Do you like your job?
Think carefully about that question. Everyone has bad days, and most people wake up in the morning and head to their place of work feeling less than perky, but do you actually like what you do?
There is a very serious reason for asking this question. Did you know that work is one of the most common causes of unhappiness and depression? Alongside money worries and relationships, work is up there on the major players’ list, so it makes sense to do what you can to reduce your chances of hitting the lowest of lows.
Most people fall into a job and stick with it; let’s face it, comfort zones are comfortable, and that’s the whole point. The thing is, comfort zones aren’t challenging, they aren’t exciting, and they don’t help you to reach your potential. Ask yourself whether you feel challenged by your job. Does it make you feel accomplished? Are you proud when someone asks what you do and you answer them? If you’re shaking your head to these questions, it’s time to make a change.
There are countless people who retrain at an age you might consider older than the norm; you can be one of them too! You don’t have to be a school leaver in order to go to university and train for a vocational job, you can be any age. Similarly, you don’t have to work the regular 9-5 routine if you don’t want to. More and more people are choosing to work remotely, i.e. either from home or from a beach! You can work from anywhere you like, provided you have a laptop and a reliable Internet connection. Businesses are starting to wake up to this fact, and its advantages, and as a result, more and more are offering remote positions. If this is something you’re interested in, why not approach your manager about it and put forward a case study to back up your request?
How about actually owning your own business? It sounds stressful, right? Well, it’s not if you know what you’re doing. Head to a night class and learn the basics, and if you have an idea you want to launch, go for it! Provided you follow the guidelines in terms of self-employment registration and tax, you can’t go far wrong. A huge number of people decide to leave their reliable jobs and start up their own company, why not you?
You see, the thing is, if you’re unhappy in your work, you’re unhappy in your life. We spend a huge number of hours at work over the course of a lifetime, and when you’re not feeling the love for the vocation you initially chose, that leads to a dark road of unhappiness. This not only impacts on your happiness levels, but your confidence, your outlook on life, and even your appearance; when you feel down, you look it too!
New month, new outlook. April is upon us now, so why not start with a fresh take on life? Assess whether or not you actually like your job and if not, do something about it! Your future self will thank you for it.
