Do you love what you do?
I mean, sure, some people jump out of bed every morning, a happy whistle on their lips, in anticipation of the day of joy and satisfaction ahead of them. I think we can all agree that most (normal) people don’t do that.
Most people drag themselves out of bed at the last possible moment and trudge off to 8+ hours of drudgery, hating every moment.
Or, well, hopefully not MOST people.
Chances are, you come in somewhere in the middle. I know I do. I LIKE my day job. I like what I do, I like the people I work with, and I’m blessed with a 10-minute commute. I admit the idea of staying home with my dog on snowy, rainy, whatever- days is appealing, but getting out of the house for eight hours a day isn’t the most dreadful thing in the world.
I can’t help but wonder, though, why so many of us put up with jobs we hate. It’s a challenging economy, of course, and you need food in the pantry, clothing, heat, somewhere to live–all that. You can’t afford to give up a regular paycheck for a pipe dream. But still.
That old cliche “Life is too short” is true.
Very few of us have the luxury of spending our days lolling around by a pool, or curled up with a book for hours at a time. Unless there’s a sugar daddy involved, or some handy inherited wealth, we can’t afford it. So work is necessary.
But, that doesn’t mean we have to hate it?
Spending most of your time doing something you hate is simply unhealthy. It drags you down, raises your blood-pressure, and sends all kinds of negative vibes into the universe. So, what can you do?
- Find a new job. This seems the most obvious answer. Even dishwashers can presumably find nicer, friendlier places to clean if their current job is horrible. In this economy, though, finding any job may be difficult.
- Smile. Sometimes all you need to do to improve your relations with people is to smile at them. If you look pleasant and approachable, they’re less likely to be nasty.
- The glass is half full. If you look at things from the right perspective (“At least I have a job; it pays the bills; it could be worse”), your dreadful job may not seem so dreadful.
- Get a better attitude. It can all come down to attitude. If you schlump around with a dark cloud over your head, expecting the worst, you’re going to find the worst. I’m not talking that new-age stuff about the Theory of Attraction, here, just … you tend to get what you expect out of life. If you expect that every person you meet is going to be nasty and selfish, that’s all you’re going to see. You’ll then act accordingly and be selfish yourself which will put them in a nasty mood (even if they weren’t to begin with) and it all becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
- Be positive. Like clicker-training for dogs, you can accent the good things just by acknowledging them. Did another driver let you merge in ahead of them? Did someone hold the door while your hands were full. Was the customer service rep on the phone helpful? Take note of the good things you see and ignore the bad ones.
What other suggestions have you got?
I have this conversation frequently with a friend of mine…
If you hate what you are doing and you’re in a position to change what you are doing (ie change jobs, if that’s the issue) then do it.
If you aren’t willing or able to do it, though, stop bitching about it! Change your outlook, change how you think about it, but don’t keep complaining about something you can’t change.
Bitch about the rain all you want, it’s not going to make the sun come out. Either go inside or learn to jump in the puddles.
*steps down off soapbox*
Exactly! You certainly CAN be stuck in a job you hate for all sorts of reasons, but why make yourself even more miserable by dwelling on all the things you hate about it. Life is too short to make yourself miserable.