Shifting to something new. The pain and the reward is worth it.

After ten years working in high tech as a marketing manager, I made a change and retrained to become a career counselor. That involved getting a masters degree–an effort that took 18 months full time–before I was qualified to dive into my first job working for a career management company.

Getting the masters was mostly fun, but my first paid career counseling gig was harder. Many times in the initial two years on that job I asked myself, “Are you really capable of doing this?”, to which I typically answered, “It doesn’t feel like it!”

That was over two decades ago, and I found myself thinking about that experience recently related to another shift I’m executing. While my work as a career counselor will continue, I’ve added an additional facet to my professional persona: corporate sales rep. My company has produced a career development software tool for organizations, and now it’s part of my job to sell it. And, similar to my first years working as a career counselor, I’m feeling the pain of learning something new.

The frustration felt especially overwhelming recently, and I found myself sitting in the Starry Night Café in Old Town attempting to drown my frustrations in a hot cup of tea. Then I remembered the common belief that it takes 10,000 hours to truly master a skill, so I pulled out pen and paper and estimated the hours I’ve put into this new endeavor. After listing row after row of activities, from getting sales coaching to struggling through cold calls, the total showed just 2,500 hours.

In a way it was relief to see that number; I’m only a quarter of the way there! No wonder I’m still flopping around. Then the next realization sunk in: I’ve likely still got another 7,500 hours to go before I start to feel like I’m really grasping this new vocation.

It was a happy-sad insight, but helpful nonetheless because bottom line, even though it may take a while, I’m pursuing my goals, and the good, bad, and yes, even the ugly of it, feels rewarding.