Career Advice:  The Person in Control is You

Your job plays such an important role in your life – it not only provides the money you need to survive and enjoy life, it also allows you to follow your passions, motivates you to get up and go every day and helps give you purpose.

So, when you’re unhappy at work or you are not getting any satisfaction from your role, it can have devastating effects on your physical and mental health. It can also cause problems to your relationships outside of the office.

But what people often forget, is that a negative work life is a choice that you are making. No one is physically forcing you to stay in a job that you hate.  Now, before you throw your hands up and start shouting about all the responsibilities you have, of course there are factors that shape the job you have.

It is worth thinking about the reality that the person who is control of your life is you. Therefore the only person who can make a change is you.

With that in mind, here are 3 simple ways to help you take control and make a positive change to your working life…

1. Quit complaining and be proactive

Constantly complaining about your job, or a situation at work, is never a positive option. In fact, it can be downright dangerous to your health if you let problems fester and resentment build up.

It is also completely unproductive. Whinging to your co-workers or internalising ongoing issues won’t change anything!

For example, you fall behind each week because you need to generate a report that takes 10 hours to create. This laborious task is made even more painful by the fact that very few people find value in the finished product.

So what can be changed in this situation?

First, find out from your colleagues if and how they use the report.  This way you can determine exactly what data is relevant and valuable. Next, think of a few potential solutions to the issue at hand. Therefore, when you approach your manager, you are not just presenting them with a problem; you’re also offering a solution.

Key takeaway:  If you don’t ask, you’ll never know and nothing will change. Even the best managers are not mind readers. Far better to be enjoying the benefits of a change rather than wasting your energy complaining!

2. Focus on your options

If your job is making you sick, either through stress or a total lack of engagement, it doesn’t have to be that way.  Whether financial, family or otherwise, everyone has obligations and responsibilities that can affect the reality of what kind of work and role you take.

But hating your job does more than affect your physical and mental health. It affects your relationships with family and friends too. It’s hard to be a happy mum or dad, or a comforting friend, when you’re feeling resentful and unappreciated for the better part of every week.

Wherever you are, and whatever you’re doing, you do have options. They may not be clear to you at first thought, which is why you likely need to dedicate some time to finding them.

Talk to friends, search for stories online and seek professional advice. Reach out to a recruiter to talk to them about what you’re doing now, and what you would rather be doing. Most recruiters are more than happy to have a discussion with you to help figure out potential new options – and they are likely able to offer ideas that you’d never thought of before.

Key takeaway:  Remember you are not chained to your desk. You have options, even if you’re not sure what those options are right now. Give happiness the focus and attention it deserves.

3. Thinking long term and be realistic

If you’ve just started a new career, or are a newly graduated uni student entering the workforce for the first time, it pays to remember that a little patience goes a long way.

Often we need to work in roles that aren’t exactly where we want to be right now. But the important thing to focus on is your long term goals.

You may dream to be a Manager for a successful and innovative organisation, but the reality is that it will take years of hard work and experience to get to that point. You cannot expect to walk straight out of university and into that role.

So, working a more administrative and repetitive role may not be bringing you all the job satisfaction you dream about, it is providing you with valuable experience and skills that you will need if you are ever going to reach your longer term goals.

If you can keep your eyes on the prize and remain grateful for the opportunities and experiences you are given, you may start to feel a little differently about your current job.

Key takeaway:  As Napoleon Hill, author of Think and Grow Rich said:

Patience, persistence and perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success.