Career Reset: How to Re-orient Your Work Life

You know that feeling when you walk into a room and completely forget why you went there?

You stop, retrace your steps, and re-orient yourself to remember what you were doing.

We’ve all done it, right?

Well, that’s a really useful analogy for what I see happen in people’s careers.

As a career coach, I work with many people in mid-career who describe waking up one day, heading into work like they’ve been doing for years, and find themselves thinking: How did I get here?

Maybe even looking around and realising: This isn’t what I would have chosen if I did it on purpose.

That’s when you know you’ve lost track and it’s time to re-orient yourself.

How careers go off track when you’re on autopilot

This doesn’t happen overnight. Most of the people I work with have been operating on autopilot for a long time – saying yes to what’s expected, taking promotions, following opportunities, staying busy. Step by step, they’ve built strong careers.

But autopilot comes at a cost. Over time, people find themselves:

• in management when what they loved was the technical work

• chasing external measures of success – money, approval, status – more than fulfilment

• saying yes to stay secure, when deep down they wanted something else

• adapting to a workplace culture that doesn’t reflect their values

Eventually, they realise the work doesn’t fit. Career satisfaction has been replaced by a sense of misalignment.

What it means to re-orient your career

Re-orienting doesn’t require you to have had a perfect plan from the start. Many people never clearly named their values, strengths or conditions for thriving. Re-orientation is about stepping back to establish (or re-establish) your bearings.

It includes:

• Values – the principles you want your work to align with

• Fulfilment – the kind of contribution that feels meaningful

• Conditions for thriving – the environment, pace and balance that suit you

• Strengths – the capabilities you’re good at and enjoy using

When these aren’t clear, we can find ourselves in places we’d rather not be.

Why so many feel stuck mid-career

Many capable, experienced people reach this point in mid-career. From the outside, they may look like they’ve got it all together. Inside, they’re questioning whether the direction still makes sense.

This isn’t about failure or poor choices. It’s about years of running on autopilot and not stopping to ask: Is this still the work life I’d choose today?

A simple exercise to reset your direction at work

If this resonates, try this short exercise:

1. Imagine you’re starting fresh tomorrow, with no history or obligations.

• What kind of work would you choose?

• Who would you want to work alongside?

• What difference would you want your effort to make?

2. Energy audit – Jot down three things in your current role that energise you, and three that consistently drain you.

Naming these patterns could spark your curiosity and at least take you off autopilot mode.

Why re-orienting your career is hard to do alone

When you’ve been on autopilot for a long time, it’s hard to separate what you truly want from what you’ve simply adapted to.

How to move forward with purpose and confidence

If you’ve had that How did I get here? moment, it may be time to retrace your steps and re-orient yourself.

When you do, you don’t just change jobs – you reshape how you approach your whole work life. With clarity about your values, strengths and the conditions you need to thrive, you can move forward with a sense of purpose and confidence.

That’s what I help people with – through one-to-one coaching and my online course, The Career Refresh. If you’d like to start exploring, try the Career Wellbeing Quiz for insight into where you are now and what might need attention.

Closing thought

Losing your bearings at work is common. The real question is: how will you re-orient yourself?