Are “Obstacle Illusions” Keeping You From a Better Job?

If you’ve ever dreamed of a job or career but talked yourself out of even trying — or maybe just put the thought on the back burner for another day that never comes — you may be suffering from obstacle illusions!

An optical illusion is “a misleading image presented to the vision.” When it comes to your job or career obstacle illusions are misleading images / conclusions that you yourself feed to your own mind.

• “I could never do that!”
• “No one will hire me.”
• “I’m kidding myself to even consider this.”
• “I don’t have / can’t get the required experience.”
• “Jobs like this are for people smarter / more talented than me.”
• “This kind of job is for dreamers. I need to grow up and be realistic.”

Why do we create obstacle illusions?

Although there may be many reasons you decide not to try something, one really useful reason is that obstacle illusions can keep us from failing. If you try, you might blow it big time. And look stupid to your family and friends … even to yourself, reaffirming just how incapable you are. Or just giving yourself a “logical” comfort level for not trying.

So we create obstacles — things that stand in the way of taking a risk. Things that stop us from aiming for something that might make us truly happy. And these obstacles need to feel true to us to be truly believable and therefore effective. They need to make sense to us … and seem solid to others when we tell our career stories.

Obstacle illusions vs. real obstacles

Of course there are real obstacles that would truly be difficult or in some cases impossible to overcome. Some examples to think about:

• You’re only 5 feet tall and yet want to be a pro basketball center.
• Flying terrifies you & your math skills stink but you dream of being an astronaut. 
• You want to be an opera singer yet you’re tone deaf.
• Your dream job requires a college degree and you never finished high school. And you hate school.
• Designing video games would be ideal for you in theory but you freeze up when trying to write even simple code.
• You want to be a lawyer and defend people who need help but find reading and writing difficult.
• You have physical conditions, extreme shyness, or whatever that prevent you from your “heart’s quest”.
• You want to be President of the United States but were born in another country.

If you look closely at the above list, a few of the examples would in all likelihood not be possible. But the rest, as unlikely as they may seem, may have paths for you to take. Or related careers that might also be exciting if you pursue them with curiosity and passion.

So when it comes to career obstacles it’s important to think hard about how much of what’s stopping you is truly impossible. And then ask yourself — be honest — how much you’re letting obstacle illusions (ones you tell yourself are real) get in your way.

Getting past self-created obstacles

None of this is meant as blame. For most of us, childhood imposes all kinds of “I can’t” and “don’t even try” mental imprints. Some come from our family situations. And some from school and what we had to do to make things work for ourselves there.

And then over the years as we continued to believe some of those obstacle illusions they became even more embedded. And in some ways useful. It hurts to get rejected. Or to outright fail miserably!

Yet so much of what stops us is not real. Oh … it feels real enough. And when you get out of the habit of thinking “how can I make it happen?” as opposed to “I can’t make it happen” then breaking out of that thought pattern is tough.

But it can be done. I’ve been there myself. You just need to practice that “how can I make it happen” thinking. Start small. Take on a few things that feel hard but that you know you can really do. And each time also remember to be proud of yourself and gentle on any missteps. You deserve it.

A few more thoughts

Slowly but surely, as you move toward something you might actually love, you can also start to believe in yourself without worrying what others think. Or without second-guessing yourself.

And if all this still feels uncomfortable or maybe just too hard to imagine, here’s a certificate that I hope can help remind you:

EXTRA:  Permission to believe in yourself

And then think about how to start toward what you really want. Step by step. Give yourself time and permission to fail if needed. Or take pauses when life gets in the way. But just keep on going in that direction, and, during pauses, continue to visualize achieving what you want.

Even if your dream job won’t work out for you, see what else pops up along the way. You might be surprised what doors open when you pursue things you truly care about!

More posts to help

I Can’t Stop Feeling Like a Failure

Baby Stepping Toward a Career You Love

Career Change: How To Move Past the Fear