The Discovering stage

Yesterday, we talked about the contradictions inherent in the career change process.

And one of the big ones you’re probably feeling right now is a conflicting blend of both excitement and discomfort.

You know you want to make a shift, but it’s likely you don’t yet know much more than that.

You want to discover something new and exciting, but you’re worried about making a wrong move too fast.

So there’s an adrenaline buzz and a sense of possibility, and at the same time, a (mildly unsettling) big blank expanse in front of you.

What do you want to do next with your career?

What do you enjoy?

It may be that you’ve spent so long inside your current industry that you don’t even know what career options are out there to choose from.

Or perhaps you’ve got so many ideas buzzing around your head that you can’t think straight.

These feelings and questions and sensations are where we enter the Career Change Map, with the first of our three stages: the Discovering stage.

In this stage, your one job is to get as many options, ideas, and pieces of information on the table as you can.

From fully-fledged career ideas to tiny little sprouts of wonderings; from skills you use every day to long-dormant talents; things you’ve known about forever to things you just found out existed… it all gets laid out in the Discovering stage.

Now, looking at the map and the shape of the double diamond, you’ll see that the end of the Discovery stage is the widest point of the whole process. And there’s an important reason for that.

The lines of the double diamond represent the number of possibilities you’re exploring at each moment.

Which means that you may well have to work against your instincts in this stage.

Here’s what I mean… I wonder if any of these are thoughts you have:

“I don’t want to waste time exploring options that might not be right for me.”

“Most of my career ideas are unrealistic, so there’s no point exploring them.”

“I have some interests, but they’re not actual career options, so they don’t count.”

“I feel overwhelmed already – I don’t want to add to the mess in my head with new options.”

In order to save time and energy, and to safeguard yourself from jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire, you may well be keen to get focused and realistic as early on as possible.

But the task of the Discovering stage is to include everything – hunches and maybes, ‘unrealistic’ dreams and flights of fancy – because the more data you can equip yourself with early on, the more information and tools you have to work with in the latter stages of the map.

The wider you can get those lines of the double diamond at this stage, the better equipped you’ll be for what comes next.

That means:

Taking the filters off – including even the most ‘unrealistic’ ideas, hunches, or hopes, without passing judgment or crystal-ball-gazing

Having new experiences, to expand your view of what’s available to choose from

Surrounding yourself with new people – and new kinds of people – to challenge your assumptions about what’s possible and open your eyes to new ways of going about things

The Discovering stage of the Career Change Map is easy to dismiss as frivolous or unnecessary – after all, a lot of it is focused on lightness, play, and adventure (far from the serious, brow-furrowing atmosphere of ‘seeking work’).

But it’s absolutely crucial to set a strong foundation for your shift.

In our career change courses, participants finish the Discovering stage with 100+ ideas to play with – that’s the scale you want to be aiming for, too, if you’re playing full-out.

Throwing yourself into an exploratory, curiosity-driven period of filter-free discovery will:

Reveal exciting new possibilities you’d never have known about before

Challenge your assumptions about what’s possible

Give you real choice and power over the direction you choose to move in (instead of being funneled down a set of tracks you’re already on)

******

“I feel a bit like I’ve woken up from a very long nap!

So much of the Discovering stage has challenged my beliefs about my career change, but in a good way.

I’ve met some amazing people who have really opened my eyes to new industries and ways of working, and I know now that not only am I capable of feeling excited about the future, there are actually lots of things I might enjoy doing in the long run.

Over the last few years I’d started to wonder if I was a lost cause.”

– Robin, Career Change Launch Pad participant

******

To make the most of your Discovery stage:

Give yourself permission, at least for now, to consider anything and everything. Don’t filter what you explore based on whether you think it’s ‘realistic’ (we’ll get to ‘realistic’ later in the map)

Follow your curiosity – what are you drawn to, inside or outside of the world of ‘careers’?

Set a minimum weekly goal of ‘new encounters’ to aim for: whether they’re fresh experiences, new environments, conversations with new people… having a number to aim for will help you avoid sliding into ‘waiting for inspiration’ inertia

And as you take these actions, you'll notice some interesting things happening.

Your confidence will grow because you'll start to see possibilities you didn't previously know existed.

You'll feel your motivation increasing, because each new discovery will make you feel more positive, more hopeful, and more excited about the future.

At the same time, =you might feel even more muddled than before – many people tell us this point in the process feels quite overwhelming.

Why?

Because of all the new inputs you now have.

More possibilities can feel confusing – at least initially.

However, this a positive sign of progress.

Indeed, it's the perfect precursor to the next phase – the Focusing phase – where, after going wide in the Discovering phase, you'll finally be able to effectively narrow your ideas down.