Listen to the Warning Signals – Is It Time for a Change?

Have you ever felt like you couldn’t do your best work because you didn’t have enough time or the right skills? Have these types of situations ever made you doubt your abilities or shaken your self-confidence?

I can remember different times in my life when I’ve felt this way; incapable, overwhelmed, and even disappointed in myself. And I’ve seen it happen in the lives of family and friends.

I have bad memories of one particular job I had. After I started, I wondered if they had hired the wrong person. Maybe they were looking at someone else’s resume?  I felt like the role wasn’t a good fit. The expectations and projects weren’t a good match for my skills. I wanted to make a contribution, but it seemed like I was spinning my wheels.

I would come home so frustrated and sometimes in tears. After a year, I finally realized I had to leave; it wasn’t going to get better. And staying was eating away at my self-worth and self-confidence. It took me at least six months at a good job to recover my belief in myself.

Here’s what I’ve learned and wished I’d known back then. These feelings are warning signals that we need to reassess our choices. Maybe we’ve said “yes” to too many things. Maybe we’ve said “yes” to things that aren’t a good fit for our passion or our skills. Maybe we need to cut back on our commitments. We may even need to take a major step back and reassess our job or career.

If we don’t take action, these feelings of inadequacy can eat away at our soul and send us into a downward spiral. The longer it lasts, the harder it is to recover.

Are there any warning signals you need to listen to? What actions can you take?