Early in my career, an HR leader stood at a whiteboard, drew a line through the word “but,” and replaced it with “and.”

Then she looked around the room as though she’d just handed us something valuable. She had.

I didn’t fully understand it then. But over the years, as I worked with professional after professional who was exhausted, unfulfilled, and quietly wondering if they’d somehow ended up in the wrong life, I kept coming back to that moment.

Because here’s what I see all the time: brilliant, capable people who are done. Done with the grind, done with the Sunday dread, done with a career that made sense on paper but stopped feeding them somewhere along the way. 

They know something needs to change. And in the same breath, they’ll tell me exactly why it can’t: I don’t have the right experience. It’s too late. I’m not sure where to even start.

That’s the “but” talking. And it is really, really good at keeping you stuck.

It wasn’t until later that I discovered that the HR leader wasn’t the only one onto something. 

Turns out, the improv world had been teaching this exact principle for decades—they just gave it a name: “Yes, And.” 

It’s a foundational rule of improvisational theater that says you accept what’s in front of you, and you build on it.

 No blocking. No shutting down. No “but.” 

Just forward momentum.

And consistent, forward momentum is THE secret to a successful career change. Here’s how you can embrace and apply “Yes, And” to your career change journey.

The Good News? Your Improv Roots Already Exist

Want to know a secret? The idea of actual stage improv makes me sweat. I genuinely have so much respect for people who can get up there and do it, but you would not catch me volunteering for that any time soon!

And yet, here I am writing a whole post about it. Because the truth is, I’ve realized that improv doesn’t just happen on stage.

Think about the last time you got pulled into a meeting you weren’t prepared for. Or met someone new and had to make a great impression on the spot. Or were asked to present work that wasn’t quite ready. 

You didn’t freeze. You figured it out. You pulled from your experience. You read the room. You trusted your instincts. You made it work.

You improvised. 

And that’s the skill that’s going to come in handy as you find your way through the uncertain middle of a career pivot, a time where little is likely to go according to script. There’s no roadmap for the path ahead that will account for every surprise opportunity that may come your way. You can’t plan for it, but you can prepare a way to embrace it. 

You can learn to accept the reality of what’s in front of you and build upon it to create new possibilities—and that’s where “Yes, And” comes in.

“Yes, But” Vs. “Yes, And”—The Difference Between Wilting And Growing

Remember this: “But” is a wall; “and” is a door.

The moment “but” enters the sentence, everything that came before it gets quietly erased. It doesn’t matter how much you want something, how ready you might actually be, or how possible the path forward is. “But” closes the conversation before it starts.

“And,” on the other hand, connects reality to possibility. It doesn’t ignore the reality in front of you—it just refuses to let that reality be the final word.

Here’s what that looks like when you’re staring down a career change:

+ Yes, But: “Yes, I’d love to do something different—but I don’t have the right experience, and it’s probably too late anyway.”

Full stop. Door closed. Nothing left to do but continue in burnout mode. 

+ Yes, And: “Yes, I’d love to do something different—and I can start by having one honest conversation this week about what that could look like.”

Same starting point. Completely different trajectory. 

With “and,” you add one small, actionable next step (all that’s needed for momentum) that builds instead of blocks.

How You Can Use “Yes, And” To Cultivate Your Next Chapter

The beauty of ”Yes, And” is that you don’t need a stage, a coach, or a complete career plan to start. You just need to catch yourself—and redirect. Here are a few places to begin:

+ With self-talk
The next time you think “I’d love to make a change, but…”—pause. Notice how you’ve blocked yourself and then swap the “but” for ”and” and notice what shifts.

+ In team settings 
Don’t let a good idea die on the vine. When a colleague floats something—even if it feels half-baked—pick it up and run with it. Building on each other’s thinking is where the magic happens.

+ In the face of opportunity 
Let ideas breathe before you poke holes in them. Some of the best next chapters start as thoughts that almost didn’t make it out of the draft.

Start Flourishing with Flourish Careers

Career change doesn’t have to feel like a problem to solve. It can feel like a reality upon which to build possibilities—one “yes, and” at a time.

At Flourish Careers, we believe the next chapter doesn’t have to feel as heavy as this one does right now.

We’re building a community of heart-based, career-minded individuals seeking a more fulfilling approach to work. We believe that with the right tools, framework, and mindset, you can plant the seeds for a career change that will allow you to flourish. Ready to begin? Get in touch with us to learn more.

Check out the Fried to Flourishing Group Coaching Experience to learn more. 

Want More Career Wisdom? Keep Reading

+ Career Change: 6 Mindset-Shifting Actions To Help You Embrace Abundance Beyond Money
+ How to Reframe Your Story – The Myth of “Starting Over”
+ Heart-Based Career Change: How To Stay Grounded While Letting Go

Connect with Me

For more insider stories, quick tips, and #CareerTalk, I invite you to connect with me on Instagram @flourish.careers.

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