This isn’t an article about resolutions.  Never been a fan of them, never will be.  If you haven’t yet figured out whether resolutions are a good thing for you, one more article isn’t going to help.  And really, who cares what I think about resolutions?

On the other hand… are you ready for some straight up, tough love?  No, seriously.  What if I could give you one juicy nugget of truth that could change your life?  Would you be interested?  Something that, if you were to embrace for 2014, would radically change your life, for the better.  Pretty irresistible, right?

Here it is… the juicy truth … drumroll please…  If you’re not happy with your career, change it.   No, really. I mean it.  CHANGE it.  That’s the tough love part.  But know it comes from the most loving and generous place within me.  Even if you rolled your eyes at me, I’m standing my ground.  You can be annoyed, frustrated or even angry with me.  Someone needs to say it.  If you’re not happy with your career, change it.

This past year I’ve seen clients who have taken astonishing career leaps and totally transformed their lives.  We’re talking huge changes – along the lines of quitting a job/getting divorced/moving to Costa Rica to start a tour business.  How’s that for change?  Or the client who decided to reinvent himself so he could have summers off to spend with his family.  That was a huge shift for him and his family.

And then there are the clients who took another approach.  The client who decided to create a great LinkedIn profile.  Or the one who lost some weight and bought a new wardrobe over a year.   Or the client who took her working relationship with her boss from miserable to “meh.”

Here it is… the juicy truth … drumroll please…  If you’re not happy with your career, change it.

See the trend here?  Small changes, not even directly related to changing their career.  Change is change.  When you start to take action, interesting things happen along the way.   For example, the revised LinkedIn profile prompted a call from a recruiter.  It wasn’t a job my client wanted, but her confidence got an important boost.  I predict she’ll be embracing a few more changes in 2014.

So if you’re not happy with your career, change it.  You can change:  Your perspective.  Your field.  Your job.  Your route to work.  Your morning routine.  How you answer the phone.  How you interact with colleagues.  Your approach to new assignments.  Where you live.  Your personal brand.  Your spiritual practice.  Your professional presence.  How you manage your time.  You get the point.  Change is always on a continuum and you get to choose some changes and others choose you.

So it’s time.  How do I know?  Because waiting for your career to change, for it to get better, or to feel differently about it, isn’t going to magically happen.  If you’re not happy with your career, change it.