A change is on its way…

Have you ever felt like you are at a crossroads in your life, and everything just seems a little bit uncertain and scary? After around 10 years of working in finance/accounting, I have made the decision to change my career to marketing, and the enormity of it all is beginning to hit! I have been on a career break since mid November-23, currently with no end date in mind, however I do know that my career will look somewhat different when I am back out there!

Challenges and opportunities

Don’t get me wrong, I am also feeling the most motivated that I have felt in a long time right now, but I am also feeling just that little bit nervous about the journey ahead! For starters, embarking on a new qualification in the form of CIM’s “Foundation Certificate in Professional Marketing”, and secondly having never worked in a “pure” marketing focused role before, the sheer significance of this change is not lost on me.

Comfort & reassurance

I take comfort in the fact that I will still likely be in a similar environment to that which I am used to (office or hybrid based, be it in a company, charity, or the public sector). I feel very well acquainted now with the typical office setting and way of working, and I realise that I also have many “soft” workplace related skills that will transfer well from a finance perspective into marketing. I am just anxious, when the time comes, to get out there and build up some marketing specific skills, to be able to prove to both myself and my future employer that I can do this!

Head vs heart

So, it will be both an exciting and nerve wracking period of change and adjustment, with all of the highs and lows that this encompasses! I am proceeding with positivity and with my goals in mind, remaining careful to listen to my heart and where it wants to lead me, after many years of listening almost solely to my head and ending up in a place that ultimately made me unhappy. This is a huge lesson that I can say I have now learnt in life – also listen to your heart. I wouldn’t advocate for solely listening to either your heart or your head, but to instead try to employ a healthy balance of the two, especially when faced with major life decisions.

Making the right decision for you

Another instance of me listening to my head over my heart came in my decision to move out alone to a flat back in 2021. Even when making the move I wasn’t entirely sure that it would be for me, however I am glad that I at least tried it and have come out the other end stronger and wiser. This led me to a crossroads back in 2023, where I had to decide whether to stay unhappy (and somewhat broke!) alone in my flat, or move back home to my dad’s house. I made what I feel was the right decision, to move back to my dad’s, and I haven’t regretted it since. This is regardless of society “telling” us that when we are in our thirties, we should be living a completely independent life (even if that means living alone, and feeling miserable?!)

And finally…

…To my readers: what are the major crossroads that you have encountered before in your life? How did you manage your potential anxiety around the subsequent decisions that you made, and did everything work out for the better in the end? This could be something like a career change, or it could be along the lines of moving region/country, evaluating an important relationship, or even going back to square one and starting life “afresh”!