Changing careers is just a way to hide one’s inferiority complex?

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When giving consultations, I often don’t pay attention to what the client says, but rather to what they tell me. Insincere speech is a common trait among almost everyone when they are troubled; I accept their confusion just as I accept their sincerity. Amidst all the chaos, changing careers or job-hopping is a prominent option; it is a means of career adjustment that professionals often consider when they grow tired of their current job. After working for a few years, I haven’t achieved anything ； When comparing horizontally, it turns out that they are not as good as their classmates ； Looking ahead, there’s nothing that excites me, so I began to wonder: Could it be that this job isn’t right for me? It is indeed important to determine whether it’s suitable, but what’s more important is to find the right password. This password isn’t mentioned in the evaluations; the results of those evaluations may seem reasonable, but they prove to be inadequate when faced with reality ； This password isn’t found in the various wisdom texts of those who are more experienced in the workplace either; others’ experiences have been refined to become something remarkable and legendary, making them unreplicable ； This password is not among the vast amount of information on \"popular industries\" either; an industry that is very popular among others may not be suitable for you. The right password is actually in your past experiences. After working as a white-collar employee in a foreign company for 5 years, she felt that her current career did not fulfill her aspirations; she hoped to find a path that better suited her through counseling. From the start, she wanted to explore her own values with me, and it was clear that she had done some research beforehand. I didn’t rush to bring out various consultation tools; I simply asked a simple question: What does your ideal career look like? Behind some answers filled with abstract terms, I uncovered the truth: social relationships, workplace interactions, helping others, gaining wisdom – these fancy and generic words were revealed through her insincere way of expressing herself. She does not have a deep understanding or feeling for these states; it is for this reason that she places her unfulfilled dreams in them. Everyone has the ability to solve their own career problems, if they can see the issues at hand. To be honest, if you want to switch to a new career in an unfamiliar field, you must have the skills necessary to do so, and those skills must have been demonstrated in your past experiences. Are there any experiences that have filled you with excitement and a sense of achievement? It can happen at work or in life. So, this person who came for advice began talking about the events he had organized, the gatherings he had arranged, and the high-level conferences he had attended. From the detailed description, I can’t help but wonder: it seems that these feelings of achievement stem from the recognition of others. So, does helping others, interpersonal interactions, and relationships all arise from this? The person who came for advice instinctively defended themselves, first denying it outright, then falling into thought; after a while, they asked themselves a question: If it’s not for the pursuit of a sense of achievement, can I do something humble yet beneficial to others? She found the right password on her own, and it became simple to resolve the confusion. Since it is about seeking a sense of achievement, it is related to one’s abilities. I have proposed two strategies: First, identify the aspects of one’s job where one can utilize their abilities to realize their value. I hope to help her see the possibilities for career development in her current role; this is a fundamental belief in career counseling: career changes are always a suboptimal option, as they involve giving up certain resources previously available, unless such a change brings greater benefits. Second, within the framework of interests, identify some possibilities that fulfill value. This is a common strategy, and the direction for changing careers often comes from it. Changing careers is not the goal; finding what’s right for one is. When seeking advice, one should make adjustments to their career path while being indecisive. Many people who seek to change careers often use this approach as a cover for their discomfort with their current career path, hiding their weakest aspects and fearing that others will see them; as a result, they appear to be striving hard in a frantic effort. Coincidentally, nothing is easy, and things that are simple seem to have no value. Such a career change either fails or leaves one feeling empty and lonely despite the change. During the process of developing her skills, a significant flaw emerged: her ability to communicate in public was weak, and she was even timid, which is the main reason for her lack of achievements in her career. That’s not even the real problem; the real issue is that she is afraid to talk about this aspect of herself. What is it controlling her emotions then? Past experiences, my mother’s criticism, the teachers’ reproaches, not doing my work well. So I realized that the pretext of changing careers actually hides inferiority. Inferiority stems from experiences, from repeated confirmations from the past. Everyone has moments of low self-esteem; some people face it head-on and accept it ； Some people are consumed by inferiority, which leads to arrogance ； Some people tremble in the face of inferiority, ready to run at any moment. Changing careers is often a form of running away. I always want to try new things, in an attempt to find a new field in which I can make a difference. I even came up with a reasonable excuse for myself: I’m simply not suited for this, and I need to switch to a field that’s more suitable for me. Such avoidance is often unconscious, as it has never been faced before. It’s not suitable; one has to give it a try to find out. To conclude that it’s not suitable without trying is nothing but a result of low self-esteem. I tore away the mask I wore to hide my desire to change careers; that sense of inferiority was no longer something worth worrying about. When there’s nowhere left to hide, that fear isn’t as terrifying as one might think. The devil is one’s own creation, nurtured little by little by oneself; relax and face it directly, and the illusion will naturally dissipate. Based on our work requirements, we jointly developed a capability improvement plan that targets the goals directly. After seeing this plan, those who came to consult also felt relieved: it seems that what was inevitable would eventually happen. Yes, what’s meant to happen will happen sooner or later. There is nothing that cannot be overcome; when we retain memories of our weaker self in childhood, our ego keeps confirming negative evaluations: poor communication skills, weak logical reasoning, low writing ability – and thus a sense of inferiority arises. We instinctively try to escape and seek new areas, but it’s very likely that we will repeat the same patterns in those new areas, thus experiencing feelings of inferiority once again. Of course, there is a possibility of trying to do things correctly; this involves building confidence in a new way, with higher risks and greater costs. Facing something doesn’t always mean having to conquer it. Most abilities can build confidence through repeated practice; some can only reach an average level, and for others, it’s necessary to recognize one’s own limitations and switch to methods that are more familiar. I remembered a line from The King’s Speech: This man could have truly achieved something great, but he spent all his energy fighting against me. This sentence also applies to us and ourselves: we could have achieved something great if we hadn’t focused on how to avoid fear.