Spring comes and everything starts to look different. You may find that you get a burst of energy to throw out the old and bring in the new as you cheerfully pack away your sweaters in anticipation of warmer weather.

You may find yourself de-cluttering your closets – but have you thought about clearing out the clutter in your head?

What’s lurking in the mothballs?

When was the last time you had a heart-to-heart talk with yourself and assessed (kindly) where you were in your career and if your current work is working for you? Are there lots of old notions about who you are and what you should be doing that are hiding in the old chest with the mothballs? Time to shake those suckers out and expose them to some sunshine!

We all have some legacy ideas from our family, friends, and early career that may no longer fit us. As many of us struggle to squeeze into those jeans from college that we just had to save, we also may have notions about our work that we have outgrown.

Almost two years ago I had to make a dramatic change in my career. I left my safe job in corporate and comfortable salary to start my own business. My job no longer fit me, my values, or my goals. I find that most of my clients similarly go through a reevaluation process of their career in their forties or fifties.

Creating space

In order to create space for the new, we sometimes have to get rid of the old. Am I recommending that you quit or do something foolish? Absolutely not! However, I am suggesting that you look at how your job makes you feel and commit to honestly assessing your current career and evaluating your options. Try to keep using the skills and doing the tasks you like – and try to minimize or eliminate the tasks you don’t enjoy.

Spring is a great time for new beginnings

Is there some aspect of your career that has become old and stale for you? Have you been putting off looking for a new job? Have you been avoiding talking to your boss about getting involved in some different kinds of projects? Have you given up looking at the internal postings of your company? Now is the time to consider moving forward and branching out!

Have you been considering a career change? Your new beginnings could include small steps like attending some networking meetings or joining some LinkedIn discussion groups. Commit to exploring and learning more about possible alternate careers that might better fit your mid-career self.

What in your career still fits?

I am curious. What in your career have you decided to keep? What have you decided to get rid of? What new things will you bring into your career now that you have the space? I would love to hear about your spring cleaning.