If you’ve gotten to this point, you have already assessed how you’ve gotten to the point where Changing Your Game is an option and you are certain that your current situation isn’t just a case of bad times hitting everyone. The tough questions, however, are not finished being asked.

At this stage, you are now ready to figure out if you have the financial capabilities of making such a change. This is broken into two categories: The employed and the unemployed, each with their own set of questions.

Let’s start with the unemployed. The situation, obviously, is a bit more flexible to pursue what you want to do rather than what you have to do. Your financial situation, of course, is also different. For instance, you may be receiving unemployment benefits, or those benefits my be close the running out.

For the employed, on the other hand, it is a far different matter. It then becomes an issue of how long do you need to get your other interests off the ground before you can leave.

In any case, you have to look at your finances, particularly your current expenses. As many financial experts can attest, your ability to save money is helped by cutting out the nickle-and-dime expenses like that Frappucino from Starbucks.

Your transitional time frame is equally important. We will make delve into the subject of training in greater detail at a later time, but it could play a role in how long it will take you to leave your situation.

Also, consider the income level you are at now versus where you want to be. If you have opted to strike out on your own, when did you plan on leaving your current position? Regardless of the answer, you should make sure that your finances are in order and you can sustain yourself in case you income fluxuates.

In the end, it is crucial for your to have a grasp on your finances before making any changes. So, if need be, seek outside financial advice before moving forward.

When it comes to making a change in your life, self-reflection is important. In Changing Your Game, this part of it is crucial to your overall success. But not for the reasons you would think.

From time to time, you read about how you may be your own worst enemy in the workplace, most recently in a Yahoo! Finance article I came across. Understandably, at a time when your self-esteem has been taking a beating, articles like this don’t exactly bring about much of an ego boost.

But with Changing Your Game, denial isn’t an option. When you read something like this, rather than shaking your head and saying, “No, that’s not me,” take a good look at what they’re trying to say to you.

You’re in the process of making a decision to change the direction of your career and your life. This means undertaking difficult tasks like looking at yourself and asking honestly if things are really that bad.

Consider this: When you’re at work, do you find that your co-workers feel the same way as you do? When you talk to them, do they seem as frustrated with their jobs are you are with yours? As they are vocal as you are about your troubles?

By far, this part is the hardest thing that you will do in this process. We all like to have a high opinion of our abilities and the work we do, so, as a consequence, when things aren’t going well, we tend to look outside of ourselves for answers.

This is not one of those times. It’s especially true if this is a field that you chose. If that’s the case, think long and hard before you take the years of training and experience you’ve put into it. Maybe this is just a rough patch you’re going through, as many are these days.

In the end, it’s about making informed decisions, and you should take as much time as possible to make the most-informed decision about yourself. After all, it’s about your career.

You may find yourself living in a shotgun shack
You may find yourself in another part of the world
You may find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobile
You may find yourself in a beautiful house, with a beautiful wife
You may ask yourself: well… how did I get here?

-Talking Heads, “Once in a Lifetime”

When I thought of this Changing Your Game post, I remembered this classic song. And the first verse is likely something you’re contemplating at this very moment.

For years, perhaps, you have found yourself in the same place in your career, which may not a good thing. Judging from sites like JobVent, that much is pretty clear.

But in order to move forward and change your game, taking a look at the events leading up the the present is essential. It is said that those who don’t learn history are forced to repeat. And in terms of our career, many of us have done just that.

So, consider your current situation and ask yourself, “How did I get here?”

The answer that question, you will certainly have to ask a series of other questions, including, but not limited to:

• What was your financial or career situation at the time you took this position? Did it play a role in accepting this job?
• Have there been any changes to management or ownership during your tenure? If so, how did that change things?
• During economic downturns, has your job role changed? If so, are you doing more or less than you were in good times?
• Of the people who were there when you started this job, how many of them have left? And how often do you have new people being hired?
• Has your organization experienced any layoffs or reductions in force? If so, have you been told or do you get the impression from management that your position could be next?

It may be helpful to write everything down. Then, you can go down the line and review each question and answer. If you see a pattern, perhaps you should start to seriously think about heading in another direction.

For more than a year, ever since the recession started taking its massive toll on the job market, it has become clear that the jobs are much harder to find, and the ones that are available offer far less to employees than they once did. With a recently announced unemployment rate of over 10 percent, the news doesn’t sound like it’s going to get better anytime soon.

And for those in the “be happy you have a job” crowd, is that really the case? Web sites are littered with comments about companies that don’t have employee interests at heart. And once the jobs come back, historically the unemployed will not only have to compete with each other, but also the employed trying hard to get out.

The question then remains, why do you remain in your current state? If you’re unemployed and didn’t exactly like your last job in the first place, why would you want to go back to that?

Understandably, there’s a great deal of fear involved; the fear of not having a job, the fear of being out of the workforce too long. Most of all, it’s the fear of trying something new and the fear of failure.

It’s this situation that you find yourself in, when you feel you can’t stay and can’t leave, that is part of the same game you’ve probably been playing since you started working.

Now is the time to change your game.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll examine how you can take what you know, figure out what you don’t know, and put a plan together to get you out of your bad situation and on the road to a better life, because, in the end, that’s what we all want. Among the questions we’ll answer:

• Are you better off on your own?
• Is going back to school necessary?
• Should you manage or fly solo?
• Is your current work situation really that bad?

At the very least, you’ll learn a little more about yourself, and know that you are not alone in your struggles. We’ve all been there, and with a little guidance, these tough times, too, shall pass.