Career Refresh Digest #40
Welcome to the latest edition of the Career Refresh Digest.
Thank you to those who responded to the last issue. It's clear that navigating uncertainty at work is resonating for a lot of people right now. I also shared a short video on LinkedIn on a related theme – if you missed it, you can watch it here.
This issue builds on that territory. It's about how much past experience shapes the way we assess what's possible, and what to do when it's working against you.
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WORTH THINKING ABOUT
When the past keeps predicting the future
"When we identify with the past, we keep on thinking about it, which makes it very hard to change anything. Everything keeps happening the way it always has, even when we think we really want to change – our past just keeps predicting our future."
I read this passage in a book I picked up at the airport before a flight recently – The Power of Letting Go, by John Purkiss, a Cambridge-educated executive search professional turned author.
It resonated because I see the pattern he's describing all the time in career coaching.
Most people aren't consciously looking backwards, but past experience shapes what they think is worth pursuing, what they assume they'd be good at, what kind of roles feel realistic to even consider.
A difficult period in a previous organisation becomes a reason to avoid a whole sector. A role that didn't work out becomes evidence about what they're not suited to. A career path that was closed off 10 years ago – because of timing, or circumstances, or something someone said – gets treated as still closed.
The past narrows the field before the actual thinking begins.
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WORTH REFLECTING ON
One experience doing the deciding
A client came to me having ruled out management roles entirely. His reasoning was he'd tried it once, it hadn't gone well, and he'd concluded it wasn't for him.
When we looked at the specifics, the picture was different. His first management role had landed him in charge of a difficult team, with no preparation and no support. The experience said something about those conditions – not about his capability.
With the right structure around him, he turned out to be extremely well suited to leading people. But he'd spent years not applying for roles that would have drawn on that.
It's worth asking whether there's something similar operating for you. A conclusion that felt reasonable at the time, formed in a specific set of circumstances, that has been influencing more decisions than it should ever since.
What have you written off about yourself based on an experience that may have been more about the situation than about you?
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WORTH DOING
Before you rule something out
Next time you notice a quick reaction to a career option – a role, a direction, a possibility someone raises – ask yourself two questions before moving on:
Where is this reaction coming from?
Is that still true now?
The first is about the source. Is this based on something that actually happened, something someone told you, or a conclusion formed a long time ago in a different context?
The second is about currency. Even if the experience was real, does it still accurately describe your situation, your capabilities, or what's available to you now?
The mind reuses old conclusions rather than starting fresh each time. In many situations that's efficient. In career decision-making, it can close off options that are worth a second look.
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That's it from me for this fortnight. If any of this is familiar, you're welcome to book a 15-minute call to find out whether coaching is the right fit for your situation
– Lucy
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ABOUT THE CAREER REFRESH DIGEST
The Career Refresh Digest is a fortnightly newsletter for mid-career professionals who feel stuck or out of step with their work. Each issue shares practical insights and tools to help you reset direction, make clearer decisions, and reshape your work to better fit your life – drawing on recommendations, research, and insights from client work.