How do you feel about your career when you get up in the morning? Are you energetic and enthused, anxious to get your day started and looking forward to the challenges it will bring? Or do you feel that lump of dread forming in the pit of your stomach before you have even finished your morning coffee?
“Choose a job you love and you will never have to work a day in your life.” - ConfuciusWe all make choices – good and bad – in our lives to ensure our daily survival. However, so much of our lives are spent working that we really should be doing something we love, not just something that pays the bills. Granted, paying the bills is important, but toiling away in a job that you dislike only leads to a lifetime of frustration, resentment, and even anger.
Worse yet, some people move past anger and become apathetic. It may begin as feelings of apathy toward the job, but eventually it will carry over into other areas of life, affecting family relationships and friendships.
- Determine How You Feel About Your Current Career: Determine for yourself if you are satisfied with the direction you are headed in your employment endeavors. If you have entered the land of career dissatisfaction, this is a process that might be emotional, or even painful. You have to bare your soul and closely examine your emotions. Whatever your feelings, go ahead and let them out.
If you are satisfied with your career, then you are well on your way to fulfillment. You can turn the majority of your personal development efforts to dealing with your relationships, towards improving your efficiency, or towards developing your spirituality. If you are leading a satisfied life when it comes to your work, you are way ahead of most people. - Find Your Passions: If you are not happy with the work you are doing, take time to reflect on your wants, your desires, your talents, and your unique abilities. Think about the types of jobs that would make you feel fulfilled and satisfied.
Once you have determined what you would like to be doing, visualize it. Picture yourself performing the work. Affirm to yourself that you will find your new career. Become whatever it is you wish to be. For example, you may be an office administrator, but long to become an interior designer. Do not say to yourself, “I want to be.” Rather, tell yourself, “I am.” The power of positive affirmations empowers you to reach your goals. - Take Those Frightening Steps Toward Change: Enroll in classes at your community college, seek out training specific to the career of your choice, and begin networking with others in the field. Write down a plan to that will see you through the positive change from your uninspiring job to a career you really love. Letting go of a job is a good thing if it is sucking the life out of you. Leave it behind and put your energy into a job that fosters happiness.
Continue to repeat your affirmations on a daily basis. They will keep your motivation level high and bring a positive energy into your life that will guide you to certain success.
You know you are in danger when you begin engaging in activities that either allows you to forget your responsibilities or that provides a temporary and false sense of well-being. Many people who have become apathetic have fallen into the traps of addiction and errant social behaviors. Make necessary, important changes in your life before you find yourself pulled into that same trap, trying to escape the drudgery of your daily life because you lack inspiration from your work.
Written by David B. Bohl, the author of of Slow Down Fast as well as The Happiness Trilogy.
