Point A, Point B, Point Z
A career change, I believe, can be simplified into three points: Point A, Point B and Point Z. Point A is where you are today, the place, role, or situation you know you need to move away from. Point Z is where you ultimately want to be, not necessarily your next job, but the direction you want your career and life to take. And Point B is the most important: the very next action you need to take to move from A towards Z. You don’t need to know every step between A and Z; you just need clarity on B. Most meaningful career changes happen when you’ve had enough of A and can see enough light at Z to give you the confidence to take that next step.
I experienced something similar on my return from Bangalore. I was almost certain I would miss my train. I boarded an auto at 12:45, only to find that it was running out of gas. By 1:10, we were at a petrol bunk with eight autos ahead of us, while the map showed a 2:02 arrival. We finally left around 1:20, then got stuck in heavy traffic around Indiranagar. By the time Bangalore Cantonment station came into sight, it was around 2:05, but the road to the station was completely clogged. I got out at around 2:15 and ran. Someone was whistling and pointing people towards the entrance. I pushed through, ran faster, and boarded C7 gasping for breath. At 2:23, I finally sat down and the train moved. I could easily have missed it by staying in the auto a little longer, walking instead of running, or simply deciding that there was no point trying. Strangely, though, throughout the chaos I felt confident. I didn’t have an alternative plan; I just kept moving towards the train.
Perhaps that’s what confidence in a career change really looks like. You know your Point A, you can see your Point Z, and you keep moving through Point B, even when the journey between them is messy. You can be cautious about the timing, calculate the risks, and still keep pushing. You may not know whether you’ll make it, just as I didn’t know whether I would catch that train. But you can choose to keep moving until you find out. Sometimes, you don’t need certainty about the destination; you just need enough conviction to take the next step. And sometimes, that’s enough to arrive, just on time.