Do you feel professionally stagnant? You may have been in the same job for a long time and with the same responsibilities and feel that you do not advance professionally, or you may no longer be satisfied with your situation and do not know how to get out of it. If your career path is unclear or you don't see any chances for advancement, not only will you not be making the most of your skills, but you will probably feel frustrated and bored.
If you feel that you do not advance professionally and do not know why or how to get out of that situation, here are some recommendations:
Flee from comfort. If you have been doing the same thing for a long time and you know everything well and you manage yourself perfectly, it is very easy for you to adapt to that situation, and you begin to believe that you would not be too bad like this always, with that supposed stability, having everything under control. Why are you going to try to get promoted or change jobs or start your own business?
The problem with this situation is that if you scratch a bit you realize that what you do does not fill you and what happens is that you are afraid of leaving your comfort zone, the one you know so well and where you feel safe, but What price are you paying for it? Try not to adjust and always have new challenges.
Plan your career path. It's funny how most people carefully plan their vacations, yet they don't spend even five minutes planning their career path. Taking into account the amount of time you spend working, dedicating yourself to something you like and with which you feel satisfied is essential. So you don't spend your life waiting for vacations and weekends.
Take your time to plan what kind of career path you want to follow (as always, based on your values and priorities), how far you want to go, what professional success means to you. If you do not have goals and you do not know which way to go, it is easy for you to remain stagnant and accept jobs without thinking about it or stay in it because you have not considered what else to do.
Analyze your current situation. It is always important to know the starting point well, so that you are aware of the resources you have (experience, skills, contacts, etc.) and the ones you need to acquire.
Keep your skills up to date, especially with new technologies and the use of social networks, do not stop learning. Take advantage of the resources of your workplace and do not become obsolete, so if opportunities arise you will be prepared.
Relate with others both inside and outside work, so you can stay up to date with the opportunities that come up (make it clear, I'm not talking about "plugs" but rather about contacts, nothing to do).
Design your strategy. Things are easier with a personalized action plan with defined professional objectives, so that you know what to do at all times, especially when doubts and fears flood you.
Don't listen to that little voice inside that fills your head with nonsense. Again, what is the price of being paralyzed by your fears? Take a good look at what scares you and what you can do to make that fear lessen or disappear.
Take action. It is easy to stay planning and analyzing indefinitely, with the illusion that you are changing things; But things don't change until you take action. Of course, taking the first steps is very scary, so it is important that you are the one that controls your fears, that you have an action plan with defined objectives and that you surround yourself with people who support you. The first step is the most difficult, but once you get excited you will see that you are perfectly capable of that and much more.
Remind yourself that you are not the first nor will you be the last to do something like this. Many people before you have been in your situation and have decided to take the step and are satisfied with what they have achieved. And if you are afraid of repenting, think that it is you who is going to choose the path, so whether it goes as you expect or not, you will feel satisfied because you have done what you really wanted to do.
Getting out of professional stagnation can mean changing jobs or careers and that creates a lot of insecurity, especially if you have been doing the same for a long time. However, if you are not satisfied with your situation, what is the alternative? Keep doing the same thing day after day, frustrated and bored because you don't dare to take the risk? It's up to you.
