become a source of inspiration for other people’s own journey into their own second act.

 

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Career Transition After 40: 5 Things I Wish I Had Known Earlier

Career Transitioning - Things I wish I'd known earlier - by Alexandra HumbelAlexandra Humbel

My mentor suggested that I write a post about the things I wish I had known earlier about career transition. I liked the idea and, based on my personal journey as well as my experience as a coach, I started with five essential points aimed at helping professionals get on the fast lane. 

1. You are not alone

Studies show that an increasing number of experienced professionals are undertaking a career change, and even more are considering it. Three-fifths of UK workers (60%) intend to make changes to their careers as a result of the Covid outbreak, an increase of seven percentage points since July 2020 (53%).*

So why does it feel weird and lonely? It is because nothing prepared you to handle one or several career changes in your life. Society tends to assign you a role, tied to a life cycle: In your junior years, you prove your competence. As you are getting experienced, you excel in your field. And then, what? You retire. While there is nothing wrong with linear career paths, it does not work for everyone. Probably not for you, if you are reading these lines. 

2. Your skills are transferable – All of them

My clients who crave a new career are taken aback by the thought that their expertise might be lost when they change jobs. It is natural to take pride in those skills you have mastered over time. The good news is, you take everything with you on the journey.  Those skills will manifest in creative ways, coming in handy to serve your goals while you are expanding in your new project. Interestingly, ancient or dormant skills will show up and prove valuable to handle new situations. Your brain creates new circuits while tapping into resources you did not remember you had. And this is particularly refreshing. 

 

3. It is OK to be lost in transition

Describing career transitions as uncomfortable is an understatement. More accurately: Everything which made you feel grounded in social status is gone. Welcome to unchartered territories, where nobody is waiting for you with your name on a sign. No driver, no limousine. It requires courage to leave the familiar in order to become a new version of yourself. Uncomfortable, scared, and excited all together, highs and lows are in order. But, as Maya Angelou said: “We delight in the beauty of the butterfly but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.” The butterfly is you.

4. Money and time are no excuses

“I will do a job I really love when I have enough time, or money” (or both). 

Does that sound familiar? Of course, these two factors are critical components of a decision, and critical metrics to monitor all along the way. Controlling your time and financial resources through a career transition will be essential to succeed. Be aware that the conservative, risk-averse part of you will always show up with these massive excuses that are the lack of (or the fear of lack of) time and or money. Or both. It is your call to let these fears be the master of you.

5. Nature is in constant change and so are you

“Nothing is absolute, everything changes, everything moves, everything evolves, everything flies and goes away”.

These lines written by the fascinating artist Frida Kahlo can be interpreted as words of regret and melancholy. Or, from another perspective, as the constant evolution of all things that allow rebirth, re-invention, possibilities, relief, reboot, rejuvenation, and creation. When looking back at your career, you may take pride in what you have achieved, and, simultaneously, realize that this pattern is no longer fulfilling you. You can cherish your past achievements and look forward to what you are going to do next. This is not a lack of consistency in your choices. It is about the inherent nature of all of us, to thrive in movement or shrink in stagnation.

 

 

 

*Aviva “How do we live” Report, 2021

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