Up

da ted
Career Paralysis ver
sio
Part 1: n
The 5 ways our
brains get stuck
when making
career decisions
Is this you?
You want a job
But not just any job...
You want a job that

actually fulfils you.

You want meaning .

Something you can look back on with pride
BUT
(Big but)
 n’ t i ns pi re
b s ads do
The j o
You don’t want to lose your
lifestyle
 And you’re
worried
about
stepping into
the unknown.
You think to yourself...

Should you be taking more of a risk?

If so, how big a risk?
Isn’t it all too late?
Some days you
feel like you’re
going round in
circles...
...you’re beginning to wonder
who you really are...
...and now even the simplest decisions
are starting to seem difficult.
If so, you are not alone...
Nearly 70% of us do not feel engaged at work.

Over half of us would start over if we felt we could.

And it’s not our fault...

...it’s our
brains
that are
to blame.
(They can’t cope).
Let me explain...

I’m Rob, an occupational psychologist.

I specialise in helping people find their
best career direction. This is me.

I work with many people who feel

dissatisfied in their careers yet don’t
know which direction they should move.

This presentation explains why ‘career paralysis’

happens, and what you can do about it.
So, where do we start?
 Professor Dan Gilbert,
TED Conference,
December 2008

“Our brains evolved for a very different

world from today. A world in which
people lived in very small groups, rarely
met anybody different from themselves,
had short lives with few choices and
where the highest priority was to eat
and mate today.”
The point is, the kind of problems
our brains evolved to solve
are
very different to the kind of
problems we face today.

Career choice is a good example.

In theagricultural age you did whatever
your parents did. Baker, Taylor, Butcher, Smith.

There was no such thing as ‘career choice.’

 In the industrial
age social mobility
increased.

But social mobility

still depended on
social class and
education.

So career choice was

only an issue for
nice chaps like
William and Rupert
here.
In the information age our choices expanded rapidly.
Thankfully, computers came along to help.

You’d be tested and then scientifically ‘matched’ by computer to

your ideal career.
 This approach had two assumptions:
a static work environment and a static self.
 eal
Your Id :
is
career
l
Denta
e
Hygien

This approach had two assumptions:

a static work environment and a static self.
Mind, you, what would I know? The computer told me I should have been a dental hygienist.
But nothing is static any more.
1. The job market is volatile
2. the job for life almost dead
3. and the portfolio career on the
rise.
4. People want meaning at work,
not living for the weekend.
5. Jobs are being created in areas
not even heard of 2 years ago.
6. More people than ever are
starting their own business
7. ...and the recession is
accentuating all of these
trends.
So the good news is…
historically speaking, career
opportunities have never
been greater.

Most of us could be whoever we

want to be.
But the bad news is...

Our brains are

not set up to
deal with this
new type of
career
decision.
We’re good at survival thinking
But less good when
we need to choose
between lots of
options...
...or think anew
about our lives
and careers.
What I’ve learned over the last 6 years:

Understanding our mind’s cognitive

biases is the best foundation for making
better career decisions.
 Me =
square peg

Dental
Hygienist =
round hole
 The 5 ways our
brains get stuck
when making
career decisions
 Too much choice
1 overwhelms us
 We usually think of choice as a good thing.

But Barry Schwartz showed

that too much choice actually
stresses us out.

1
1
It’s the ‘Paradox of Choice’.
 The paradox of choice means decision making is more
difficult. And when we do make decisions, we’re
1
less happy with them.
 Result:
we feel overwhelmed by the options open to us
and scared of the loss that comes with choice.

... And we always wonder what

might have been...

1
 We’re negatively
2 biased
We evolved to think negatively.
Imagine one of your ancient ancestors sees a
dark blob out in the distance.

Is it a bear or a blueberry bush?

2
We evolved to think negatively.

Is it a bear or a blueberry bush?

An optimist might have seen a blueberry bush.

If she was right she’d eat more of her 5-a-day for lunch than her pessimist
friend.
But if she was wrong...she’d be lunch!

Our minds evolved with one priority: ‘safety first’.

2
 Evidence:
We hate losing twice as much as we love
winning (Kahneman & Tversky 1990).

Negative thoughts are 3 to 4 times ‘stickier’

than positive (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990).

We need 5 positive comments to every negative for a

happy marriage (Gottman, 2008).

We are psychologically inflexible. If we try

not to think about something unpleasant – we
think about it even more. (Hayes, 1990).
2
 Result:
So
We’re far more ca
u tio
aware of our n cre
e ps
weaknesses than in

our strengths.

2
 We prioritise the short
3 term over the long term.
We think we make rational decisions reflecting our values…
We think wrong.
For example, a massive 90% of people support organ donation, but some countries
have far higher organ donation rates than others.

Why?

It’s because the countries on the right have on ‘opt out’ donation policy, whereas in
countries on the left you have to ‘opt in’. So basically, no one bothers.
 OK, but what about professional decisions?

One experiment asked Doctors what would happen

if they read a patient’s case notes on the day of their
operation and found...
3
 ...that one important drug had not even been tried.

Operation

Important drug
not even tried

What do you think the Doctors did – proceed with

the operation, or stop the op to try the drug?
3 (drum roll...)
 Most stopped the op to try the drug.

3
 But what happened in the same scenario
except where two different drugs had not been
3 tried?
 This time, most of the Doctors let the operation go ahead!

Yet the only change was that the complexity of doing the
‘right’ thing had slightly increased...
3
Here’s another example:

was offering 3 types of subscription:

1. Web only - $59

2. Print only - $125

3. Print & web only - $125

3
 1. Online only
1. Web only - $59

2. Print only Which would you

2. Print only - $125 pick?
3. Online &
print3. Print & web only - $125

3
 Most people went for the print AND online
subscription.

1. Online only
1. Web only - $59 16%
2. Print only
2. Print only - $125 0%
And not surprisingly,
3. Online & no Economist reader
print3. Print & web only - $125 84% chose the middle
option.

3
 1. Online only
So what did
1. Web only - $59
people do
when this
2. Print only - $125
option was
3. Online &
print3. Print & web only - $125 removed?

3
 Most changed their minds!

1. Online only
1. Web only - $59 68%

2. Print only - $125

3. Online &
print3. Print & web only - $125 32%

Conclusion: we tend to make decisions based on short term

3 comparisons, not on what we actually value.
So how does this relate to career decision making?
For a start, short terms comparisons mean we are highly
influenced by what others do and say.

But our short term bias also leads us into a trap...(take a deep breath).
3
Motivation works in only two directions:

1. We move away
from things that
cause us discomfort

Eek!
e.g. move away from:
•Anxiety
•Doubt
•Insecurity

3
Motivation works in only two directions:

2. We move
towards things
we value

Woohoo!
e.g. move towards:
•Meaning
•Freedom
•Creativity

3
 Most people say they want to
Away from move this way in their career
Towards values
discomfort

3
 Away from Towards values
discomfort
Eek!

Yet when they do what

usually shows up first is...

discomfort!

3
 That’s right...

The short term result of moving towards our values is usually

negative thoughts and uncomfortable emotions.

Oh, the humanity!

So guess what most of us do next?

3
 Away from Towards values
discomfort

We head back in the other direction,

away from discomfort.
3
 Away from Towards values
discomfort

And guess what?

We usually feel relieved.

3
 But here it gets really messy...

Away from
discomfort
x
Towards values

If we make it a priority to avoid difficult emotions

we avoid the things that make life worthwhile.

3
 But here it gets really messy...

Away from
discomfort
x?
Towards values

If we make it a priority to avoid difficult emotions

we avoid the things that make life worthwhile.

We risk always wondering ‘what if?’

3
 But here it gets really messy...

Away from Towards values

discomfort

?
If we make it a priority to avoid difficult emotions
we avoid the things that make life worthwhile.

We risk always wondering ‘what if?’

And if we consistently avoid difficult emotions this eventually leads to

even greater unhappiness (and even depression).

3
Result:

By prioritising happiness in the short term

over things we really value in the long term
Result:

By prioritising happiness in the short term

over things we really value in the long term

we lose control over our lives.

 Our brains think in
4 linear patterns.
 For example, here
we see a triangle
where none exists.

Harmless enough?

4
In 1945 psychologist Karl Duncker
gave participants a candle, a box of
nails, and several other objects.

He asked them to attach the

candle to the wall.

4
Duncker found that participants tried to nail
the candle directly to the wall or glue it to the
wall by melting it.

Very few of them thought of using the

inside of the nail box as a candle-holder
and nailing this to the wall.

The participants were “fixated” on the box’s

normal function of holding nails.
4
 In decision making, this is called
‘functional fixedness’.

Functional fixedness has since been shown to apply to

our own identities.
4
 Result:
This leads to a feeling or belief that
we can onlydo what we’ve
always done.

4
 We trust our minds to fix
5 the problem.
 Our minds are incredible...
That’s why we’ve left other species far behind.

But we’ve seen our minds are far from infallible!

Bad with choice Negatively biased Short term Functionally fixed

Our minds evolved to scan the horizon for threats and anticipate problems.
5 They have one clear objective: stay safe!
 Yet we often seem to forget this.
Instead, we tend to automatically
believe what our minds tell us.

5
For example, you
come home “I’m too
knackered from work tired to go
and you think... for a run”

5
 Outcome: “I’m too
Don’t go for a run. tired to go
for a run”
Although tiredness does not
physically prevent us from going for
a run, we tend to fuse our thoughts
with reality.

5
 “I’m too old
to change
career”

This is known as cognitive

fusion and it affects all
areas of our lives.

5
 “There are no
jobs anyway”

This is known as cognitive

fusion and it affects all
areas of our lives.

5
Although this presentation may be light-
hearted, there is no doubt the depth of anxiety
and confusion caused by career paralysis.
I’ve certainly been there and bought the T-shirt.

We trust our minds to fix the

problem, but when it doesn’t, we
start to look for reasons why.
We start to think it’s our
fault – there’s something
wrong with us!

We look for a culprit,

and often conclude
that we need to try
and ‘fix ourselves’
before we do
anything else.
 I used to tell myself:
I can’t change career because first I need to feel more...

Secure
Certain
Assertive
Confident
Motivated
Knowledgeable
etc etc....

5
 So I tried to ‘sort my head out’. Think more positively!
I told myself ‘once I feel more certain, then I can make progress’.
A lot of people think like this.
“Once I get rid of these
nasty thoughts / feelings
then I can act”.
But research has shown that trying to
avoid negative thoughts and feelings…
…actually increases their intensity
and frequency.
Harvard psychologist Dan Wegner
calls this the brain’s ‘ironic
process’.
The more we try not to think
about something, the more we
think about it.

(Hence, the ‘ironic process’ of

insomnia).
 And don’t forget, moving towards values
always involves difficult thoughts.

Away from Towards values

discomfort

5
Result:

By trying to avoid our fears we make

the problem worse.
The 5 Cognitive Biases That Cause
Career Paralysis:
1 Too much choice overwhelms us.

2 We’re negatively biased.

3 We prioritise the short term over the long term.

4 We think we can only do what we’ve always done.

5 We trust our minds to fix the problem.

Or put another way...

I want to change
career! But...
Which way do I go?

I need to sort my head out first I could never do that!

Result: Career Paralysis

This stresses me out! I should stick with what I know

 Please note! You may have to download this presentation and view
So what now? in ‘slide show’ mode for the links to work. I’m sorry - I don’t make
the rules you know.

Read Part 2...

Career Paralysis:
How to untangle
thoughts and find your
direction

It’s full of practical tips, suggestions and free resources.

 Rob Archer is an occupational
psychologist based in London.
He offers coaching, training and
assessment to help individuals and
businesses get unstuck and make
meaningful change.
Go to part 2 of this
presentation.

Get in touch:
SEND me an e-mail
CONNECT on LinkedIn
READ my useful Career Change Blog
MARVEL at my grown up Website

99