Seven-Year Itch

by Now What?® Coaching Founder, Laura Berman Fortgang

On the seventh month of the year, I am reminded about the ‘Seven-Year-Itch.’ If you’re not familiar with that term, it’s usually used in the context of romantic relationships or marriage where the newness is gone and there could be a growing restlessness to explore new horizons. Further back in time, around 1900, it was a skin disease that had a seven-year cycle. It’s also known that every seven years the cells in our bodies have run a cycle and are renewed. And finally, from a personal growth standpoint, we too evolve to a new level every seven years or so.

If you are in a period of career restlessness, take a look at the seven-year cycles in your life. Are you coming up on one or have you just passed one? Then it makes perfect sense that you are crawling in your skin to take on a new iteration.

Imagine a butterfly coming out of a cocoon or a snake shedding its skin. These are great mirrors in nature of what you are going through. The pain of change comes in the resistance to this natural flow or in the fear of what you must let go of to allow the evolution.

RESIST

Are you resisting change? How would you know? You’d busy yourself to not ‘have time’ to make any changes. You may be irritable or avoidant when the subject of taking action to rectify your dissatisfaction comes up. You may have a litany of ‘reasons’ why you are stuck or unable to make a change.

FEAR

Are you afraid of scratching the itch? Most of the symptoms mentioned above also confirm fear but other signs of fear might be resorting to blame or taking on a victim role. Fear could also show up as complete paralysis. No action, no thought, perhaps sleeping too much or finding other ways to numb yourself like drinking, watching too much TV, using drugs or engaging in other less-than-forward-moving habits.

ENDURE

If the ‘itch’ is at the boredom level and has not quite escalated to misery, it’s time to spice things up a bit. Spearhead a project, forge new workplace alliances or network outside of your current world. Challenge yourself by taking on a new task or skill. Do something to grow personally and professionally.

However, if you are approaching misery or have been unhappy with your work life for a long time, the change that’s calling is more radical and avoiding it longer will not help. You always have the option of starting to take small steps to invite change. However, you likely know in your gut, as I do, that it’s time to pull a piece out of the ‘Jenga’ game and let the whole thing fall so that you can build anew.

Something’s trying to emerge. Will you let it?