Career Paralysis - Five Reasons Why Our Brains Get Stuck Making Career Decisions

Career Paralysis

The Five Reasons Why Our Brains Get ‘Headstuck’ When

Making Career Decisions

Is this you?

Got a busy job...

a ‘good’ job.

Which you really should be grateful for...

But which deep down you aren’t.

So you’re looking for a new job!

But not just any job!

You want a job that

actually uses your talents!

Something you can believe in!

And look back on with pride.

(Big but)

The jobs ads somehow don’t

inspire…

And you worry about

stepping into the

unknown.

Should you be taking more of a risk?

You think to yourself...

If so, how big a risk?

Some days you wonder where your life is heading…

You feel like you’re losing touch with who you really are...

...and even the simplest decisions seem impossible.

If so, you are not alone...

Nearly 70% of us do not feel engaged at work.

Over half of us would start over if we could.

...it’s our

brains that are

to blame.

(They can’t cope, bless ‘em).

But it’s not our fault...

Let me explain...

This is me.

I’m Rob from The Career Psychologist

We work with people who feel like this at work.

Let me explain...

Sorry, this is me.

This presentation explains why ‘career paralysis’ happens, and what you can

do about it.

So, where to start?

I’m Rob from The Career Psychologist

Let’s start at the very beginning.A very good place to start.

“Our brains evolved for a very different world from today. A world in which people lived in

very small groups, rarely met anybody different from themselves, had short lives with few

choices and where the highest priority was to eat and mate today.”

Professor Dan Gilbert

The point is, the kind of problems our brains evolved to solve

are very different to the kind of problems we face today.

Career choice is a good example:

In the Agricultural Age you did whatever your parents did. Baker, Taylor, Butcher, Smith.

There was not much ‘career choice’ going on.

In the Industrial Age social

mobility increased. But it still

depended on social class and education.

So ‘career choice’ was

only really an issue for nice chaps like William and Rupert here.

Top hole

!Rathe

In the Information Age our choices suddenly expanded.

And computers came along to help!

We could now be scientifically matched to....... our lifelong soulmate ideal career!

#Relief!

But this approach had two assumptions: a static work environment and a static self.

6. ...and both technology and the financial crisis have accentuated these trends.

1. The job for life is almost dead...

2. and the portfolio career on the rise.

3. People want meaning at work, not living for the weekend.

4. Jobs are being created in areas not even heard of 2 years ago.

And nothing is static any more.

5. More people than ever are starting their own business

Your Ideal career

Dental Hygienist

Mind, you, what would I know? The computer told me I should have become a

dental hygienist.

So the good news is… historically

speaking, career opportunities have

never been greater.

Most of us could be whatever we want to be.

But the bad news is...

Our brains are not

set up to deal with this new type of career

decision.

Understanding how our minds work is the most important

factor in making better career decisions.

What I’ve learned over the last 20 years:

It looks like mobile phones will catch on after all.

The Five Reasons Why

Our Brains Get

‘Headstuck’ When Making

Career Decisions

Too much choice

overwhelms us1

We usually think of choice as a good thing.

But Barry Schwartz showed

that too much choice actually stresses us out.

It’s the ‘Paradox of Choice’.

The paradox of choice also undermines the decisions we do

make...

Result: we feel overwhelmed by the options open to us and scared of the loss that comes with making a decision.

... And we always wonder what might have been...

We’re negatively biased

Imagine one of your ancient ancestors sees a dark blob out in the

distance...

Is it a bear or a blueberry bush?

An optimist might have seen a blueberry bush. If he was right he’d eat more of his 5-a-day than

his pessimist friend.

Our minds evolved with one priority: safety first.

….But if he was wrong...he’d be lunch!

caution to creep

Result: When faced

with a difficult

choice, it’s easy to allow….

We prioritise short term ease over long term values

For example, 90% of people support organ donation in principle. And yet, some countries

have far higher organ donation rates than others.

…And because we generally favour the short term, easy option we end up acting against

our long term values.

It’s because the countries on the right have an ‘opt out’ donation policy, whereas in countries

on the left you have to ‘opt in’.

was offering 3 types of subscriptionWe also make decisions through short term comparisons. Try this:

Which would you

choose?

Most people went for the print AND online subscription.

And not surprisingly, no

Economist reader chose the middle option.

So what did these

rational people do when this option was removed?

Most changed their minds!

Why? Because we make decisions based on short term comparisons, not on what we actually

value.

How does this relate to career decision making?Short terms comparisons mean we are highly

influenced by what others do and say.

But they also lead us into a trap, which looks like this…

Human motivation works in two directions:

1. Move away from bad stuff

2. Move towards good stuff

Most people say they want to move this way in their career

I’m heading towards my goals and values!

Yet what usually then shows up is...

Difficult and scary stuff!

Yet what usually then shows up is...

That’s right..!The short term result of moving

towards our values is usually negative thoughts and uncomfortable

emotions...

So guess what most of us do next?

Oh, the humanity!Eeek!

We move away!

#RELIEF!

But...

If we make it a priority to avoid difficult emotions…

we might avoid our demons….

But we also avoid the things that make life worthwhile.

By prioritising the avoidance of difficult emotions

Result:

over the things we really value…

We lose control over our lives.

Our brains think in linear patterns.

For example, here we see a

triangle where none

exists.

OK, so what?

Minds like making sense of things. They love certainty and familiar patterns.

Psychologist Karl Duncker gave participants a candle, a box of nails, and several other objects.

He asked them to attach the candle to the wall.

How would you do it?

Very few of them thought of using the inside of the nail box as a candle-holder and nailing this to the wall.

The participants were “fixated” on the box’s normal function of holding

nails.

Duncker found that participants tried to nail the candle directly to the wall or glue it to the wall by melting it.

In decision making, this is called ‘functional

fixedness’.

And functional fixedness has subsequently been shown to apply to

our own identities.

Result:

Linear thinking leads to a sense

that we can only do what we’ve always

We treat thoughts as facts.

Our minds are incredible...They’ve helped us leave other species far

behind.

But we’ve seen our minds are far from infallible!

Bad with choiceNegatively biased Short term Functionally fixed

Our minds evolved to keep us safe, not find fulfilment or meaning!

“I know what’s best

for you!”

Yet we often forget this.

Instead, we tend to automatically believe what our minds tell us.

“You’re far too tired to go for a run!”

For example, we come home from work and our mind says...

Result: No run!

We tend to behave as though our thoughts are

‘true’.

Even though staying healthy might be a long term value...

Even though tiredness does not physically prevent us from going for a

run...

“You’re far too tired to go for a run!”

This is known as cognitive fusion and it can affect all areas of our

lives - including careers.

“You’re far too:old / young,

stupid / brainy, successful /

unsuccessful to change career!”

Although this presentation may be light-hearted, there is no doubt the depth of anxiety and confusion caused by career paralysis. I’ve certainly been there and bought the T-shirt.*We trust our minds to fix the problem, but when it doesn’t, we start to look for reasons why. We start to think it’s our fault – there’s something wrong with us!

We often conclude that we need to try and ‘fix ourselves’ before we do anything else.

* Disclaimer: I didn’t actually buy a T-shirt.

I used to tell myself:

CertainSecure

ConfidentMotivated

Knowledgeable etc....

I can’t change career now because first I need to feel more...

A lot of people think this way:“Once I feel better and get rid of these nasty thoughts / feelings THEN I can act!”

But research has shown that trying to avoid negative thoughts and feelings…

…actually increases their intensity

and frequency.

Treating our thoughts as though they are true means we get tangled up in our

minds.We become ‘Headstuck’…

Result:

The 5 Cognitive Biases That Cause Career Paralysis

We prioritise the short term over the long

We’re negatively biased

Too much choice overwhelms us

We become ‘functionally fixed’

5 We treat thoughts as facts

Career Paralysis:

How to Get Unstuck And Find Your

Direction

So what now? Try Part 2...

It’s full of practical tips, suggestions and free resources to help you get out of career paralysis.

Thank you!rob@thecareerpsychologist.com

@RobACareerPsych

thecareerpsychologist.com

facebook.com/thecareerpsychologist

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