I HATE MY JOB! 7 WAYS TO MAKE LIFE BEARABLE WITH A JOB YOU HATE

Job satisfaction is more important than people realise, being unsatisfied with your job can leave you feeling absolutely miserable, depressed or even suicidal. Most people go to bed and don’t want to get out of bed in the morning, it leads to some people binge eating and can fuel most addictions. The reason people feel this way is because we are all created with a purpose and with something to give back, when that is stifled in any way, it drains the life out of you.
The truth is that most people at some point in their life will find themselves in a job they absolutely hate and that is life! Over the years I have observed people around me and I have realised that there is something you can do about it . In this article I will show you a few ways to make life bearable when you hate your job.

Find Ways to Give Back

 Being unsatisfied with your job drains the life out of you and most times you feel like you have nothing to give at the end of the day or week but that is where you are wrong. We all have something special to give and if you are willing you will soon discover what it is.  For some people it might be spending time encouraging someone in a worse situation (encourage not complain), mentoring, volunteering, helping someone without expecting anything in return. There is a certain joy you get when you take the focus off your situation and help someone less fortunate.

Develop Your Talents

Growth is a strong part of human development and when that doesn’t happen in an area of our life, it can throw you off and brings about feelings of worthlessness. You can’t always nail every aspect of your life when it comes to continuous growth but by developing in certain areas you can eliminate that worthless feeling. Developing your talents is a great place to start; with talents there is always room for improvement and room to grow. Who knows, it could be your wining ticket.

Get Involved in a Community

The importance of community in my opinion is not stressed enough. In Malcom Gladwell’s book 'Outliers': The Story of Success (must read), he tells the story of the Roseto Mystery. Roseto is a village in Pennsylvania founded by Italian immigrants in the late 19th century. Practicing physician Stewart Wolf discovered over the years that he did not have any patients from Roseto. He said after a period of testing and research, “There was no suicide, no alcoholism, no drug addiction, and very little crime. They didn't have anyone on welfare. Then we looked at peptic ulcers. They didn't have any of those either. These people were dying of old age. That's it.” Mind you this was a time when heart attacks were an epidemic in the United States; they were the leading cause of death in men under the age of sixty-five. Long story short, after thousands of dollars, many years and theories they realised that their only secret was their community.
 The world could be a hard and lonely place but being in a community can provide you with a strong support system when things go wrong.

Let Your Light Shine

 We all have something we are naturally good at with little effort, an area where we shine. It could  be in sports, music, art, photography, literature, blogging, fashion, gardening etc.  Get involved in clubs, societies, choirs, online communities, anything really, and let your light shine. This is easier said than done for people that are naturally introverted or people that work very long hours or difficult shifts as all you want to do after work is pass out on the sofa. However this is an investment in your mental well being, the results are priceless and it should be prioritised. Review the way you spend your time and make the necessary changes, you don’t have to do something once a week, it could be once a month or once in six weeks. Just make a commitment and stick with it.

Be Thankful

You may not like the sound of this, but I’ll say it anyway: no matter how much you hate your job and how demanding it is, you have a job! Do you know how difficult it is to get a job these days? It takes some people months and dozens of CVs before they get invited for an interview which most people get rejected. I understand you hate your job and to be honest it is not ideal, but thinking about all the people struggling to get a job or perhaps how you felt when you got the email saying you got the job, the relief you got when you realised you can finally pay your rent or buy some new clothes. What about the friends that you would have never met if you hadn’t gotten that job. I know you are not fulfilled in this job and you are not growing the way you want to, but be thankful that you have a job because if it is taken away from you and you are without a job for a few months you will be more miserable.

Dream Big

When people are in a place they hate, they either become dreamers and day dream all day or they die inside and become zombies! The wisest man that ever lived, King Solomon said in the book of Ecclesiastes 9:11 (Google it) that time and chance happens to all. He was talking about success and came to the conclusion that there will come a time when opportunity and perfect timing will happen for everyone! How amazing is that? The sad part of this is that when this happens, it is mostly the dreamers that are able to take advantage of it because the zombies are usually dead and blind to see and take advantage of the great opportunity even though it slaps them in the face. My dad once told me to always dream big because it might just come true; I did and most of my dreams have come true and I have bigger dreams in sight so that when time and chance come together for me I am ready to take advantage and milk it to the best of my ability.

Have an Exit Strategy

                                            
When I started writing this article, this point was going to be my first point, I mean it is only human have to have an exit strategy when things are not going your way, but we all know in reality it is not as easy as it seems. Most times due to financial reasons or the lack of jobs in the current economy you will be stuck in a dead end job longer than you want. This is not what you want to hear, but do not be in despair because this is the time for you to start saving, plan your exit and it plan well. You don’t want to end up in another job you detest so you need to ensure you know what your next step is: what job you want, if you need more qualifications or experience, basically you need to do your research. Most people end up in a dead end job in the first place because they don’t know what they want to do with their lives; they have no firm direction or goal.
This problem is more common than you think; an easy way around this is to create a vision board. Because the mind thinks in pictures not words making a collage of things you want to achieve and how you want to go about it, will give you a clearer vision of the bigger picture and will help you decide your next step. When you’ve figured everything out and done your research do not be afraid to take the leap of faith and go for it.

The world is your oyster.