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Ten Things to Do When You Really, Really Hate Your Job
By Cathy Goodwin, Ph.D.
1. Begin focusing on what you want instead of how much you want to escape. When
you find yourself sharing the latest horror story, stop in mid-sentence and say,
"What I want to have is..."
2. Create an image that describes you in your job. Are you on a riverbank with
no way to get to the other side? Lost in a jungle? Poking through a thorny
hedge? When you get comfortable with the image, begin visualizing a change in
the obstacle. Imagine building a bridge across the river or finding a path in
the forest. Don't force the image or the change. When you're ready it will come.
3. Think of developing skills, not serving time. Take every course that's
offered and focus on skills that can lay a foundation for your own business or
next job. Can you learn HTML or PowerPoint? Can you use some evenings, weekends
and lunch hours to solicit some free lance gigs?
4. Focus on satisfactory, not superior performance. Use the time difference to
build your new life. People often say, "I can't do anything -- I work ten hours
a day!"
If you are firing yourself or expecting to be fired, your job is finding a new
job. Be ethical: you owe your company the minimum you need to earn your salary."
But don't be surprised if you start to accomplish more than ever and find
yourself getting promoted.
5. What conflict are you escaping? Dishonesty? Corporate greed? Hypocrisy? Allow
yourself to wonder if these qualities are mirrored in your own life -- or even
in your mind. If everyone around you seems dishonest, are you being dishonest
with yourself? With others? After you resolve your own conflict, you may find
the workplace has changed or you have been catapulted into a new, more
satisfying life.
6. Put on your shield and armor when you enter your workplace. Everyone should
learn how to create a psychic shield. Imagine that you are surrounded by an
outer shell that is made of a solid material -- so strong that nothing can get
through to hurt you. Some people prefer to imagine a protective golden light,
but I think the solid shield is stronger. Take two or three minutes to put on
your shield, every day, before you enter the workplace.
7. Give yourself a gift every day -- a splurge of time or sensual taste buds.
Read a book, talk to a friend, eat your favorite food. Don't deaden your senses
with alcohol (although if you're a wine connoisseur, your special wine can be a
gift) or spend big bucks at the mall. Think simple.
8. Find at least one thing in your life to appreciate: the softness of your
cat's fur, the winter sky, the spontaneous hug from a friend. Appreciate as much
as possible about your job: the money, the view from the window, the new
computer, friendly conversations with the guy down the hall. Savor the
experience. Appreciation is the engine that attracts good things into your life.
9. Tune in to your intuition before deciding what to do next. Meditate and
listen to the world around you. The saying "frying pan into the fire" is real.
If your goals and desires do not come from a secure place within yourself, you
will find yourself paying undue attention to wet blankets ("If you quit you'll
never get another job") and false friends ("Just quit! Move to Tahiti! You won't
starve!"). Sometimes the same "advisor" proposes both ideas in the same week. A
good coach or counselor will give you confidence in your own intuition, not
impose their views of what you should do now.
10. Write this down somewhere: After you've left -- and you will -- all that
time will seem to have gone in the blink of an eye. You will have trouble
remembering what bothered you so much. The rest of your life will still be ahead
of you.
Cathy Goodwin, Ph.D. author, speaker, career coach. She helps mid-career,
midlife professionals make a fast move to career freedom.
http://www.movinglady.com Free Ezine: subscribe@movinglady.com.
cathy@movinglady.com 505-534-4294
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