Do you feel this way about work??
Consider that Monday – Friday is 71% of your week. Do you really want to spend almost 3/4 of your time counting down and simply willing yourself not to be present in the majority of your life?
We live in a culture that has conditioned us to believe that certain career paths are the ‘safe’ option. We are taught to celebrate security, stability, sedentary. Soullessness. We hear it in the tone of our colleagues voices, we feel it weigh heavy on our shoulders as we trudge through the morning commute on autopilot, and we feel it before we collapse into bed every evening, performing the routine tasks of preparation for the morning to follow; chipping away at our joie de vivre with every activation of our alarm that further cements our resolve to a life of dull compliance and joyless banality.
We study hard. We pound the pavements (or the virtual pathways of Linked In, at least) with our CV and our self-pitch. We toil long hours and trudge long commutes. We forfeit our time, energy and the best years of our lives to carving out careers of which we can be ‘proud’.
But is the pride misplaced?
How often do you stare out the office window, gazing over a sea of commercial properties and commercial people, a conglomerate of corporate congruousness, clutching your commercial coffee cup and think to yourself: ‘Fuck this shit’?
Have you ever found yourself lost in a daydream of what might happen if you upped and quit and took off without a plan; if you returned to college; if you started that business; if you followed your passion; If you applied to your dream job; If..?
Now consider how many times you’ve felt the thrill of succeeding at a job well done. How often have you received praise and gratitude for your contributions? How often do you spring out of bed before your alarm clock, excited and energised to start the day? Do you look forward to accomplishing meaningful work, innovating and collaborating with your colleagues and driving the organisational mission forward?
So often, we believe that our only option is to tread the beaten track, to stick with stable and to take what we can get – and be grateful for it. The greatest misconception of all is that the beaten track is guaranteed. We have been duped into subscribing to the belief that a stable job is for life, that an income will continue on an upward trajectory with time and patience and that loyalty and slog are rewarded de facto. Not so. Restructurings happen, redundancies are paid and office politics are powerful. Studies consistently show that people who are happy in their careers, who are inspired and engaged and passionate about what they do, those are the people that succeed. And it doesn’t stop there. People who are happier in their jobs tend to be more satisfied in all aspects of their life, and have established much better work life balance than their less happy colleagues. They are more likely to be promoted, to earn higher salaries and to suffer less from stress and anxiety related illnesses.
Taking the leap is not always easy. In fact, it is usually a challenging road with many bumps, twists and turns along the way. But man, is the destination rewarding. If you can allow yourself to be honest, and to truly assess the quality of your professional fulfilment, to identify what you are truly passionate about and envision the life that you want to create for yourself, you are already on the way to making it happen. If you want something enough, you will make it happen. If there isn’t a path, build a bridge. Devise a plan and get to work. There will be challenges and tough times, and there are lessons to be learned. Every divergence contributes wisdom and growth. Remain open and adapt your plan as necessary, but never lose sight of the GOAL. If you are willing to work to make it happen, no one can ever stop you. Ever.
After all, wouldn’t you prefer to dedicate your life to your dreams, than work tirelessly and thanklessly on a vision that does not align with your own?
Originally published at aretepsychology.com