I remember being in a similar situation of dreading my job when I was in my twenties. The question I asked myself was, “Is it me, or is it the job?” It was a good question to start me thinking, but it didn’t help.
The problem, as I now know, was that I wasn’t searching deep enough. It was only when I had been a Life Coach for many years that I managed to master the art of asking the penetrating questions that enable people to self-discover.
Let’s start by asking more questions around, “Is it me?”
What is it that you really want from your job?
Do you want to be able to express yourself through your work in some way? If that’s the case, what is the talent or skill that you want to express? Or is it that you want to enjoy your work more? So, what is it that you really enjoy doing?
Your answers to these questions are fundamental to the success of your future career. If you are to prosper in your career you will need to know what you’re good at and what you enjoy doing. If you don’t enjoy your work and you’re not good at it you are always going to be straining and feeling stressed.
There are many tests that you can use to get to know what you’re good at. You might consider the StrengthsFinder test developed by the Gallup organisation, or the Myers Briggs Personality Test. Both of these can be done online.
What you get from your job will always depend to a large degree on how much you put into the job. And you can only put a lot in if you really believe the job is important and you enjoy doing it.
Is the job unsuitable for you?
Some of the main factors that can make a job a bad fit for you can be things like:
- I don’t like my boss. We don’t get on. He/she is a bully. She/he keeps changing their mind so I never get to complete anything.
- The job is pointless. You cannot see the value of what your job produces.
- I don’t like the work environment. I just don’t feel comfortable in a place like this.
- My workplace is too far from my home. I seem to spend half my life commuting.
- I feel restricted; there aren’t any opportunities to express myself.
Where should you go from here?
It’s not my life that we’re talking about here, so I can’t tell you what to do. You have to work out for yourself what are your best options.
What I would say is that if you really dread your job you need to think seriously about your options. That “dread” is sending you a strong message that things are not right.
What all Life Coaches will tell you is that two minds are better than one. It will help you tremendously if you can talk things over with someone else. Do you have an older person in your life who is understanding? Do you have a friend who you can talk things over with? Can you afford to have some career counselling?
I write about what works based on what I have learned during 10,000 hours of Life Coaching and on my personal life experiences. 95% of my clients are recommended by happy former clients. I am a $ Million Entrepreneur. Hang around with me, become a Rebel and I’ll let you know whenever I write anything new. Join the revolution below.
David The Rebel Coach