You said you were going to leave your job this past year.
You said you were going to do something you enjoyed. You said you were going to follow your passion. You said you were going to do what you loved.
So why haven’t you yet?
If all of last year you made promises to yourself, none of which were kept, then you are in desperate need of some tough love and truth.
Staying in a job that doesn’t fulfill you or teach you what you want to learn isn’t just a waste of time. It is toxic.
Here are 9 ways that toxicity is hurting you, without you even realizing it:
1. As time goes on, your vision becomes less and less clear.
Think about how much clarity you gain when you go on vacation.
There is something about being away that helps you “see.” Well, the longer you go without following and trusting what you “see” for yourself, the faster it will vanish — until you no longer remember it at all.
2. The older you get, the more responsibilities you acquire.
Another way of saying this is, “As expenses rise to meet income.”
The vast majority of people are horrible with money.
So, as long as those promotions keep coming, so too will your expenses — until you are so reliant upon your bi-weekly paycheck that taking the leap becomes impossible.
3. The people around you will make it harder to leave.
Misery loves company.
And even if everyone around you is saying the same thing, “I want to do something I enjoy,” their actions speak louder than their words.
And the longer you stay around them, the faster you too will become the same.
4. There is an opportunity cost to you not leaving.
An opportunity cost means that if you’re doing one thing, that also means you’re not-doing something else.
So the longer you stay doing something you don’t enjoy, the less time you will ultimately have to do something you do enjoy.
5. Complacency becomes a habit.
If you stay stagnant for long enough, eventually that will become your normal state.
Taking the leap to do something you truly love is difficult. But the longer you postpone that decision, the harder it will become to actually execute.
6. You won’t be where you are forever.
Especially if you’re young, these are not years to be wasted.
You won’t be 25, 26, 29, 32 forever. And with each year, your options inherently change slightly.
So if you see an opportunity now, take it.
7. Regret is the worst pain in the world.
What hurts 100x more than showing up to a job you don’t enjoy is looking back and realizing you could have done something else — if only you’d prioritized it, or taken the leap, etc.
You don’t want to feel regret.
8. Your energy levels will suffer.
Do you remember being a kid and waking up at the crack of dawn because you couldn’t wait to tackle the day?
That’s because you were excited. If what you’re doing right now doesn’t excite you, then it’s time for a change. And the longer you wait, the more you will feel it in your body (and need more and more coffee).
9. You will feel without “purpose.”
Your life’s purpose largely comes down to the simple act of doing what fulfills you.
If you cannot satisfy that in yourself, then you will end up finding ways to cope with the fact that you are living without “purpose.”
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Originally published at theascent.pub