My father, who passed away a number of years ago, lived with regrets. Sometimes, in a moment of weakness, he would reveal to me some of his regrets. He was in the air force during WWII and was let go when the war was over. He loved the regularity, predictability, camaraderie, and endless food in the military. He came from a large family and food was somewhat limited. The abundance of food and you could eat as much as you wanted in the military, was a great benefit for him.
He regretted that he could not have stayed in the military. He also regretted that he didn’t take advantage of low interest loans to ex military to start a business after the war. He did great for a person with only 7th grade education. He brought up a family of 4 sons, and when he died he owned a house debt free and almost 6 figures in the bank. Incredible for a person who had a tough life.
Over the last decade, I have had an opportunity to talk with hundreds of colleagues in various places I have worked. These conversations have been wonderful and sobering. Virtually everyone who has been straight up with me has revealed regrets in their work employment history. Opportunities missed. Chances not taken.
I also have regrets with my career along the same lines as it is easy to look back and wonder what could have been. That is an easy method of torturing yourself as it is hard to know what problems or other problems you would have encountered along the way. Taking risks sounds treat in theory but there can be some great problem that can be life altering if your plan does not work out. If you are married and have children, there is an additional level of responsibility that may require safe career choices.
The way to handle career regrets is to look at the current situation and learn from your past.
Wrong Career
For some, they went into the wrong career. Not what they wanted to do but what they thought would be a good solid career. I got a degree in accounting and before I finished my education, I realized I didn’t want to be an accountant. I finished my degree in accounting and then stayed behind to get a Master’s degree in technology. That worked better and I worked in that since. Whew! Escaped that mistake!
It is too easy to listen to others about what work you should go into. My father pressured me to be a Nutritionist. I had absolutely no interest in that but did. He would tell how great a career that would be and if he was younger he would go into. He was a mechanic and farmer all his life. I was a stubborn cuss and told him I didn’t want to be a Nutritionist.
Working Too Much
However, even in working in technology, I did make some mistakes that I regret. I worked too many hours in pursuing my career. Looking back now, I could have worked much less and still have done great. I missed out on adventure, travel, learning, etc. because I didn’t stop and enjoy life.
Fear of Change
Fear of failing is a huge problem for me and everyone else I know. Those who say I am not afraid of failure will have to work hard to convince me. There are some that are less impacted when they fail but no likes to fail. I have failed so much by trying different things that the pain of failure is hardly a blip in my mind.
So…I have a plan if you fear change. It is mostly tied to potential of failure and if you fail enough in life, it does not hurt near as much…go ahead and fail! There is a message you didn’t want to hear?
Bad Team Members
I have not been good enough to dump people who are negative all the time and ruin every conversation with negativity. These toxic people make it harder to stay “up”. Life is hard enough, I don’t some gloomy goof making my mood worse!
Money Decisions
I have made decisions about taking a job based on money. Not that I liked the work or the people I worked with. Money was the only decision point. Every time I was not very successful in that job and I was miserable. Surprise!
Bottom line…remember these items when you want to stay or leave your job.