Have you ever been in a romantic relationship that looked great on paper, but just didn’t feel right in your gut? You could carefully explain to anyone who asked why she was So Great and he was Just Wonderful, but you somehow knew it wouldn’t work, not because it didn’t make sense but because it didn’t feel right.
At this point in your life, hopefully you’ve become attuned enough to your emotions that you don’t waste anyone’s time on a relationship that is based more on logic than feeling.
So why do it with your career?
When dealing with matters of work most people value rationality over heart, using words like I should rather than I want. I see it all the time: my clients dreamily talk about what they’d like to do, if only.
If only I were younger.
If only I knew it would work.
If only I could afford to switch careers.
They’ve been taught to lead with their heads when it comes to work, and they’ve done a phenomenal job of learning this lesson and telling their hearts to sit down and shut up.
And I get how this happens. You don’t have to fall in love, but you probably do have to hold down a steady job. Approaching such an important obligation with one’s emotions can seem frivolous and risky.
But do you have to shut down your heart completely?
I’m not suggesting you throw caution to the wind, but rather that you lead with your heart and implement with your head. It’s like falling in love: you find the one that gets your heart racing, and only then do you figure out how to make it work.
You have a heart. Why not bring it to work?