Does any of the following sound familiar to you?

The job started really well, promotions came fast, and the pay increases followed. Your hunger and desire for the job are at an all-time high. Long hours and lack of sleep barely registered with you. All that mattered was that next promotion.

Weeks rolled into months, months rolled into years. You stop to have a reality check and realise all of a sudden your career has stalled. Why are co-workers ascending the corporate ladder while you are stuck in the same spot? How did it come to this? Why has this happened to you, and why didn’t you see it coming? The next phase then kicks in. DENIAL. You blame management, you talk about how unlucky you have been. The new girl/guy is getting the rub of the green because he is a friend of a friend.

Then a stark reality hits home. You are now stuck in a career rut and it no one’s fault but your own. There are many reasons this happens, boredom, settling for second best, not having the same drive, priorities have changed, work/life balance has shifted. I’m sure you can think of many more to fill in the gap. Once you disengage from your role it becomes very hard to shine at work, harder to get that promotion and more importantly harder to motivate yourself to show people how truly great you are. Where you were once seen as the star pupil it’s become evident to management that you are in somewhat of a career stall.

So what do you do next?

Are you going to be one of those people that sits looking in the rear view mirror thinking how you could have done things differently? Yet missing out on what’s in front of you.

Or how about confronting everything head on. DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT, anything as long as it’s different to what you have been doing. I don’t mean a new career altogether but if something hasn’t been working for a long time, why keep repeating the same routine?

Get out, start over. It’s time to re-invent yourself. Look for a new position in the company. Maybe change company, or change location. If you really believe its possible look at a new challenge altogether. Yes it’s a scary thought but maybe it will be exciting and rewarding.
Totally re invigorate your approach to work.