One of the things that leads to burnout faster than anything is being in a lousy fit job! We’ve probably all been there at one time or another in our working careers (I know I sure have).
So, how do you know if you are in a lousy fit job? Well…
- You feel exhausted before you even start your day
- You wake up with Monday Blues and knots in your stomach (but funny how Friday you feel quite good???)
- Your gut tells you that work shouldn’t feel this way
- You feel trapped and stuck in your job
- You find yourself ready to burst into tears at some point in your day
- You fantasize about strangling your boss
- You are seriously giving up on your dream of finding ‘work’ that makes your heart and soul sing
Oh if I put myself back in that place in my life (horrors!) I could quadruple that list in a blink of an eye.
So, what happens when we keep on finding jobs that cause blisters like a bad pair of sandals?
We feel miserable, like we are failing, even embarrassed when we try to explain to someone how bad work feels. I remember that as soon as I would try to explain I would hear some variation of, “…but it’s a good job”. Yeah, for someone other than me!
We take on lousy fit jobs for lots of reasons, legitimate reasons: paying the bills is a big one, not knowing what else to do, not having the support or encouragement to chase your true dreams, or sometimes simply ending up there because you were young and hadn’t figured it out and then not feeling able to get out.
Some of you will have a track record of changing jobs every 2-3 years (my hand is raised), and we congratulate you on your optimism, no sarcasm intended. You seriously believe that if you just find the ‘right’ job all of your dissatisfaction will fade and you will find the happiness that intuitively you know should go with work.
It is so discouraging to start a new job with all the best intentions, sure that this one will be better than the last, they will ‘get’ you, you won’t be bored, only to find in 3 months the lustre is wearing off. With each new job that doesn’t work out your sense of disappointment deepens and you are left exhausted, depressed, disillusioned, perhaps even physically sick.
I was stuck in lousy fit jobs for so many years of my life that it resulted in migraines, depression, even ulcers. Finally I got savvy, gained in courage, and changed directions. But that was only after I had figured out that it wasn’t me that was ‘the misfit’, the work environment I was attempting to be successful in was a bad fit. It took some hours ‘on the couch’ to figure this out, but I have never, ever looked back.
It’s not you that’s the misfit, it’s all about good-fit. Any job, regardless of title or salary, can be ‘just a job’ if it’s a bad fit for you. It’s time for you to get bold and brave.
We could share with you case study after case study of highly sensitive, intelligent and creative clients who went from lousy fit jobs or even careers to pursuing work that felt meaningful, purposeful, engaging, challenging, and creative. What I like to call work that has ‘the sparkles’. (You know, maybe we will do just that, share case studies on our blog and facebook page.)
Look, we’ve been there and done that (I admit, over and over again) but you don’t have to! So stop listening to your inner critic that is telling you all number of things from “it’s too late to change” to “it’s work, it’s not supposed to be fun” and start listening to the voices (you can count on us!) that say…
Here’s one great tip!
- Make a list of all the reasons (yes, even the embarrassing ones) why you do not deserve a ‘good-fit’ job. Now’s not the time to hold back.
Done that? Now the fun begins!
- Blow those excuses up one at a time! Destroy the ‘reasons’ you tell yourself that you are not worthy of a job that makes you fulfilled. (A little daydreaming or fantasizing will work wonders here!)
The time is now! Time for you to clear that hurdle.
Until next time…Grab Life by the Crown!
