Transcript: Nicole Mitchell: Hello and welcome to the What's Career got to Do with It podcast, where we hope to provide a space for honest conversation and information that encourages a listener to take the next steps in their career journey. Wherever you are at this process, we hope that this episode will meet you with affirmation, guidance, and maybe some laughs along the way. On today's episode, we will discuss an answer, or many, to the question, when is the right time to change paths? This is a deep one, this is a deep one. Michael "Rudi" ...: Never. Stay in the same place forever, as long as you can. Ängela Bonner: Consistency. Nicole Mitchell: So, I mean, let me open it up this way, right? The two of you, have you been in the same career for the whole entire time that you've been employed? Michael "Rudi" ...: No. I thought I was going to be playing football on Sunday and then, well, some height differences. Yeah, didn't work. Nicole Mitchell: How about you Angela? Ängela Bonner: No, definitely not. I started out as an athletic trainer on the field, on the football field. Nicole Mitchell: And I thought I was going to be a neurosurgeon. Ängela Bonner: Well, there you have it. Nicole Mitchell: So that kind answers the question, when is the right time to change paths? And to me, I think really it's when you have this feeling that something is not completely fulfilling you and you feel like you could potentially provide more in a different space. I think that's kind of the first thing that comes to mind for me. What about you guys? Michael "Rudi" ...: For me, it's more so along the lines of where is my health at. And not just your physical health, it's the overall spectrum of health, or from a wholeness perspective, looking at our spiritual, emotional, mental, physical health, yes, and taking those all into consideration. And sometimes those are going to decline, and it's not just your work or life balance that causes those to decline, it's numerous factors, life changes that may impact those. But it's when things that are not supposed to be making those things suffer, cause them to suffer. And that could be something along the lines of things that are either outside of your control or even within your control. And sometimes the best way to take retake control of our health is to make a transition step. So I always think about it from that standpoint. Ängela Bonner: I'm going to lead with this as a question my mom always asks my brother and I, are you happy? And if you're not, you need to find a way to get there. And so with that, for me, it's just a gut instinct. I know that this is not right and I got to figure out how to make it right again. And like you were saying, Rudi, finding that balance is so key. Am I drained every time I leave whatever I'm doing? Or am I just tired because I worked today and I can be refreshed tomorrow and go again? Michael "Rudi" ...: And I'm going to be honest to y'all, I'm not a fan of the word pivot. I don't watch Friends, sorry to everybody that watches the TV show Friends. I think there's some weird studies out there about generational differences of when people watch Friends and it's a resurgence of it, nineties, whatever. But the point is pivot, no, I don't look at is it a pivot either. And so every time I hear the question of changing career paths and making that pivot point, I'm like, why can't we reframe this? So what do y'all think? Is there a way to reframe that pivot? Ängela Bonner: Progression. Nicole Mitchell: Yeah, I had a mentor once, and it was funny because I was actually on their podcast. And when I was talking, I was talking about my pivot from athletics to higher education. And after it was done, my mentor said, let's get rid of that word pivot. So you can say you decided to explore a new journey. You've decided to experience new experiences, right? Because I think she had the same thing, a little bit of anxiety with that word pivot. So just thinking about ways to refr
