I was following an interesting thread on a group on Linked In that started with:

Stuck in A Dead End Job That You Hate

Why do women let fear drive them into staying with a job they hate instead of starting that business that they love?

I was interested because one of the things I do in my coaching practice is help Baby Boomer Women conquer fear and limiting beliefs so that they can create the life they truly want and this seems to be a recurring theme.

Many of the comments that I hear are the same when it comes to fear of leaving a job to pursue something better and this was corroborated by this thread.

Fear can paralyze us and prevent us from creating something much better in our lives if we let it. My job is to help people manage their fear so that they can create their most amazing life.

Here are 5 Top Fears that keep women at a job they hate and their antidote:

                                                      False
                                                      Evidence
                                                      Appearing
                                                      Real

One fear that can be strong is fear of failure. The antidote to fear of failure is knowing that you can never fail. Look at “failure” as  simply  a stepping stone  on the path to fulfilling your dreams. Learn the lesson that you need to learn, the golden nugget, and keep moving forward.

Fear of Letting Down Those You Love – One of my biggest fears when I was considering leaving my secure job was fear of letting down those that I love. I was so used to being able to help my children if they needed it that I wasn’t willing to give up my role as the “strong one who makes sure everyone was ok”. Even though they were all pretty much on their own and very independent, I was afraid that we could lose our home or not be able to do Christmas or help them if they got into a jam and that really bothered me. By the way, none of my fears actually happened:-)

The antidote was  that I started to talk with them and saw that they really wanted me to be happy. They supported me by giving me their blessing  and I began to hold them as creative, resourceful and whole which is what we really want for our children, right?

Fear of Being Disloyal – Women  especially just hate to let people down and often we place our loyalty on everyone but ourselves. We are loyal to a fault-to our bosses and our co workers. We don’t want to disappoint them.

I believe that sometimes we do this because secretly we feel we will be appreciated and that somewhere down the line there will be a payoff-maybe a raise or some kind of gratification. We want to be valued and  we are so used to being in a support role that we take it to the limit.

The antidote is to start being loyal to you, first and foremost, and go after what you really want . Change that paradigm about putting everyone else’s needs before your own. No one will look out for you like you!!! That does not make you a bad person.

Fear of Losing Security of Benefits and a Steady Paycheck – When I was planning on leaving my job I was terrified of losing a steady paycheck, even though I knew that I would make waaayyyy more money in my own business. I settled for security instead of striving for magnificence. However, my coach pointed out to me that there is really no security in a job. And that is true. Many of my friends and relatives have been laid off from “secure jobs” while in their 50’s.

The antidote to fear of losing security and a steady paycheck is feeling that you have the power to pay yourself whatever you want in your business and then working on creating a business that will add so much value to people’s lives that you will be compensated handsomely. Now that’s what I’m talking about!

Fear of the Unknown – This fear can paralyze us into complacency because we basically tell ourselves that we aren’t capable of handling whatever comes up when we move towards our dreams because we don’t know what to expect. The fact is that we can handle so much more than we believe. Look at all those curve balls that have been thrown at you in your life that you handled brilliantly.

The antidote to fear of the unknown is to keep taking baby steps forward and trust that you have everything it takes to handle whatever comes your way.

If you would like to read more about leaving your 9-5 job here are a couple of blogs that I wrote on this subject :

https://coachingbymarianne.com/ditch-job-create-life-love/

https://coachingbymarianne.com/ditch-your-job-and-create-a-life-you-love-part-2/

Cheers to your success,  

marianne cherico

Marianne Cherico helps Baby Boomer women create a life filled with joy, passion and purpose so that they can create a Smokin’ Hot Second Half. She is proud to be a member of this generation of women who changed the world for women, presenting future generations with limitless opportunities to thrive and grow into lives that are meaningful and authentic. It is Marianne’s sincerest pleasure to help these women find their purpose, work through limiting and self- sabotaging beliefs and step into their own brand of magnificence. You can get a taste of Marianne’s teaching by downloading her free report “How to Plan for a Smokin’ Hot Second Half” on her website here: https://www.coachingbymarianne.com

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