Knowing When It’s Time to Move On

Career paths are lined with detours. And those diversions aren’t always clearly marked. So when we finally realize we’re off course, it’s hard to adjust.

Joe Biden just discovered he had to make a big course correction. We know it wasn’t easy for him because we watched him fight it. But now, having made that choice, it will change his life and the lives of millions.

How many times have we faced similar decisions that weren’t as big globally, but still impact us personally? And how many times did we choose the status quo over change?

I know I’ve had plenty of those moments. I’ve found myself in dead-end jobs that were related to my passion for photography and writing, but ultimately were about paperwork and administration. Then one day I would stare at the ToDo list and ask, “What am I doing here?”

Circumstances also help nudge us along. For years I recorded photography training courses for lynda.com. I thought it was going to be my forever job. They liked my work, audiences responded with thousands of views, and my monthly checks were fantastic.

Then lynda.com became LinkedIn Learning which was later bought by Microsoft — and all along the way I was getting older. I woke up one morning and…