“Freedom thieves” may be holding you back from making a career move.

Imagine all of your life choices as a decision tree. At age 18, there are almost an infinite number of possible decisions that you could make. You decide whether to go to college. You decide where you will go and choose a major. You choose your friends and decide whether or not to work during college. You seek and take your first post-college job. Your decisions lead you down one possible path. Other paths are either no longer available or much more difficult to pursue. Eventually, it’s years later and you find yourself where you are today.

You look up and ask yourself, “how did I get here?”

Maybe you love where you are in your life and career, and maybe you don’t. Maybe you dream of something different. You can see the potential paths along the tree of life to get where you want to go. But you’re stuck. Something is holding you back.

I call some of the things that hold us back “freedom thieves”. Freedom thieves impact all of areas of life, and when it comes to careers, they hold us in place. Lifestyle is one of the most prevalent freedom thieves.

You’ve grown used to driving a certain car, living in a neighborhood you really like, sending your kids to prestigious schools, and eating at trendy restaurants. Making a career change would threaten your lifestyle, and so, you are stuck in limbo.

How will you move forward? Only by taking full responsibility for your choice. What’s it going to be?