Best Job Ever!

Chapter 8Why You Are NOT Stuck in Your Career: The Power of Change

My favorite fruit is grapes. Because with grapes, you always get another chance. If you have a crappy apple or peach, you're stuck with that crappy piece of fruit. But if you have a crappy grape, you just move on to the next one. Grapes: The Fruit of Hope.

—Demetri Martin

Do You Feel You Are Stuck?

Most of my clients can easily identify when they are stuck. The problem comes in figuring out why they feel stuck and what they can do about it.

The Why of Stuck: Quit Being Helpless

“But I am stuck, Dr. Bray,” Lisa yelled at me. (Yes, she did yell!) “I can't leave my job because I have kids, a mortgage, bills, car payments, and responsibilities …” … Blah, blah, blah. Lisa then proceeded to list every reason she could remotely think of why she was stuck in her life. They were all good reasons why she couldn't change her current situation. “Help me get unstuck!” she pleaded.

So I went drastic with her. She needed to be reminded of her power to choose in order to change the paradigm of her career.

Me:

Lisa, does anyone hold a gun to your head to make you go to work every day?

Lisa:

No.

Me:

If you quit tomorrow, would the business fold?

Lisa:

No.

Me:

Do you get chained to your desk once you get to work?

Lisa:

No.

Me:

So you actually choose to go to work every day?

Lisa:

I don't choose. The bills, the mortgage, and the kids choose for me. (I loved her answer! It was the essence of her problem!)

Me:

So there is no other ...