But the road isn't always smooth. It can be fraught with hazards, reckless drivers, sharp curves and long uphill grades. And no matter how carefully you drive, there's a good chance that at some point, you'll crash.
Career crashes are almost always survivable. In fact, if handled properly, most people come out of them stronger than ever and driving down their career highway faster than they did prior to the crash. That's not to say it isn't a painful experience or that the wounds heal quickly. They do heal, however.
A career crash usually occurs when you are fired or, if you own your own business, your business fails. Few things in life are more stressful or more devastating.
Now, this should be differentiated from hitting a dead end. Most people who hit dead ends sooner or later realize what has happened and retain a sense of control. That sense of control is all-important in making career moves. People who go through career crashes experience an abject loss of control and with it feelings of shame, humiliation, failure and anger.
Many of the people I work with have just been through a career crash. In fact, I suppose a major reason career consultants exist is to help people through those times.
Unfortunately, most try to paint a happy face on the situation and pretend the crash didn't really happen. Usually we will say it no longer bothers us and we move ahead with finding a new job immediately. Inevitably, though, we are all hampered by the feelings of shame and failure.
The way to overcome it, of course, is to face those feelings squarely, with a large dose of humility. Be rudely honest with yourself. Realize that career crashes happen to everybody and you just have to start again.
Systematically examine all of your options. Apply for any unemployment benefits that might be due you, no matter how distasteful this process might seem to be. Write down all of your investments and assets on a piece of paper. Most people, upon doing this, find that their financial situation isn't as bad as they first thought it was, and that relieves a great deal of stress. Avoid blaming scapegoats or circumstances beyond your control. Look forward, not backward.
Then be ready to shed some honest tears. I often tell spouses that if they can help their mate cry about the situation, he or she has really faced the problem. This is easier said than done for men who, for the most part, consider crying unacceptable behavior. It does, however, relieve a tremendous emotional burden.
Next, avoid the urge to hide. There is no shame in a career crash, nor is there any shame in seeking help, whether from a friend, a spouse or a professional.
I once briefly worked with a man who had been fired and given the option of coming to me as part of his outplacement package. His pride would not let him acknowledge that he needed help. Instead, he decided he deserved six months off and spent his time doing literally nothing. When he finally did come in to see me, he was destitute and his marriage was in ruins. I saw him for only a couple of sessions before he decided once again that he did not need help. Although I did not hear from him again, I suspect that he did not "survive" his crash.
In a contrasting case, I worked with a 62-year-old man who had been forced into early retirement. Given his vivacity, it was no different than being fired. This man, a widower, dealt with his pain not by squarely facing his career crash, but by marrying his deceased best friend's wife. Needless to say, this marriage of convenience did nothing to heal the wounds from his crash, nor did it restore the vigor he'd lost when he lost his job.
He eventually realized that he had made a mistake, and after some heart-rending self-examination faced his feelings of failure head-on. He again became spry and lively, and when I last heard from him he was the president of a company for the first time in his life.
Surviving a career crash takes toughness, humility and honesty. The urge to hide must be fought tooth and nail, as must the urge to go back and try to reclaim the wreckage. It can be an uphill battle, but it is a fight that almost everyone wins.
