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Career Joy - Step One in Aligning Body, Mind, and Work |
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Before you wonder "Am I doing things right," ask "Am I doing the right things?" - Author Unknown
How often do your shoulders slump and your gaze drop when you think about work?
Do you dread Sunday evening and find it painful to get out of bed on Monday morning?
Does your body feel tense at the end of the day?
Do you take your frustrations out on those you love or do you find yourself retreating from others so you can be miserable alone?
Do you feel exhausted by your current situation but are too overwhelmed to do anything about it?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, chances are you are out of balance and it is creating stress in your body, mind, and at work. Unfortunately, you are not alone. It is estimated that nearly 80% of the population is unhappy with their job and a large percentage of those feel there is something better out there but don't know how to find it.
I was working with a client the other day who is really unhappy in his job and has been for quite some time. He doesn't feel challenged, he doesn't like the work, he doesn't think he is using his unique gifts and talents, and he doesn't feel appreciated. When I ask him what he could do if he could do anything, he gets even more depressed. He says that thinking about it overwhelms him because he does not see that he has any realistic options.
This is true for a lot of people and perhaps you are one of them. Perhaps you feel so mired in your current situation that getting out feels like an impossibility and a dream that will only let you down. Maybe you are so entrenched and comfortable in your misery that you would rather opt for the pain of the known than take a chance on the unknown. It is understandable but it shouldn't be an option. You deserve better and you need to open a place in your heart that will give you permission to be happy and to spend your days doing something that makes you feel good physically, emotionally, and intellectually.
Somewhere along the way people have come to expect a rather large degree of dissatisfaction at work; however, it doesn't have to be that way. Sure it may seem like a muddy and murky road to go down right now; but, wouldn't you rather go through a short time of trial and uncertainty than a lifetime of misery in a job you hate? You have the right to feel alignment in your body, mind and work but before you are ever going to be able to take that first step, you have to do one thing...give yourself permission to be, do, and have everything you have ever wanted.
Step One to Achieving Career Joy - Give Yourself Permission Stop worrying about what you have already done, how old you are, how "invested" you are, and how many people are counting on you.
Ask yourself how it would feel to have a career that was in line with your values and allowed you to unite who you are with what you do. How would your body feel at the end of your ideal working day? How productive and energized would you be if you were doing something you loved? How well would you sleep, how better would you love, how many more ideas would you make realities if you felt like you were putting the best of you out there every day?
Open up your mind and your heart to that possibility and just live with it for while. Practice living with the idea that you deserve to work in a job that creates MORE joy in your life rather than a job that creates tension and stress in your body and your mind. |
