I thought I had a reasonably good idea of what the next stage of my life would look like.
Andre and I had plans.
We had talked about where we wanted to live, how much we wanted to travel, what I wanted to do with my business, and how we imagined the years ahead.
Nothing was completely fixed, of course. But the broad outline felt quite settled.
Then, in April, we became grandparents.
And apparently a five-month-old baby living on the other side of the world has no respect whatsoever for carefully constructed life plans.
I understood, intellectually, that I would love my grandson.
I did not understand how much.
Nor was I prepared for the longing that came with leaving him.
We spent four months in the UK with our son, daughter-in-law and grandson before returning to Australia mid-July. Since coming home, Andre and I have found ourselves having conversations we didn't expect to have yet.
What do we want the next few years to look like?
How much time do we want to spend in Australia?
How often do we want to be in the UK?
What are we willing to change?
And what matters more to us now than it did six months ago?
We do not have the answers.
That is the point.
Sometimes the plan changes because you change
I see versions of this in coaching all the time.
Someone has spent 20+ years building a career in one direction.
Their ambitions are clear.
Their financial plans make sense.
They know what the next promotion looks like, when they intend to retire, or what they expect the next decade to contain.
And then something happens.
A redundancy.
A health issue.
A parent needs care.
A relationship changes.
Children leave home.
A partner receives an opportunity somewhere else.
Or, perhaps, a grandchild arrives 17,000 kilometers away.
Suddenly, the career that made perfect sense can start to feel less certain.
That does not mean the old plan was wrong.
It means the circumstances under which it was created have changed.
Career planning is not something we finish
One idea I come back to repeatedly with clients is that career planning cannot be a one-time exercise.
We change.
Our families change.
Our health changes.
Our finances change.
What we value at 35 may be very different from what matters at 45, 55 or 65.
That is why the work I do with clients is designed to be revisited.
I think we should be asking ourselves at least once a year:
Does the life I am planning still reflect the person I am now?
Not the person I was when I accepted this job.
Not the person I was when I bought this house.
Not the person I was when I created that five-year plan.
The person I am today.
Review more than your career
When people think about career planning, they often focus on the job right away.
Should I stay?
Should I leave?
Should I change industries?
Should I retire?
Those questions matter, but they sit inside a much bigger system.
A useful annual review might include:
Work: Do I still want what I am working towards?
Money: What does the life I now want require financially?
Family: Who do I want to spend more time with, and where are they?
Health: Does the way I work support the way I want to live?
Place: Where do I actually want to spend my time?
Learning: What am I still curious about?
Fun: What have I been postponing?
Time: What would I like more of before another year disappears?
Sometimes changing one answer changes several of the others.
There is a difference between changing your mind and losing direction
I think experienced professionals can be particularly hard on themselves when their priorities change.
We have spent decades being rewarded for consistency.
We like to finish what we started.
We like a coherent narrative.
We like being able to explain the plan.
So when something suddenly matters more than it used to, it can feel destabilizing.
But reconsidering a plan is not evidence that you have become indecisive.
Sometimes it shows you are paying attention.
I had ambitions ten years ago that I no longer care about.
There are things I barely considered ten years ago that now feel enormously important.
That seems quite healthy to me.
For you this Friday
Think about a plan you made for yourself three or five years ago.
It could be a career plan, a financial plan or simply an assumption about how your life would unfold.
Then ask yourself:
If I were making this decision for the first time today, knowing what I know now, would I choose the same thing?
If the answer is yes, wonderful.
If the answer is no, that is useful information.
You do not need to resign immediately, move country, sell the house, or redesign your entire life.
Sometimes the first step is simply admitting that something has changed.
How I help
A large part of career coaching with experienced professionals is not about finding another job.
It is about working out what the next stage is supposed to accomplish.
The answer can change considerably when we look at career, family, finances, health, lifestyle and ambition together.
That is why I use a personal portfolio with clients and encourage them to return to it over time. Career strategy becomes much easier once we understand what the career is meant to support.
If you are reconsidering what you want from the next stage of your working life, you can learn more about private coaching here:
Book a Free Introductory Consultation
This week on YouTube:
In my new video, designed specifically for senior executives and experienced professionals, I am looking at LinkedIn profile optimization and the changes experienced professionals can make to help recruiters and employers understand their value more quickly.
On The Job Hunting Podcast:
This week’s conversation explores relatability versus confidence, executive presence, and what becomes more valuable in an age when AI can increasingly replicate information.
Time Out
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For obvious reasons, my idea of a good time right now is FaceTime with Teddy. I get a quick smile, a few noises, then he loses interest, and I’m left heartbroken. We also spend an unreasonable amount of time looking at the photos his parents send us. Bless them, they’ve been very patient.
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We also canceled almost all our subscriptions, including Netflix. I thought that might be a mistake, but it forced me back to free-to-air TV, where I rediscovered one of my favorites, The Rookie, on Channel 7.
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A year or so ago, I learned that not everyone gets goosebumps from music. I do, often. In my family, it’s just my sister and me, which is strange considering how musical we are. My mum is a music teacher, and my dad sings. Florence + The Machine gives me the strongest musical chills. If you want to test whether you get them too, try this.
We are going back to the UK for Christmas and New Year. Until then, Andre and I are coping extremely well. By which I mean we are suffering terribly, counting the weeks, and discussing flight schedules far more often than is probably healthy.
Our grandson turns five months old in a few days.
He has already disrupted our plans for the future.
And I suspect he is only getting started.
RBX
