When you chose your career path in optometry, you might have been unaware of the many ramifications. You are now at risk of being responsible for someone going blind. You must be committed to life-long learning. If you decided to buy an optometry practice, you have taken on the responsibilities of a business owner. Even carefully-researched decisions will have unseen consequences, and you can’t absolutely predict what tasks you will love if you’ve never done them.
So here you are with the accumulation of your choices, and it isn’t exactly what you thought you were getting. And you are so far down the path it feels you can’t go back, or even veer to the left or right. You feel stuck. Depressed. Burned out.
Admitting you are stuck can lead to some of the best decisions of your life. Knowing when to end an old relationship can make you available for a great relationship. Working in an optometry practice is a journey that by nature gets harder and harder to change course, because patients see you as their eye doctor, they return for their yearly visits and they refer their family and friends. When schedules are full and their careers are financially rewarding, many professionals experience job satisfaction.
If, however, you are still feeling stuck, now is the time to consider all of your options. Families relocate and thrive. Jobs change and career fulfillment occurs. Life is too short to remain stuck in a position that daily drains you. It is not an unreasonable expectation to wake up looking forward to the office. Many optometrists really enjoy seeing patients and managing their practices. You are one decision away from becoming that doctor. Choose today to change the course of your life and get out of being stuck.
