How to give yourself the space to experiment

“Reinventing careers is inherently uncertain,” Iris Smyth, a career change coach, tells Stylist. “Our brains do not like uncertainty, so we try to do what we can to take away those uncertainties.”

According to Smyth, one of the common ways we do this is by eliminating options. But while it might feel tempting (and sensible) to figure out exactly what you want to do first, research has shown that those who’ve made successful career changes did so by giving themselves the space to experiment with different options and ideas first, and to use this real-life information to decide what they were going to do next.

“Don’t try to pin down exactly what it is that you want to do before you’ve tried a few things out first,” she advises instead. “You can do this through side projects, side hustles, signing up for courses and volunteering, as well as offering your services to projects or organisations that you’re aligned with.”

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