You don’t have to quit your job to feel better.
“Is This It?”: Navigating Change When Work No Longer Fits
For many corporate professionals, the past few years have brought waves of change—some chosen, some not. Restructures, shifting priorities, hybrid schedules, and constant demands have left many quietly asking the same question:
Is this really how I want to live?
It’s a question that often creeps in on the commute home, mid-meeting, or over a Sunday night dinner when the dread starts to rise. You’re not alone.
What I’m hearing in coaching conversations lately is a theme of disconnection—not from capability, but from meaning. High-achieving, thoughtful people are realising they’ve built lives that look successful on the outside but feel unsustainable on the inside.
And yet… change feels risky. There are mortgages. Kids. Expectations. The unknown.
But here’s the thing:
You might be able to start feeling better in your role sooner than you think.
And no, I’m not talking about a team change, a promotion, or a recruiter’s dream offer.
Sometimes it starts with something much closer to home: your thoughts.
This may be an unpopular opinion, but I believe things can get better when you start with your own inner world.
Let’s be honest—thoughts like “my boss is the worst,” “I’m overlooked for promotions,” or “I’m taken for granted” might feel completely true. But the energy behind them? It’s repellent to opportunity. As flat and passive as the phrase “it is what it is.” And I believe you’re meant for something so much bigger than that.
What if the shift begins by cleaning up the hygiene of your thoughts? Last week I shared a tool called cognitive diffusion. It’s simple but powerful:
Grab one unhelpful thought—say, “I’m taken for granted.”
Say it out loud ten times. Notice how it feels.
Now try saying, “I’m having the thought ‘I’m taken for granted,’” ten times.
Finally, say, “I notice, I’m having the thought ‘I’m taken for granted,’” ten times.
Notice the shift in how it lands (if any). You’re hopefully no longer fused with the thought—you’re the observer.
Use the worksheet to explore further:
Another powerful tool introduced to me by Martha Beck, is Byron Katie’s The Work, which invites you to gently question the truth of your beliefs through a series of meditative prompts. You explore what it feels like to live with the thought—and who you might be without it. It can open up surprising clarity and even compassion, without bypassing your lived reality.
If this sounds like something you’d like to try, you can start right now in the worksheet:
Because change doesn’t always mean overhauling your life.
Sometimes it starts with changing your relationship to your own inner dialogue.
