Career Paralysis - The Five Reasons Why Our Brains Get 'Headstuck' Making Career Decisions

8/8/2019 Career Paralysis - The Five Reasons Why Our Brains Get 'Headstuck' Making Career Decisions

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Career Paralysis:The Five Reasons

Why Our Brains

Get Headstuck

When Making

Career Decisions

Part 1 of a presentation designed to be downloaded and cherished viewed in slide show mode, by psychologist Rob Archer



Is this you?





Which you really should be grateful f or...



But which you hate.



So youre looking f or a

new job!



But not just any job!



You want a job that

actually fulfils you.

You want meaning.





(Big bu

t)

BUT





You dont want to lose your

lifestyle



And youre

worried

about

stepping into

the unknown.



Should you be taking more of a risk?

Y ou think to yourself...



If so, how big a risk?



Isnt it already

too late?



Some days you

wonder where onearth your life is

heading.



You feel like youre losing touch with

who you really are...



...and even the simplest decisions are

starting to seem difficult.



I

f so, you are not alone...



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

Over half of us would start over if we felt we could.



...its our

brainsthat are

to blame.(They cant cope).

And its not our fault...



Let me explain...

This is me.

Im Rob. Im an Occupational Psychologist

specialising in helping people get out of career paralysis.

I work with people who feel like this at work.



Let me explain...

This presentation explains why career paralysis

happens, and what you can do about it.

So, where do we start?

This is me.

Im Rob. Im an Occupational Psychologist

specialising in helping people get out of career paralysis.



Lets 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 grou ps, 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,TED Conference,

December 2008



The point is, the kind of problems

our brains evolved to solve



are very different to the kind of

problems we face today.

The point is, the kind of problems

our brains evolved to solve



Career choice is a good example:

In the Agricultural Age you did whatever

your parents did. Baker, Taylor, Butcher, Smith.

In fact, there was no such thing as career choice.



In the Industrial

Age social mobility

increased.

But social mobility

still depended on

social class and

education.

So career choicewas only an issue

for nice chaps like

William and Rupert

here.

Top

hole!



In the Information Age our choices expanded rapidly.



Youd be tested and then scientifically matched by computer to...

your ideal career!

Thankfully, computers came along to help.



This approach had two assumptions:

a static work environment and a static self .



This approach had two assumptions:

a static work environment and a static self .(Mind, you, what would I know? The computer told me I should have been a dental hygienist).



7. ...and the financial crisis is

accentuating all of these

trends.

2. the job for life almost dead

3. and the portfolio career on the

rise.

4. People want meaning at work,not living f or the weekend.

5. Jobs are being created in areas

not even heard of 2 years ago.

1. The job market is volatile

But nothing is static any more.

6. More people than ever are

starting their own business



So the good news is

historically speaking, careeropportunities have never

been greater.

Most of us could be whoever we want

to be.



But the bad news is...

Our brains are

not set up to

deal with thisnew type of

career

decision.





But less good when

we need to choosebetween lots of

options...



...or think anew

about our lives

and careers.



Understanding how our minds work isthe most important factor in making

better career decisions.

What Ive learned over the last 10 years:

It looks like mobile phones will catch on after all.



Me =

square peg

Dental

Hygienist =

round hole



The Five Reasons

Why Our Brains

Get HeadstuckWhen Making

Career Decisions



Too much choiceoverwhelms us1



We usually think of choice as a good thing.

But Barry Schwartz showedthat too much choice actually

stresses us out.

1



I

ts the P

aradox of Choice.

1



The paradox of choice means decision making is

more difficult. And when we do make decisions,

were less happy with them.1



Result:

we feel overwhelmed by the options open to us

and scared of the loss that comes with choice.

... And we always wonder what

might have been...

1



Were negativelybiased2



Imagine one of your ancient ancestors sees adark blob out in the distance...

We evolved to think negatively.

Is it a bear or a blueberry bush?

2



We evolved to think negatively.

Is it a bear or a blueberry bush?

An optimist might have seen a blueberry bush.

If she was right shed eat more of her 5-a-day f or lunch than her pessimistfriend.

Our minds evolved with one priority: safety first.

But if she was wrong...shed be lunch!

2



Negative thoughts are 3 to 4 times stickier

than positive (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990).

Evidence:

We need 5 positive comments to every negative for a

happy marriage (Gottman, 2008).

We hate losing twice as much as we love

winning (Kahneman & Tversky 1990).

We are psychologically inflexible. If we try

not to think about something unpleasant we

think about it even more. (Hayes, 1990).

2



Result:

Were far more

aware of our

weaknesses than

our strengths.

2



We prioritise the shortterm over the long term.3

We think we make decisions reflecting our long term



We think we make decisions reflecting our long term

values We think wrong.

For example, a massive 90% of people support organ donation, but some countries

have far higher organ donation rates than others.

Its because the countries on the right have on opt out donation policy, whereas in

countries on the left you have to opt in. So basically, no one bothers.

Why?



OK, but what about professional decisions?

One experiment asked Doctors what would happen

if they read a patients case notes on the day of their

operation and found...

3



...that one important drug had not even been tried!

W hat do you think the Doctors did proceed with

the operation , or stop the op to try the drug?

Important drug

not even tried

(drum roll...)

Operation

3



Most stopped the op to try the drug.

...PHEW!3



But what happened in the same scenario except

where two different drugs had not been tried?

3



This time, most of the Doctors let the operation go ahead!

Yet the only change was that the short term complexity of

doing the right thing had slightly increased...3

Heres another example:



was offering 3 types of subscription:

1. Web only - $59

2. Print only - $125

3. Print & web only - $125

Here s another example:

3

1.

Online only

2. Print only

3. Online &

print

M t l t f th i t AND li



Most people went for the print AND online

subscription.

84%

0%

16%

And not surprisingly,

no E conomist reader

chose the middle

option.

1. Web only - $59



1. Online only

2. Print only

3. Online &

print

3



1. Web only - $59



1. Online only

3. Online &

print

So what did

these rational

people do when

this option was

removed?

3



1. Web only - $59



1. Online only

3. Online &

print 32%

68%

Most changed their minds!

3

Conclusion: we tend to make decisions based on short

term comparisons, not on what we actually value.

So how does this relate to career decision making?



So how does this relate to career decision making?

For a start, short terms comparisons mean we are highly

influenced by what others do and say.

But our short term bias also leads us into a trap...(take a deep breath).

3



1. Move away from

things that cause us

discomfort

Move away from:

Anxiety

Doubt

Insecurity

E ek!

Motivation works in two directions:

3

k d



2. Move

towards things

we value

Move towards:

Meaning

Freedom

Creativity

W oohoo!

3

Motivation works in two directions:



Away from

discomfort Towards values

Most people say they want to

move this way in their career

3



Away from


Yet when they do what

usually shows up first is...

discomfort!

3

Eeek!



Thats 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!

3

Eeek!



Away from


We Run Away.

3



Away from


and when we do this brings us relief .

3

We are motivated to move away from discomf ort

Phew!



Away from


But here it gets really messy...

we avo

id the things that make life w

orthwhile.

If we make it a priority to avoid difficult emotions

Away from

discomfort

x

3



Towards values

But here it gets really messy...

And if we do this consistently we eventually live a life without

meaning.

we avoid the things that make life worthwhile.

If we make it a priority to avoid difficult emotions

Away from

discomfort

?

3

Result:



By prioritising happiness in the short term

over things we really value in the long term

Result:

Result:



By prioritising happiness in the short term

over things we really value in the long term

Result:

we lose control over our lives.



Our brains think inlinear patterns.4

Minds like making sense of things



For example, here

we see a trianglewhere none exists.

Harmless enough?

4

Minds like making sense of things.

They love certainty, stories and linear patterns.



Psychologist Karl Duncker gave

participants a candle, a box of nails,

and several other objects.

He asked them to attach thecandle to the wall.

4

How would you do it?

D k f d th t ti i t t i d t il



Very few of them thought of using the

inside of the nail box as a candle-holderand nailing this to the wall.

The participants were fixated on the boxs

normal f unction of holding nails.

Duncker f ound that participants tried to nail

the candle directly to the wall or glue it to the

wall by melting it.

4



In decision making, this is called

functional fixedness.

Functional fixedness has since been shown to apply to

our own identities.4

So what?



Result:

Linear thinking leads to a feeling or

belief that we can only do what

weve always done.

4



We trust our minds to fixthe problem.5

O i d incredible



Our minds are incredible...

Thats why weve left other species far behind.

But weve seen our minds are far from infallible!

Bad with choice Negatively biased Short term Functionally fixed

Our minds evolved to scan the horizon f or threats and anticipate problems.

Theyre interested in safety n

ot f u

lfilmento

r meaning!5

Yet we often seem to



I know

whats best for you!

Yet we often seem to

forget this.

Instead, we tend to

automatically believe

what our minds tellus.

5

For example, you



Im too

tired to go for a r un

For example, you

come home knackered

from work and youthink...

5



Outcome:

You dont go for a run.

You

tend to

believe you

rthoughts and behave as if they

are true.

5

Im too

tired to go for a r un

Even though staying healthy

might be a long term value...

Even though tiredness does not

physically prevent you from

going f or a run...

Thi i k iti



Im too old

to changecareer

This is known as cognitive

fusion and it affects all

areas of our lives.

5

Thi i k cogniti e



T here are no

jobs anyway

5

This is known as cognitive

fusion and it affects all

areas of our lives.

Although this presentation may be light-hearted,



there is no doubt the depth of anxiety and

conf usion caused by career paralysis.

Ive certainly been there and bought the T-shirt.*

We trust our minds to fix the

problem, but when it doesnt, we

start to look f or reasons why.

We start to think its ourfault theres something

wrong with us!

We look f or a culprit,

and often concludethat we need to try

and fix ourselves

bef ore we do

anything else.

* Disclaimer: I didnt actually buy a T-shirt.

I used to tell myself:



I used to tell myself:

Secure

Certain

AssertiveConfident

Motivated

Knowledgeableetc....

I cant change career because first I need to feel more...

5

So I tried to sort my head out Think more positively!



So I tried to sort my head out. Think more positively!

A lot of people think like this:



A lot of people think like this:

Once I 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.

R lt



By waiting for our minds to tell us were

ready to change career we get stuck.

Result:

The 5 Cognitive Biases That Cause



The 5 Cognitive Biases That Cause

Career Paralysis:

We prioritise the short term over the long term.

Were negatively biased.

Too much choice overwhelms us.

We think we can only do what weve always done.

We trust our minds to fix the problem.

1

2

3

4

5

So what now? Please note! You may have to download this presentation and view

in slide show mode for the links to work. Im sorry - I dont make

the r ules you know.



Career Paralysis:How to Get Unstuck

And Find Your

Direction

Read Part 2...

Its f ull of practical tips, suggestions and free resources to get out of career paralysis.

y

Thank you for reading!



Rob Archer is an Occupational

Psychologist based in London.

He offers coaching, training and

assessment to help individuals and

businesses get unstuck and make

meaningful change.

Get in touch:By e-mail

Via LinkedIn

READ my useful Career Change Blog

MARVEL at my Website

Go to part 2 of this presentation.

Thank you for reading!

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Career Paralysis - The Five Reasons Why Our Brains Get 'Headstuck' Making Career Decisions