So, You’re Unhappy With Your Job
Are you fed up? Do you want to quit your job or even your whole career to break loose or follow your heart? Are you seeking a more meaningful and
healthier life and a supportive career path? There’s nothing wrong with that. And, you’re definitely not alone. But, before you radically alter your life, consider: do you really want to quit your current job or are you looking for more than your current life affords you – physically, emotionally, mentally, or spiritually? In either case, you’re pondering the best way to make the right decision. Do these 5 things so you can get it right.
- Notice and challenge your thoughts
- Accurately describe your emotional experience
- Look into your options
- Tap into your embodied experience
- Commit to what action you CAN take RIGHT now
This list may at first seem too straightforward and banal to offer you the help you seek as you grapple with your next move.
But, if you execute each item with honest, curious, compassionate, and personalized reflection you’ll get an answer that is authentic and customized just for you.
Job and Career Changes Are the New Normal
Before getting into what to do, let’s clear the air of any nagging thoughts about why changing jobs is a bad thing or a reflection of your deficiencies. In truth, there’s nothing wrong or even unusual about wanting something different.
Did you know that according to a 2021 Apollotechnical study, the average age of an American who changes his/her career is 39? Furthermore, a staggering 70 percent of the workforce is either actively looking for a change in career or frequently considering it (Inc., 2020). These figures are higher for women than men (Bureau of Labor Statistics).
5 Check-Ins Before You Quit Your Job
1. Check In With Your Thoughts About Your Job and Work-Life Balance
Over the next two weeks, notice your thoughts related to your job and work-life balance as they come up throughout your day.
Keep a log of your thoughts and, even better, keep a score of how often you repeat each thought. This will help you see which thoughts are driving your current attitude and outlook.
Once compiled, go through the list and pick out the thoughts that resonate strongly or you repeat often. For example, you may think your job is boring, too hard, etc.
Now challenge these negative thoughts that can limit your perspective and opportunities. For example, if you think “my job is boring,” change the thought around as little as possible to derive another thought that means the opposite. In this case, “I bore my job.” Can you find evidence to support this alternative thought? Could it be your approach to your job is boring? Not the job itself. Do these new thoughts and related evidence change your perspective in any way? (For more, see my virtual workshop on Releasing Limiting Beliefs.)
2. Check In With Your Emotions
Just as with your thoughts, keep a log of your emotions throughout the day over the next two weeks. Try to be as discerning and specific as possible in identifying a particular emotion. For example, rather than repeatedly labeling your emotions as fear, go deeper and notice whether what you label fear is better described as uneasy, uncertain, or unsure of yourself. Find an extensive list of emotions from the internet to use as prompts, if that would help.
3. Check Into What Options You Have
Notice if the check-in exercises above changed your perspective and outlook at all. And, if so, how?
Do you see ways to better your job or career path? Do you see opportunities to improve your work-life balance?
4. Check Into Your Embodied Experience
You’ve now examined your thoughts, identified how you feel, and considered some if any, ways you can improve your current work situation. The next step is to check in with your embodied experience of your choices. This will bring your full intelligence (analytical mind and body-mind) to bear on this important decision.
So, why tap into your body-mind or embodied experience? You might be surprised to learn that your thoughts, language-based experience, and analytical thinking make up a mere 5-10% of your mind. The remaining 90-95 percent is contained within the body and subconscious.
You can’t tap into all of your subconscious but you can turn your attention inward and pay attention to how your body signals its assessment of the current moment or the options you envision such as one or more you identified through this process. What you gain from your body is the whole sense of the thing: the options, the choices, etc. This is valuable additional information for good decision-making. (For more on how to tap into your embodied experience, see my blog Why Embodiment is Important to Self-Awareness, and my virtual workshop, Living From the Inside Out.)
5. Check Into What Action You Can Take Right Now
The final check-in doesn’t add more information. Instead, it helps operationalize what you’ve learned in this process. Look at the options you identified. Maybe these options serve to improve your current job or provide for a better work-life balance. Or, maybe you identified new directions you’d like to take in a new job or career. Either way, pick one or more actions you can take right now and move you forward toward your goal. Do it before you quit your job.
Making Authentic Choices
Everyone’s life and aspirations are different as are the circumstances faced and opportunities available at any given time. Moreover, the only one who can think and act for you is you. These 5 check-ins help you tap into, listen to, learn from, and take responsibility for yourself. Work with these check-ins. Have patience with yourself and your process. If you need assistance, get it but don’t give up the reins.
For More Information or Assistance, See:
- My Personal Growth, Natural Healing, and Wellness workshops. In particular,
- Book your own personal growth workshop;
- My blog posts:
Or, Contact Me
